Peter's Blog

Fun on Friday: A Moving Nightmare

I hate moving. We moved from Kentucky to Florida about a year ago. It wasn’t fun. It was stressful. I lost things. Now, imagine moving $11.7 billion in gold bars and coins.

Seven Central Banks Increase Gold Reserves

Gold-buying by central banks has slowed from the record pace we saw in 2018 and 2019, but many countries continue to load up on the yellow metal. August saw the first net global decline in central bank gold holdings, but the number was skewed by a big sale by one central bank. Overall, seven countries […]

The Central Bank Playbook Is Played Out

The Federal Reserve launched QE infinity this week. The Fed has committed to buy an “unlimited” amount of US Treasuries and mortgage-backed securities. But that’s not all. The central bank also announced it will buy some corporate bonds for the first time ever. In effect, this is money-printing on a massive scale. And of course, […]

Wyoming Considering a State Gold Depository

A bill introduced in the Wyoming House would establish a precious metals bullion depository in the state. It would not only create a safe place to store precious metals; it could also facilitate the everyday use of gold and silver in financial transactions in Wyoming and set the stage to undermine the Federal Reserve’s monopoly […]

Serbia Joins Central Bank Gold-Buying Spree

Seeking financial and economic safety and stability, Serbia has joined the global central bank gold-buying spree. National Bank of Serbia Governor Jorgovanka Tabakovic recently announced that the bank purchased nine tons of gold in October, raising the country’s reserves to just over 30 tons.

Gold Demand Up 3% in the Third Quarter

Gold demand was up 3% in the third quarter, coming in at 1,107. 9 tons, according to the Gold Demand Trends Q3 2019 report put out by the World Gold Council. Record inflows of gold into ETFs overcame weakness in the jewelry, and gold bar and coin markets to push overall demand higher. Gold mine […]

Central Bank Gold-Buying Spree Shows No Sign of Letting Up

The central bank gold-buying spree shows no sign of letting up as countries seek to diversify their reserves away from the US dollar. Globally, central banks added another net 47.5 tons of gold to their reserves in September, according to the latest data from the World Gold Council. There were no significant gold sales by […]

China Buys More Gold; Reserves Up Nearly 100 Tons on the Year

China added another 5.91 tons of gold to its reserves in August, bringing its total official gold purchases on the year to almost 100 tons, according to data released by the People’s Bank of China over the weekend. It was the ninth straight month of gold purchases for China as it continues efforts to diversify […]

The Fed Is Chasing Unicorns

Last November, Fed Chair Jerome Powell said interest rates were “just below the broad range of estimates of the level that would be neutral for the economy.” This was the excuse for the central bank’s monetary policy 180 and set the stage for the “Powell Pause.” Central bankers are perpetually on a quest to find […]

Central Bank Gold Purchases Hit Highest Level Since 2008

Central bank gold purchases hit a level not seen since 2008 through the first two months of 2019. Central banks added 90 tons of gold in the first two months of this year according to the latest report by the World Gold Council. This compares to 56 tons through the first two months of 2018 […]