Australia has become the front line in the war on cash with an aggressive effort to ring physical money out of the economy.
Over the last financial year, more than a billion dollars worth of physical cash disappeared from circulation, according to data released by the Reserve Bank of Australia (RBA). The Australian news service 9News called it “the strongest sign yet” that the country is moving toward a cashless society.
Australian mines are running out of gold, according to a report by S&P Global Market Intelligence.
Analysts say Australia sits poised above a “production cliff.” The country could slip from the world’s second-largest gold producer to fourth by 2024.
The Australian gold mining industry faces the same problem as South Africa’s – aging mines.
Tuesday marked the 167th anniversary of the discovery of gold in Ballarat, Victoria, Australia. Since then, the Aussies have become the second largest gold producing country in the world. But analysts project gold output in the Land Down Under, along with several other key countries, could slump to “generational lows” in the midterm.
Have you ever thought about owning gold?
That may seem like a strange question. You’re probably thinking to yourself, “Why everybody has at least thought about investing in gold.” But that’s apparently not true – at least not in Australia. According to a poll conducted by Australia’s leading gold bullion company, 45% of Australians have never even thought about investing in physical gold.
The fact that so many people have never even thought about investing in gold explains why 85% of Australians don’t own any of the yellow metal.
As the Brisbane Times puts it, “When the going gets tough, Germans Buy Aussie Gold.”
And they are doing it now.
Last fall we reported on Germany’s budding love affair with gold. It appears this is more than just a one-night fling.
Gold exports from Australia surged from August to September, according to data released by the Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS).
Non-monetary gold exports rose 17% in the period, an increase of $217 million in seasonally adjusted terms.
Australia is moving toward regulating cryptocurrencies like Bitcoin and Ethereum under new anti-money laundering legislation.
According to the Australian Broadcasting Corporation (ABC), Parliament will vote on the measure this week. If it passes, it will place Bitcoin and other cryptos under the auspices of Australia’s financial regulatory agency.
Australian gold output will peak in just four years and then begin a steep decline, according to a report issued by a Melbourne-based industry adviser.
According to MinEx Consulting analysis reported by Bloomberg Business, Australian mine output will max out in 2021 and then fall by half into the mid-2050s, as aging mines close down.
