We got another round of hotter than expected CPI data this week. The mainstream financial media is spinning this as good news. In this episode of the Friday Gold Wrap, host Mike Maharrey digs into the CPI data without the rose-colored glasses. He also talks about an announcement by a major restaurant chain that may well be a canary in the coal mine. His conclusion – in the end, economics wins.
Central banks added gold to their reserves in record amounts in 2018 and 2019, but buying slowed last year with the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic. The slower pace has continued into 2021, but buying is ahead of last year as many countries continue to load up on the yellow metal. The World Gold Council projects gold will continue to play an important role in central bank reserves in the coming year.
In 2020, gold-backed ETFs recorded record net inflows of gold. Funds added nearly 231 more tons in 2020 than they did during the previous record year (2009/646 tons). But with declines in the price of gold and investors pivoting to riskier investments as economies improve, we’ve seen net outflows of gold from ETFs over the last three months.
That trend reversed in May as gold-backed funds globally added 61.3 tons of gold, according to the latest data from the World Gold Council.
Hurricane season started this week. That means those of us who live in Florida are in preparedness mode – or at least we should be.
For you landlocked readers, the notion of a hurricane kit is probably foreign to you. But for those of us who live in hurricane-prone coastal areas, updating the hurricane kit is a right of passage from spring into summer.
With some positive economic data coming out this week, investors suddenly went bullish on the economy again and decided that the Fed is surely going to deal with inflation now. Will it though? In this Friday Gold Wrap Podcast episode, host Mike Maharrey speculates about the Fed’s next move. He also looks ahead and talks about the long-term future of the dollar. Can we assume it will always be the reserve currency?
Last month, Tennessee Gov. Bill Lee signed a bill into law that creates a commission to study the feasibility of creating a gold bullion depository in the Volunteer State.
A state bullion depository would not only create a safe place to store precious metals; it would increase the state’s financial independence. It could also facilitate the everyday use of gold and silver in financial transactions in Tennessee and set the stage to undermine the Federal Reserve’s monopoly on money.
For months, the markets have responded to inflationary pressures by piling into dollars and selling gold. They’ve taken this counterintuitive approach because they believe the Fed will tighten monetary policy to fight inflation sooner rather than later. But we’re starting to see a shift in sentiment. Traders seem to be realizing that inflation might be here to stay, and that is bullish for gold and bearish for the dollar.
As a dad, I have to confess to delivering my fair share of dad jokes. You know what I mean, right? I’m talking about those jokes that make the kids’ eyes roll into the back of their heads and elicit groans from the wife.
Let’s be honest; dad isn’t funny. And that’s what makes dad jokes so funny.
So to kick off your weekend, I bring you some dad jokes related to gold I plucked off the interwebs.
The Fed wants us to believe everything is under control. The economy is improving. Inflation is transitory. Good times are ahead. But behind the scenes, central bankers and government officials are scrambling to keep all the economic props in place. As they intervene in one area of the economy, they create problems in another. In this episode of the Friday Gold Wrap podcast, host Mike Maharrey talks about some of these interventions along with gold’s recent rally above $1,900.
Over the last several months, gold and silver have faced strong tailwinds due to market expectations that the Fed would tighten monetary policy sooner rather than later to fight price inflation. But after April’s hotter than expected CPI, that sentiment seems to have shifted and the markets are acting the way you would expect in an inflationary environment. Gold and silver have rallied and the dollar has shown weakness. In fact, gold pushed above the $1,900 an ounce level.
In this Gold Videocast, Peter Schiff explains why he thinks this is just the lull before the real storm and now is the time to buy gold and silver.
