Silver investment demand surged in 2020 in the midst of the coronavirus pandemic, according to the feature story in the most recent edition of the Silver Institute’s Silver News.
Holdings in silver-backed ETFs tripled last year, surpassing 1 billion ounces for the first time. Meanwhile, investment in physical silver also saw a healthy increase. Silver coin and silver bar purchases grew 8% to 200.5 million ounces in 2020.
Arkansas Gov. Asa Hutchinson recently signed a bill into law exempting gold and silver bullion and coins from sales tax. This will not only relieve some of the tax burdens on investors in the state; it will also take a step toward treating gold and silver as money instead of as commodities.
China and India rank one-two in global gold consumption, and through the first quarter of 2021, gold demand charted an impressive rebound in both countries.
China’s year-on-year gold consumption surged 93.9% as first-quarter demand rebounded to pre-pandemic levels. Meanwhile, official Indian gold imports hit the highest level in a decade in March.
The trade deficit in goods leaped to another record high in March as Americans continue to spend stimulus money printed out of thin air on products they didn’t produce.
The goods trade deficit surged 4.0% last month, hitting an all-time record of $90.6 billion. That tops the previous record of $88 billion set in February.
By and large, the mainstream is bullish on the economy. According to conventional wisdom, we are in the midst of a robust recovery. In fact, many people out there believe the Fed is going to have to tighten monetary policy sooner rather than later. But there are a few people in the mainstream who seem to have caught a glimpse behind the veil. Former JP Morgan managing director Jon Deane told Kitco News that we’re sitting on an economic cliff. And because of that, Deane is extremely bullish on gold and silver.
The coronavirus pandemic fueled significant growth in investment demand for silver in 2020. And according to the Silver Institute’s World Silver Survey 2021, demand is expected to remain robust through 2021.
The price of silver was up 27% on average last year on the back of a surge in investment demand. ETF inflows took global holding to over 1 billion ounces for the first time ever.
The Arkansas Senate has passed a bill that would exempt gold and silver bullion and coins from sales tax. This would not only relieve some of the tax burdens on investors in the state; it would also take a small step toward treating gold and silver as money instead of as commodities.
In one of the biggest central bank gold buys in decades, Hungary tripled its gold reserves last month.
The National Bank of Hungary (Magyar Nemzeti Bank, MNB) bought 63 tons of gold, increasing its gold holdings to 94.5 tons, a record high for that country.
The US government ran a record $1.7 trillion deficit through the first half of fiscal 2021. That’s a staggering budget shortfall, but only a symptom of the real problem – excessive government spending. We’re told this will “stimulate” the economy. But in the long run, it does no such thing.
China has opened the door to billions of dollars in gold imports.
Reuters cites five sources indicating that Beijing has greenlighted the import of 150 tons of gold valued at around $8.5 billion at current prices. The report notes that China’s sudden appetite for gold could potentially “support global prices.”
