Peter's Blog

Central Banks Added Nearly 84 Tons of Gold to Reserves in Q1

Despite a number of big sales, global central bank gold demand remained brisk as net holdings increased by 83.8 tons in the first quarter of 2022. That more than doubled the 41.2-ton expansion of central bank gold reserves in the last quarter of 2021 but was 29% lower than the first quarter of last year.

Wages Are Up But You’re Worse Off

The Bureau of Economic Analysis released the Personal Income and Outlays data for March last week. Incomes and consumer spending were both up. The data had mainstream analysts crowing about a strong economy and good news for American consumers. But digging into the data reveals a very different picture.

Silver News: 2021 Silver Demand Explosion and Technical Innovations

Total global silver demand reached its highest level since 2015 last year, surging 19% to 1.05 billion ounces (Boz). There were increases in every key silver demand category. It was the first time since 1997 that all key sectors rose together. This is one of several silver-related stories in the latest edition of Silver News published by the […]

Gold Demand Surges in First Quarter

Gold demand surged to kick off the year, up 34% year-on-year in the first quarter of 2022. Total demand came in at 1,234 tons in Q1. That was the highest quarterly demand since Q4 2018, according to the World Gold Council’s Gold Demand Trends report. Demand in the first quarter of this year was 19% […]

Silver Demand Hit 6-Year High in 2021; Growth Expected to Continue Despite Headwinds

The Silver Institute has released its World Silver Survey 2022 report, providing an overview of what happened in the silver market in 2021 and looking ahead to this year. Even with geopolitical and economic headwinds, the report anticipates further growth in the silver market in 2022.

Americans Spending More, Getting Less and Borrowing More to Pay for It

American consumers are spending more, getting less, and borrowing more to fund this involuntary spending spree. Retail sales in March were 7% higher than they were in the stimulus-fueled March of 2021, but thanks to inflation, they didn’t get as much bang for their buck.

If the Fed Is Fighting Inflation Why Is the Balance Sheet Still Expanding?

If the Fed is fighting inflation and has ended quantitative easing, why is its balance sheet still going up? In the week ending April 13, the balance sheet grew by $27.9 billion, hitting a new record of $8.965 trillion. This is up about $3 billion from its previous high in March.

More Inflation Pain: Producer Prices Chart Biggest Increase Ever

The mainstream seemed to take the March CPI data as good news. With core CPI coming in below expectations, the narrative is that we’ve probably hit peak inflation. But the producer price data that came out yesterday tells a different story.

More of the Same: Feds Run Another Big Budget Deficit in March

The federal government ran a $192.68 billion deficit in March, according to the latest Treasury statement. Somehow, this is supposed to be good news.

ETF Gold Holdings Surged in March

Global ETF gold holdings surged in March, charting the third straight month of inflows. Net inflows of gold into ETFs came in at 187.3 tons last month, as total holdings rose to 3,837 tons, just shy of the all-time record high. It was the biggest jump in ETF gold holdings since July 2020, according to […]