(Kitco News) – Stubborn inflation has created a global cost of living crisis as consumers see their fiat currencies lose purchasing power; however, one investment firm continues to highlight that gold has been able to maintain its relative value over the years.
Thursday, Incrementum AG released a new gold price index, comparing the precious metal to the price of skiing, a passion for many Europeans.
“This joy has been dampened by the price increases for ski tickets in recent years,” the analysts at the Liechtenstein-based investment firm wrote in the report. “With an increase of 10.2%, ski ticket prices have risen even more sharply this winter season than in the 2022/23 winter season. Last year, an equally weighted index of 11 ski resorts in Salzburg, Tyrol and Vorarlberg1 ‘only’ rose by 8.1%. These sharp increases have certainly shocked many ski enthusiasts.”
The analysts noted that in the last three decades, the cost of skiing, priced in euros, has more than tripled, outpacing the rise in consumer prices.
However, the investment firm noted that when looking at the price of a sky ticket compared to the price of gold, the cost has remained relatively unchanged over the years.
“For gold investors, the purchasing power of an ounce of gold in terms of daily ski passes is just as high this ski season as it was last season,” the analysts said. “Gold investors receive 27.6 ski tickets for an ounce of gold this winter season, the same as last winter.”
Looking at the long-term trend, the analysts note that gold investors have seen the cost of skiing fall 57% in the last 33 years.
“Compared to the most expensive winter for gold investors in 1998/1999, it is almost 70% less, despite a considerable improvement in infrastructure in the ski resorts,” the analysts said.
The gold/ski ratio is just the latest report from Incrementum that highlights the value of the precious metal in the real world.
The investment firm consistently demonstrates that gold is able to maintain its purchasing power compared to fiat currencies.
In October, the firm published its much-celebrated gold/beer ratio, which showed that the higher gold price against the euro completely absorbed a 26% rise in the cost of a stein of beer at Munich’s Oktoberfest celebrations.
Incrementum’s gold/iPhone ratio shows that the precious metal is also seeing improved value compared to the iconic smartphone. The firm noted that the iPhone 15 Pro with 1 TB of storage now costs just 0.78 ounces of gold, a little more than 10% lower compared to prices last year.
Meanwhile, in U.S. dollar terms, the picture is completely different. In 2007, the first iPhone cost $599; today, the smartphone costs $1,499.
“Gold is therefore ideal for not only maintaining purchasing power over long periods of time, but even increasing it, whether at the Oktoberfest, with an iPhone or on the ski slopes,” the analysts said.
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