Gold flowed into European and Asian ETFs last month, but outflows from North American funds pushed total global holdings lower.
Funds listed in China drove Asian ETF stocks of the yellow metal up last month. Asian ETFs added 2 tons of gold in August as investors hedged trade risks and currency weakness. Asian funds have seen an impressive percentage increase in 2018, growing by 9.1% year-to-date, according to data released by the World Gold Council.
The prices of gold and silver are behaving very much like they did in 2008. You remember what was happening in 2008, right?
After the dot.com bubble burst, the Federal Reserve swooped in and dropped interest rates to an artificially low level. In the mid-2000s, the economy boomed and the housing bubble inflated driven by the sudden influx of cheap credit. In 2007, it all began to unravel and the air started leaking out of the subprime mortgage bubble. Of course, everybody said, “Hey, nothing to worry about. Everything is great!”
And they were spectacularly wrong.
Gold sales at Australia’s Perth Mint rose to their highest level in nearly a year in August as investors took advantage of gold on sale.
According to the mint, sales of gold coins and minted bars surged 30% to 38,904 ounces last month. It was the strongest month of gold sales since November 2017. Sales were nearly doubled from a year ago, according to the mint.
“Lower bullion prices continued to support interest in our minted products among investors,” a company spokesman said.
Green technologies will consume over 1.5 billion ounces of silver over the next twelve years.
The Silver Institute highlighted the growing demand for silver in the green energy sector, along with some new technological innovations utilizing the white metal in its latest edition of Silver News.
With hyperinflation gripping Iran and sanctions strangling the economy, Iranians are beginning to turn to gold to make everyday transactions, most notably to pay their rent.
The Iranian rial has depreciated rapidly since the US announced its withdrawal from the 2015 nuclear deal and the reimposition of economic sanctions. After the US formally announced it was pulling out of the deal in May, the exchange rate peaked at around 45,000 rials to the dollar. But that official rate was only available to well-connected bankers, importers and businesses. Average Iranians were paying twice that. By July 29, money-exchangers in Tehran were charging around 100,000 rials for one dollar. Within 24 hours, it increased to 110,000 rials to the dollar.
The Nasdaq had the biggest gain last month since the year 2000.
In his most recent podcast, Peter Schiff reminds us what happened right after that 2000 peak.
The Nasdaq – it declined approximately 80% from peak to trough. So, the fact that we haven’t had a month this strong since 2000 should give people pause.”
The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) bought gold for the first time in nearly a decade during its last fiscal year.
The Indian central bank added 8.46 tons of gold during the fiscal year ending June 30, according to its latest annual report. The additional yellow metal brings India’s total gold reserves to 566.23 tons.
The last time the RBI bought gold was in November 2009. The Economic Times of India called the central bank’s decision to add to its gold reserves “significant.”
A Russian lawmaker has suggested his country should develop a gold-backed cryptocurrency for payment of arms exports and other goods as a way to circumvent Western sanctions and limit his country’s dependence on the dollar-based global banking system.
Vladimir Gutenev serves as first deputy head of the economic policy committee at the State Duma – the Russian Parliament’s lower chamber. He suggested Russia should develop a gold-backed cryptocurrency as he called for a suspension of treaties with the US, including the non-proliferation of missile technologies agreement.
The US stock markets had another big day Wednesday with a number of the indexes, including the Nasdaq and the S&P 500, in record territory. So, what’s with the recent move up in US stock markets?
Donald Trump and a lot of Republicans have been taking credit for it, saying their economic policies are causing a boom. But in his latest podcast, Peter Schiff thinks the real impetus for this leg up is the dovish tone of recent Federal Reserve comments.
Indians are buying gold.
Imports of the yellow metal into India jumped for the first time in seven months in July and the trend appears to be carrying forward into August, according to a report in the Times of India. Gold sales have surged 15% by volume over last year as Indians took advantage of soft prices and kicked off the wedding and festival season early.
According to jeweler associations in India, demand could finish up as much as 20% in August compared with 2017.
