As the saying goes, there’s no place like home. And more and more countries think that’s the case when it comes to their gold. In this episode of the Friday Gold Wrap, host Mike Maharrey talks about why many central banks and sovereign wealth funds are bringing their gold home. He also talks about gold’s performance through the first half of 2023 and the June CPI data.
The US dollar is on shaky ground. There is a growing trend toward de-dollarization. Meanwhile, the Federal Reserve is tinkering with the idea of a digital dollar that could give the government unprecedented control over your spending.
Given the trajectory of the dollar, it might be a good idea to find some alternatives. In other words, we need currency competition.
Despite doing nothing at the June meeting, Federal Reserve officials continue to talk tough about fighting inflation. The anticipation of another rate hike created headwinds for both stocks and gold this week. But Friday Gold Wrap host Mike Maharrey thinks something is amiss. In this episode, he talks about the disconnect between the central bankers’ rhetoric and their actions. Are they clueless or running scared? This week, he also talks about another big jump in the national debt and the latest on central bank gold buying.
Researchers at Duke University are experimenting with replacing lithium in batteries with argyrodite, a mineral that contains silver along with other elements.
This could further increase the demand for silver and tax an already strained silver supply.
The Fed managed to reduce its balance sheet by $45 billion last month. The majority of this was in Treasuries of 1-5 year maturities with a reduction of $55B. The next biggest reduction was in mortgage-backed securities MBS totaling $20 billion. This fell short of the target of $35 billion. In fact, the Fed has still never reached its MBS target since balance sheet reduction began.
Meanwhile, the central bank continues to add bank bailout loans to its balance sheet.
There was a lot of economic data this month that seems to signal a strong economy. Does it though? Is everything really fine? In this episode of the Friday Gold Wrap, host Mike Maharrey digs deeper into the data and reveals a less sanguine reality. He also explains the inner workings of the spot price for gold, how it’s determined, and the factors that influence it.
Seasonally Adjusted Money Supply in May increased $131B. This is the first growth in adjusted M2 since last July and the largest increase since December 2021.
Silver demand set a record in every category in 2022 and is expected to continue growing. Meanwhile, silver production flatlined. Record global silver demand and a lack of supply upside contributed to a 237.7 million ounce market deficit in 2022.
The trends indicate that this deficit will expand in the next several years as demand continues to surge as supply begins to shrink, and there are some concerning trends indicating supply may contract rapidly in the coming years.
With a hawkish Fed and dollar strength, gold has dropped below $1,950 an ounce, but the technicals appear to indicate that we are at or near the end of a correction.
The technical analysis last month was published when gold was around $1975 and concluded:
The indicators are now mostly neutral with a bearish lean. There are some slightly bullish indicators, but nothing strong enough to give a clear signal. This suggests the price could drift lower until it finds the right catalyst to reverse. There should be plenty of catalysts on the horizon, but the biggest one will be how the Fed responds to the next crisis. Until then, pressure is pointing downward.
That conclusion has been accurate over the last month as the price has drifted lower with any rallies being sold.
June is wrapping up strong for gold at the COMEX with 20,101 contracts being delivered. There are still 583 contracts open that have not been delivered, but the majority of the contracts have been completed. Meanwhile, were seeing more and more stress on silver and platinum.
