During a CNBC interview, former Federal Reserve Chairman Alan Greenspan said gold prices are surging because investors are looking for hard assets that they know will have value in 20 or 30 years.
Gold-backed ETFs added another 122 tons of gold globally in August and total holdings are nearing all-time highs.
Total ETF gold holdings have reached 2, 733 tons. That’s just 52 tons away from the all-time high reached in 2012 when the price of gold was 9% higher, according to the most recent data released by the World Gold Council.
US manufacturing activity contracted in August, according to the latest data.
The Institute for Supply Management (ISM) PMI index for August came in at 49.1. Any number under 50 signals a drop in manufacturing. This was the first contraction in three years and the first time the index has dropped below 50 since August 2016. August marked the fifth straight monthly decline.
Meanwhile, IHS Markit PMI hit 50.3, the lowest number since September 2009 – in the aftermath of 2008 crash.
Central banks continue to gobble up gold. Globally, the world’s central banks added another net 13.9 tons of gold to their reserves in July.
While this was the lowest net increase in global central bank reserves since August 2017, the number was skewed downward by a significant gold sell-off by Uzbekistan. Gross purchases by the world’s central banks came in at 36.4 tons, according to the latest data released by the World Gold Council.
The Federal Reserve makes life easier for politicians by pursuing monetary policies that shield them from the consequences of bad economic decision-making. By keeping interest rates low and printing money, the Fed hides the nefarious impact of government spending, trade wars and other bad policies.
Peter Schiff talked about this in a recent podcast.
Has QE4 already started?
For the first time since October 2014, the Federal Reserve has bought a significant number of US Treasurys. Over the past two weeks, the Fed purchased $14 billion in US bonds.
As I write this, Hurricane Dorian is taking aim at Florida. What’s fun about that? you might ask. Well, nothing. And I don’t want to minimize the potential for disaster. But the hurricane hasn’t hit yet and the runup to a storm provides a lot of amusement and some educational moments. I just can’t resist.
Gold has had a pretty solid month, but silver has been going up like it’s on rocket fuel.
In this episode of the Friday Gold Wrap, host Mike Maharrey takes a close look at the silver market and what’s going on there. He talks a little trade war, saying that maybe we shouldn’t be talking so much about the trade war. And he also touches on some economic news that came out the week.
During a recent interview on RT America, Peter Schiff said investors should stay away from the dollar, not only because of the looming recession, but because its days as a reserve currency could be numbered.
Is this just hyperbole, or could the US dollar really fall off its throne? America’s enemies would certainly like to see it happen. And increasingly, so would its friends.
Earlier this week, Spencer Schiff wrote an article noting the importance of consumer spending to the US economy and the consequences that will follow if Americans suddenly tighten up their wallets. Schiff isn’t alone in his concern. A mainstream economist sounded a similar warning during a recent CNBC interview.
