One Way to Invest in Gold: A Mini Futures Contract

It's not a secret that gold has been on a tear for the past decade. The price of the yellow bullion has risen 400% since 2001. Now, with the direction of the U.S. economy unsure, investors are increasingly adding gold to their portfolios.

But how do you go about investing in gold and other precious metals?

One possibility is through futures contracts offered by the New York Stock Exchange Liffe U.S., the futures exchange of the NYSE Euronext. Here you can buy not just the 100-ounce size, which is standard, but also "mini" futures contracts in 33.2-ounce sizes.

Jennifer Ropiak, a vice president with NYSE Liffe U.S., talks with DailyFinance in the video below about how the process works. Since the futures exchange opened in 2008, Ropiak says there has been much greater interest in trading and hedging in gold. She also says that demand for other precious metals, silver in particular, is also rising. Watch the video for more details.