Peter’s Blog

Global gold mine production increased in 2021 as economies opened up after the first wave of the coronavirus pandemic. But mine output did not recover to pre-pandemic levels, and overall gold supply fell for the second straight year. According to data released by the World Gold Council, annual mine production increased 2% year on year, […]

A bill filed in the Oklahoma Senate would establish a state bullion depository similar to the one operating in Texas. This would not only create a safe place to store precious metals; it also has the potential to facilitate the everyday use of gold and silver in financial transactions in Oklahoma and set the stage […]

Chinese gold consumption rebounded in 2021, rising by 36.53% year on year as the market continues to recover after taking a hard hit during the coronavirus pandemic. More significantly, gold demand was up 11.78% compared with consumption in 2019, before the pandemic. China ranks as the world’s number one gold consumer.

Several states are considering bills to repeal the sales tax on precious metal bullion during the 2022 legislative session. Passage into law would relieve some of the tax burdens on investors, and would also take a step toward treating gold and silver as money instead of as commodities.

The Federal Reserve wrapped up its first Federal Open Market Committee meeting of the year yesterday without any real surprises. Despite everybody screaming about an inflation problem, the Fed will keep its loose, inflationary monetary policy in play for at least two more months.

The world’s largest gold ETF saw record inflows on Friday, a bullish sign for the yellow metal. SPDR Gold Shares (GLD) ranks as the world’s largest gold fund. It saw a net inflow of $1.63 billion on Friday. It was the largest net inflow in dollar terms since the fund was listed in 2004.

Last week, the Federal Reserve released a “discussion paper” examing the pros and cons of a potential US central bank digital dollar. According to the Federal Reserve press release, the central bank hopes to get public feedback on the idea. “We look forward to engaging with the public, elected representatives, and a broad range of […]

The Federal Reserve is a money-making enterprise. This probably shouldn’t come as any surprise, given that the central bank can create money out of thin air and buy yielding assets. Still, the Fed rakes in a staggering amount of money. The central bank recently released its unaudited preliminary financial statement for 2021.

Joe Biden is telling us the economy is back on track. And the Federal Reserve insists it can slow down the inflation freight train. But the average American isn’t quite so sanguine. Consumer sentiment plunged to the second-lowest level in a decade in January, according to the University of Michigan Surveys of Consumers.

Despite an inflationary freight train, gold struggled to gain ground in 2021 as the markets fixated on the Federal Reserve and the possibility of tighter monetary policy to fight inflation. Will gold continue to fight headwinds in 2022 as the Fed launches its “inflation fight,” raises rates and possibly begins to shrink its balance sheet? […]