Is it the right time to buy physical gold metals now?

Although timing the market is impossible, getting a little bit of exposure into gold is great.

Dollar cost averaging works well even for gold. Buying small consistently regardless of the market fluctuations helps us move away from our the roller coasters of our emotions, and think of our goals.

However, buying small for physical gold will have its own disadvantages. Anything smaller than 1oz Gold has a significantly higher premium and spread. You're roughly looking above 20% premium for small bars(means, you'd have to wait more than 20% appreciation for gold to profit). People would usually purchase 1g gold bars for gift giving.

Starting with 1oz bar/coin every quarter, or half, of the year can be a healthy amount.

I would recommend getting recognisable gold coins (such as the Gold Maple Leaf) for a start as they are much more portable, easy to liquidate to a dealer (or to a secondary market) and takes up less space than gold bars with certicards (Ceritifcate cards).

Main objective of physical gold, at the end of the day, shouldn't be on price exposure alone but having emergency funds outside the financial system. It is also known to be a hedge against extreme currency devaluation, and reduce any counter-party/default risks since these physical assets is legally and privately yours.

It is a buy for me for diversifiaction as well, especially during this very uncertain 1-3 years time.​​​

Nobody can know that.

one investing idea could be to have 5-10% of one's total portfolio invested into physical gold, however, to have diversification.