Peter's Blog

Comex Vaults See Inventory Fall 3% in the Last Month

Gold continues to flow out of COMEX vaults at a rapid pace. Inventory fell 3% in the last month alone. This analysis focuses on gold and silver within the Comex/CME futures exchange. See the article What is the Comex? for more detail.

Chinese Gold Consumption Boomed in January

Chinese gold consumption boomed during the January holiday season. This continued the 2021 trend where Chinese gold demand climbed back above prepandemic levels.

Treasury Realizes First Surplus in Nearly 2.5 Years

The US Treasury realized a monthly surplus of $118.7 billion in January. It was the first budget surplus since September 2019 and the largest since it realized a $160 billion surplus in April of 2019. The surplus was driven by high revenue from a continued surge in Individual Taxes. This was combined with shrinking expenditures […]

Uh-Oh! SchiffGold Friday Gold Wrap Feb. 11, 2022

The Federal Reserve still seems to be hoping that inflation will just go away on its own or that it can jawbone it down by projecting a few little rate hikes. But the Consumer Price Index data keeps dashing its hopes. In this episode of the Friday Gold Wrap, host Mike Maharrey talks about the […]

Unrounded MoM CPI Was 0.65%; Price Increases Are Widespread

The latest seasonally adjusted inflation rate for January was 0.65% month over month, with a non-seasonally adjusted annual rate of 7.48%. Both of these numbers came in above expectations. As hypothesized last month, it was very possible that Omicron temporarily restrained inflation in December and a rebound should be expected. It did not take long for […]

Central Banks Bought More Gold to Close Out 2021

Central banks globally added a net 14.2 tons of gold to their reserves in December, according to the latest data from the World Gold Council. Central bank gold buying was up 82% year-on-year. Turkey was the biggest buyer in December, adding 10.1 tons of gold to its reserves. That boosted the country’s total gold holdings […]

2021 Trade Deficit Shatters Historical Record Set Back in 2006

In December 2021, the US ran up a total trade deficit of -$80.7 billion, just a tick shy of the record -$80.8 billion set in September. The Goods Deficit increased by 3.2% to come in at -$101.4B, eclipsing the -$100B mark for the first time ever. This capped off a year in which the trade […]

ETFs Globally Chart Healthy Inflows of Gold to Start 2022

Global ETF gold holdings started off 2022 with a healthy increase. Global gold ETFs recorded net inflows of 46.3 tons last month as gold investment demand returned with decades-high inflation and heightened market volatility. Total ETF gold holdings globally ended January at 3,615.6 tons, according to the latest data from the World Gold Council.

Are There Tremors in the Gold Market?

As reported last week, multiple data points in the COMEX are starting to flash yellow in the gold market. Cash settlements are at a recent high, open interest has spiked in March to way above normal, and roll costs are creeping up. Are these tremors in the gold market?

Treasury Increases Short-Term Debt by $200B as Total Debt Crosses $30T

The Treasury added almost $400 billion of debt in January, the third most since July 2020. As the month closed out, the national debt eclipsed $30 trillion. The other two larger debt increases both came right after the debt ceiling was raised. Perhaps most important is the fact that almost $200B of the newly added […]