SchiffGold’s Blog

We’ve been following a number of central banks that have been buying gold recently, specifically the Russians and Chinese. But these two central banks aren’t alone. In fact, central bank gold-buying has surged over the last couple of years. What’s behind this trend?

Russia continues to buy gold as it seeks to minimize exposure to the US dollar. According to information released by the Central Bank of Russia last week, it purchased another 31.1 tons of gold in February, bringing its total reserves to 2,149 tons.

Global gold demand grew by 4% in 2018, driven by a multi-decade high in central bank buying, according to the World Gold Council’s Gold Demand Trends 2018 Report. Gold demand came in at 4,345.1 tons in 2018. That was up from 4,159.9 tons the previous year. This was in line with the five-year average growth.

Russia added another 36.6 tons of gold to its reserves in November, according to the latest data released by the World Gold Council. This follows on the heels of a 29.9-ton increase to its hoard in October and a 37.8-ton increase in September.

What happens when central banks push interest rates to zero – in some cases below zero – and hold them there for nearly a decade? You get debt. Lots and lots of debt. Record levels of debt, in fact.

You can add Poland to the list of countries buying gold. The Polish central bank added about seven tons of gold to its reserves in July and another two tons in August, according to International Monetary fund data. It was the largest gold purchase by Poland since 1998.

For the last 10 years, central banks have been on a gold-buying spree. At least some of them have. On net, central banks globally added 193.3 tons of gold during the first half of 2018, according to World Gold Council data. That represents an 8% increase over 2017. The last time we saw this kind of […]

Does gold still matter? A lot of people dismiss gold and precious metals as irrelevant to the world monetary system. But how can money be irrelevant? Liechtenstein-based Incrementum AG managing partner Ronald-Peter Stöferle joined Mises Institute president Jeff Deist to talk about all things gold, including why it is still money and an important part of […]

In a world drowning in debt, the US stands out, according to the International Monetary Fund. Global debt has reached record levels. According to a recent IMF report, the world has amassed $164 trillion of debt. That comes to 225% of global debt to GDP, levels not seen since the peak of the 2008 financial […]

We talk a lot about how central banks serve as the primary force driving the business cycle. When a recession hits, central banks like the Federal Reserve drive interest rates down and launch quantitative easing to stimulate the economy. Once the recovery takes hold, the Fed tightens its monetary policy, raising interest rates and ending QE. […]