Gold is insurance for your savings against crises and currency devaluation, not a source of income: it pays no interest, and its price can stand still or fall for years. Over five years the NBU gold price rose about 3.8 times, but over the last year only by 7.7%, less than inflation. It is cheaper to buy non-cash metal or large bars from a bank, because on small bars and coins a noticeable part of the money goes on the gap between the buying and selling price. Income from selling bank metals bought from a bank is not taxed.
Oleksandr Suhak
7 min read
The benchmark in Ukraine is the official bank metal price set by the NBU every day. It is quoted per troy ounce, that is 31.1 grams. You cannot buy gold at this price: banks sell higher and buy back lower, but it is handy for tracking the trend.
| Date | Per ounce, UAH | Per gram, UAH |
|---|---|---|
| 1 November 2021 | 46,963 | 1,510 |
| 31 October 2025 | 166,513 | 5,354 |
| 2 November 2026 | 179,379 | 5,767 |
Over five years gold in hryvnias became about 3.8 times more expensive, or 31% a year on average. That combines two moves: the global rise in gold and the devaluation of the hryvnia. Over the last year, though, the price rose only 7.7%, while inflation in September 2026 was 10% over the year. So someone who bought gold a year ago lost a little in real terms. Gold moves in waves: a few years of steep growth can be followed by years when it stands still or gets cheaper.
So it makes sense to hold gold as a small part of long-term savings alongside hryvnia deposits, government bonds and foreign currency, not as the main way of saving. How to compare any asset with inflation is explained in the article on real return.
| Method | How it works | What to watch |
|---|---|---|
| Non-cash metal | The bank opens a bank metal account, and you buy grams of gold without a physical bar | The smallest spread and no storage worries, but the metal depends on the bank's reliability: check the contract for whether the Deposit Guarantee Fund covers such an account |
| Bars | The bank sells standard bars from 1 gram to a kilogram with a certificate | The smaller the bar, the more expensive each gram. Keep it with the certificate and in undamaged packaging |
| NBU investment coins | The NBU issues gold and silver coins that banks sell | A convenient size, but the spread is usually higher than on large bars |
| Gold exchange-traded fund | A fund that holds gold, bought as a security through a financial institution | No storage problems, but it is a security with different taxes |
| Jewellery | You buy a piece at a retail price | Not an investment: the price includes workmanship and markup, and it can be sold only as scrap |
Buy bars and coins only from a bank. Physical bars bought privately or from online shops are risky: a fake cannot be spotted by eye, and a bank may refuse to buy such a bar. Besides, the tax exemption on sale applies specifically to metal bought from a bank.
A bank sells gold for more than it buys it back. This gap, the spread, is your guaranteed loss at the moment of purchase. Just to break even, the gold price has to rise by more than the spread:
| Gap between the bank's selling and buying price | How much gold must rise to break even |
|---|---|
| 3% (illustrative: non-cash metal or a large bar) | 3.1% |
| 5% | 5.3% |
| 10% (illustrative: a small bar or a coin) | 11.1% |
| 20% | 25.0% |
The spreads in the table are illustrative: each bank sets its own prices, and they change. The conclusion is the same whatever the exact figures. Small bars and frequent deals eat the profit, so gold is bought rarely, in larger amounts and for years. How the spread works in currency exchange is shown in the article on currency exchange.
Since 11 August 2026 individuals can buy non-cash bank metals within the same limit of UAH 200,000 a month as non-cash currency and foreign securities. The limit counts all these operations together at one bank. So if you have already bought dollars this month, less will be left for gold.
Gold, dollars and a hryvnia deposit play different roles. A hryvnia deposit gives the highest guaranteed income but loses out in a sharp devaluation. The dollar insures against devaluation but earns almost nothing. Gold insures against both devaluation and global crises but gives no guaranteed income at all and swings the most. How to compare the first two is worked out in the article "A hryvnia or a dollar deposit". For long-term goals where growth matters more than insurance, index funds are a better fit.
You can check how much your money loses to inflation over a few years, and what gold's return needs to be compared with, in the inflation calculator.
Gold is a popular lure for fraudsters. Be careful with "investment companies" promising fixed income from gold trading, "gold-backed" crypto tokens and online platforms with guaranteed profit. Real gold gives no guaranteed income by its very nature. Check whether the company has a licence and is not on lists of questionable projects, following the guide in the article on how to check a broker.
Checked against official sources on October 29, 2026. If a figure changes, we update the article and the «Updated» date changes automatically.
This article is for information only and is not investment advice or a price forecast. The gold price can rise or fall for a long time. The spreads in the examples are illustrative: check current buying and selling prices with the bank before a deal.
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