The Indian central bank has announced another round of demonetization with a plan to withdraw 2,000-rupee notes from circulation. The announcement led to a big jump in gold bullion sales.
The 2,000-rupee note will remain legal tender, but they will have to be deposited or exchanged for smaller denominations by Sept. 30.
Americans consider gold the second-best long-term investment option, according to a recent Gallup poll. Gold beat out stocks, bonds and savings accounts.
The perception that gold is the best investment over the long term rose from 15% in 2022 to 26% in the 2023 poll, overtaking stocks at the number two spot.
Citigroup projects silver could rise to $30 an ounce in the next six months to a year.
With silver currently in the $23.00 range, this represents a possible 30% return.
Poland is buying gold again.
The National Bank of Poland added nearly 15 tons of gold to its reserves in April, according to data published by the bank last week. It was the largest increase in the country’s reserves since June 2019 when the bank boosted reserves by almost 100 tons.
Which countries hold the most gold?
Central banks around the world have been piling up gold. After a record-setting 2022, central bank gold reserves increased by 228 tons through the first three months of 2023, a Q1 record. This was 38% higher than the previous first-quarter record set in 2013.
Laws recently enacted in Florida and Indiana ban the use of a central bank digital currency (CBDC) as money in those states.
The US government ran a surplus in April, as it generally does in tax return month. But federal tax revenues collapsed year-on-year and the fiscal 2023 deficit is still close to $1 trillion despite the small April windfall.
For the second straight month, gold flowed into ETFs in April.
Globally, gold-backed ETFs reported net inflows of 15 tons last month, reflecting an increase of about $824 million.
Physical gold investment was up by 5% year-on-year in the first quarter.
Investors bought 302 tons of gold bars and gold coins in Q1 with a value of $18.4 billion. This was 14% above the 5-year average, according to the World Gold Council.
After pulling back slightly in February, Americans went back to borrowing on credit cards in March — despite record-high interest rates. This indicates that consumers continue to struggle to make ends meet in this deteriorating economy. It also reveals that the Fed’s monetary tightening is not cooling spending as promised.
