On Dec. 31, 2016, the price of gold stood at 1,156.00. Today, it is knocking on the $1,300 mark. The yellow metal is on track to gain about 12% in 2017, its best year since 2010. Gold has made these gains despite a number headwinds that we would expect to put a significant drag on gold.
Here are seven major themes that have driven gold news over the past year.
In a recent interview on RT Boom Bust, Peter Schiff talked gold.
In a piece he wrote for the December issue of the World Gold Council Gold Investor, WGC chief market strategist John Reade outlined several key reasons he thinks gold will shine in 2018. He said rising global income will be the primary factor pushing demand for the yellow metal upward in the next year.
Peter put a little different spin on Reade’s analysis, saying it’s not just rising incomes in places like India and China that will help boost gold. Global inflation will play a key role.
US equities are at an all-time high. Investors are bullish about the future. A lot of people are excited about the potential for economic growth with the passage of GOP tax cuts. There’s a lot of optimism.
In a recent interview on The Street, Peter Schiff said he thinks 2018 may start out the same, but he sees clouds on the horizon, especially when it comes to the dollar.
Since pushing above $1,300 in late August and then falling back below that level again in September, gold has been trading within a very narrow range and volatility in the market has remained low. But during an interview on CNBC Futures Now, metals expert Michael Dudas of Vertical Research said he sees a breakout on the horizon.
Peter Schiff recently appeared on The Street with Scott Gamm to talk about the stock market. Peter’s analysis was simple and succinct.
Well, the bubble keeps getting bigger.”
Turkey is buying gold.
The question is: why?
According to a Bloomberg report, the Turkish central bank added 3.8 million ounces of gold worth almost $5 billion to its reserves this year.
China wants to dethrone the dollar. But of course, it’s not alone. Russia would also love to knock the US off the top of the economic mountain. Putin is also positioning his country to free itself from the dollar-dominated global financial system. Like its neighbor to the east, Russia is using gold to pave the way to economic independence.
Last month, the Nikkei Asian Review reported on a move by China that could take a first step toward dethroning the US dollar. The proposed launch of a gold-backed, yuan-denominated oil futures contract got a lot of attention in alt-media circles, but didn’t make much of a splash in the mainstream. But now the mainstream is sitting up and taking notice.
During an interview with Bloomberg TV Tuesday, Graticule Asset Management Asia CEO Adam Levinson said China rolling out a yuan-denominated oil contract within the next few months will be “a wake-up call” for investors who haven’t paid attention to the plans.
The move potentially creates a way for oil exporters to circumvent US dollar-denominated benchmarks by trading in yuan. The contracts will reportedly be priced in yuan, but convertible to gold.
Harry Dent is a long-time gold bear. He used to say gold would fall to $250. He’s revised that prediction up a bit, but still calls for a steep decline in the price of the yellow metal – perhaps to as low as $700.
Peter Schiff took on this notion during a recent interview on RT’s Boom Bust and explained why he thinks Harry is wrong.
The bottom line is Dent has too much faith in the US dollar.
Stock markets continue to surge higher on a seemingly endless upward trajectory. On Tuesday, the Dow Jones crossed the 23,000 mark for a time and closed just below that threshold at 22,997.
It almost seems like this can go on forever, but Ron Paul said it would eventually come to an end during an interview on CNBC Futures Now last week. He said it reminds him of “delusions and the madness of crowds.”
