The other day a friend of mine asked me, tacos or burritos?
My response: why not both?
CPI came in even hotter than expected signaling rising inflation. The US government is running a massive record budget deficit. But we’re told these things aren’t a problem. Budget deficits don’t really matter. Inflation is transitory. But how can we be so sure? On this episode of the Friday Gold Wrap podcast, host Mike Maharrey talks about it.
Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell keeps telling us not to worry about rising prices, assuring us that any increase in price inflation is “transitory.” It appears most of the mainstream is buying this hook line and sinker.
The March CPI number was expected to come in hot due to a much lower baseline. Prices tanked last March as governments locked down their economies. As a result, economists expected the year-on-year CPI comparison to show a big increase. But the increase was even bigger than expected. Peter Schiff talked about it in a recent podcast.
During his recent 60 Minutes interview, Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell reiterated that he thinks any spike in price inflation will be transitory. As he put it during the interview, we may see “temporarily higher prices but not persistent inflation.” Peter Schiff appeared on RT Boom Bust to talk about Powell’s view on rising prices. He called the Fed chair’s position, “laughable.”
Gold hit its highest price in five weeks after the release of the March Federal Reserve meeting minutes and comments by Jerome Powell both reiterated the central bank’s dovish position. In this episode of the Friday Gold Wrap podcast, host Mike Maharrey talks about the Fed’s dovish cry and how this could play out. He also discusses a strange dichotomy in the unemployment numbers.
Despite a significant selloff by Turkey, central banks globally added a net 8.8 tons of gold to their reserves in February, according to the latest data compiled by the World Gold Council.
Gold-buying by central banks slowed last year from the record pace we saw in 2018 and 2019, and that trend has continued into 2021, but many countries continue to load up on the yellow metal. Turkey and Russia’s sales through the first two months of the year have pushed net central bank reserves down, even while several countries continue to boost their gold holdings.
While gold prices have languished over the last few months, smart investors have taken advantage of the low prices and loaded up on physical gold.
For Q1, the US Mint reported its highest quarterly American Gold Eagle sales in more than 20 years.
Prices are going up. The Federal Reserve is printing money at an unprecedented rate. The US government continues to borrow and spend at a torrid pace. As Peter Schiff put it in a recent podcast, we’re adrift in a sea of inflation. Gold is supposed to be an inflation hedge. So, why isn’t the price of gold climbing right now?
In a nutshell, rising bond yields have created significant headwinds for gold. And the mainstream is reading rising yields and their relationship to gold all wrong.
Last week, we reported that the Russian National Wealth fund was dumping dollars and turning toward gold. The Russians have engaged in an intentional de-dollarization policy for several years. But it appears this could be part of a broader global move away from the greenback.
The dollar’s share of global currency reserves dropped significantly in the fourth quarter of 2020, falling to its lowest level in 25 years according to recently released IMF data. Globally, the dollar now makes up just 54% of global currency reserves. The last time the greenback’s share was this low was in 1995.
Joe Biden unveiled his massive infrastructure spending plan complete with tax increases this week. The president says it will create “opportunities.” But what about the opportunities that will never be realized because Biden and company went on a spending spree with our money? Host Mike Maharrey talks about it in this week’s Friday Gold Wrap podcast, along with the latest precious metals and Fed news.
