Precious metals certainly maintain their value.

If you look at the long-term prices of commodities, they always spiral upward.

What Buffett means is his personal preference. Buffett only invests in projects that can be easily valued.

But the value of gold is uncertain, and if you buy it at a high level, you may have to endure a long period of decline.

Long-term inflation around the world will continue to rise. This is determined by the economic law that bad money drives out good money. Gold was currency at first, but as the economy develops, the scarcity of gold will lead to deflation. After Keynes, mainstream economics generally believed that moderate inflation was beneficial to economic development, so inflation was a common practice. This will definitely lead to the preservation of value of gold.

However, there are two problems:

(1) Gold can maintain its value, but it may not appreciate, or the rate of return is uncertain. Because gold has little use outside of currency, it cannot be used to calculate future returns like the investment industry.

(2) The short-term price of gold fluctuates significantly. It is assumed that gold will definitely appreciate in 30 years, but it is very likely that gold will depreciate in 10 years. If you expect gold to appreciate in value within a few years and make money, then it is speculation, not investment.

(3) Many of Buffett’s words are not actually making predictions, but expressing his investment philosophy. Buffett had invested in silver before, but sold it quickly without making much money. In other words, Buffett is not predicting whether gold will rise or fall.