The August Consumer Price Index surprised to the upside, ramping up expectations for another aggressive Federal Reserve rate hike. It also reveals a big problem for the Fed that most people haven’t come to grips with yet.
The CPI for August came in hotter than expected, ratcheting up anticipation of another big Federal Reserve interest rate hike at the September FOMC meeting. Peter Schiff appeared on the Claman Countdown on Fox News and explained why these rate hikes are too little too late. In fact, the Fed is basically spitting into the wind.
The Fed continues to talk tough about fighting inflation. During his Jackson Hole speech, Fed chair Jerome Powell said the central bank will “use our tools forcefully” to attack inflation. Powell even promised some pain.
What exactly does Powell mean by “pain?”
Ron Paul pointed out that Powell wants to “soften the labor market.” In other words, he wants you to get fired.
The European Central Bank (ECB) raised interest rates another 75 basis points last week. In his podcast, Peter Schiff explained how the ECB inflation fight could create big problems for the Federal Reserve and the US dollar.
The recent death of Queen Elizabeth II is squeezing gold and silver bullion coin markets that were already strained by tight supplies.
There was an immediate and dramatic surge in demand for gold and silver bullion coins bearing the queen’s effigy upon her passing. According to News.com.au in Australia, “Collectors are scrambling to get their hands on coins with Queen Elizabeth’s face as prices skyrocket after her death.”
American consumers continue to cope with rising prices and prop up the sagging economy using their credit cards.
Total consumer debt rose another $23.8 billion in July to a record $4.644 trillion, according to the latest data from the Federal Reserve.
This week was the calm before the storm that will begin next week with the August CPI data and continue with the September FOMC meeting the following week. Friday Gold Wrap host Mike Maharrey takes advantage of the lull to cover some interesting topics including some more tough talk on inflation from Jerome Powell, the prospect of the Fed recording its first operating loss since 2023, and silver on sale.
The Treasury added $341B of debt in August. This was the largest increase in the debt since January and is more than 10 times larger than the increase in July. Another major occurrence was the increase in short-term debt. The Treasury increased Bills by $210B, the largest increase since June 2020. This is a move that runs counter to the recent months where the Treasury has been actively decreasing short-term holdings.
The trade deficit fell in July to -$70.7 billion. It was the fourth straight month of drops. While the deficit continues to fall from all-time highs, it is very large relative to deficits prior to 2022. Despite the large 33% fall from the -$107 billion in March, the current deficit would have been an all-time record as recently as last June. It is also larger than July 2021.
Everybody knows that the best time to shop is during a big sale. Well, with a spot price under $19 an ounce, silver is a bargain.
For the next week, you can take advantage of the lowest silver spot price in years, and we’ll even sweeten the deal with free silver with qualifying orders.
