In times of uncertainties surrounding the Brexit and global trade disputes, the demand for gold remains high: according to a study, private individuals in Germany currently have a record 8918 tonnes of precious metal - just over half (4925 tonnes) in the form of bars and coins 4000 tons are jewelry.

These figures were calculated by researchers from Steinbeis University for travel agencies on the basis of a representative survey of 2000 adults. Reisebank is one of the top-selling precious metal dealers in Germany - and also sells precious metals to numerous other banks.

Since the most recent survey of this kind from 2016, the gold treasure of private households in Germany has increased by 246 tonnes. If one adds the gold reserves of the Bundesbank (as of the end of 2018: 3370 tons), 6.5 percent of the world's gold reserves are German-owned. If you collected the entire 12,288 tons in one pile, you would have a cube with an edge length of around 8.60 meters.

Armin Weigel / DPA

Krugerrand coin made of gold: In South Africa also official means of payment

At the time of completion of the study in early April, this gold treasure had a value of more than 458 billion euros. Overall, private households in Germany invest only a fraction of their wealth in precious metal. For comparison: alone the financial assets of the people in this country, according to Bundesbank in the third quarter of 2018 for the first time rose above the mark of six trillion euros. Real estate is not even included in this figure.

Who in gold invests, appreciates that despite price fluctuations, the precious metal never loses its value even in times of crisis. However, gold has a big disadvantage. It does not throw in any interest or dividends, and so far has yielded only half as much as equities in the long term.

Many gold owners store the precious metal at home

In a European comparison, the Germans hold a leading position in gold ownership. Past studies have shown that Germany is in the lead in terms of overall quantity, but that per capita ownership is somewhat more pronounced in Italy. Nonetheless, Deutsche Börse recorded a peak in gold demand at the end of 2018: Nearly 181.5 tonnes of the precious metal were stored in the Group's vaults in Frankfurt, a good seven tonnes more than a year earlier. For every Xetra-Gold bond investors subscribe to, one gram of the precious metal is held in the vault of the Deutsche Börse.

According to the Steinbeis study, just under three quarters of Germans currently own gold in the form of jewelry, physically in the form of bars or coins, or indirectly via a special security. On average, every German over 18 years according to calculations over 58 grams of gold jewelry and 71 grams of precious metal in the form of bars or coins. The regional differences are large: In southern Germany, investors have an average of 89 grams of gold as an investment, in East Germany 55 grams.

The majority of gold owners said they kept their gold at the locker at a bank (39 percent) or a precious metals supplier (5 percent), but nearly as many (38.3 percent) of respondents said they stored bars, Coins and Co. in the home four walls.

Rising pricesWhat gold is good for money

"In terms of investment, gold is one of the few products that gives the customer a haptic experience," says study author Jens Kleine from the Steinbeis Research Center for Financial Services. "Overall, from an investor's perspective, physical gold investments are much more attractive than gold-based investments, and demand has remained high in recent years."

Our stock market page: Here you can see Dax and Dow in real time