Peter's Blog

Ol’ Joe Takes the Wheel: SchiffGold Friday Gold Wrap Jan. 22, 2021

Joe Biden took the country’s wheel on Wednesday. For some, it was a day of celebration. And for some, it was a day of mourning, depending on your political perspective. But what is really in store for us in the Biden years? In this episode of the Friday Gold Wrap podcast, host Mike Maharrey considers […]

Indian Gold Market Shows Signs of Revival

India ranks as the second-largest gold consuming country in the world, second only behind China. But over the last couple of years, the gold market in India has languished due to a combination of record-high gold prices in rupee terms and the economic impacts of the coronavirus pandemic. But were signs of revival in the […]

ETFs Charted Record Gold Inflows in 2020; Holdings Hit All-Time High

Gold-backed ETFs recorded record net gold inflows, pushing holdings globally to record levels in 2020. On net, ETFs globally added 877 tons of gold last year worth about $47.9 billion. Gold holdings rose by over one-third, ending the year at a record 3,752 tons, according to data released by the World Gold Council.

Fun on Friday: What a Find!

I would make the world’s worst archeologist. I’m just not good at finding things. I’m the guy who stares into the cabinet right at the salt shaker and then asks his wife, “Where’s the salt.” So, yeah, a job that involved searching for stuff that has been hidden for hundreds or even thousands of years […]

Spend! Spend! Spend! SchiffGold Friday Gold Wrap Jan. 15, 2021

The US government ran the biggest December deficit in history last month and there is no end in sight to the borrowing and spending. President Biden unveiled a new $1.9 trillion stimulus plan this week. So what? Why does it matter? Can’t this “rescue the economy?” Host Mike Maharrey talks about all of the spending […]

Six Central Banks Increased Gold Reserves in November

Six central banks added gold to their reserves in November. Purchases totaled 16.8 tons, consistent with the level of purchases in both August and September. On net, central banks were sellers globally in November, thanks to a large decrease in reserves by the Turkish central bank, according to the latest data reported by the World […]

Russia Holds More Gold Than Dollars for First Time in History

For the first time ever, Russia holds more gold than US dollars. According to a Central Bank of Russia report published this week and analyzed by Bloomberg, gold made up 23% of the Central Bank of Russia’s reserves as of the end of June. The bank’s share of dollar assets dropped to 22%. In 2018, […]

Fun on Friday: Try Harder

The last time I wrote about gold smuggling, I was impressed by the pain a man was willing to endure in order to hide gold from authorities. He literally stuck gold bars up his rear — two pounds of gold. Ouch. But today I have a different kind of smuggling story. It is impressive not […]

2021 Says “Hold My Beer!” SchiffGold Friday Gold Wrap Jan. 8, 2021

Everybody was happy to get 2020 behind them. We figured it can’t get any crazier. Then 2021 showed up and said, “Hold my beer!” During the first full week of 2021, we had surprise election results and protests that went sideways in Washington D.C. That produced strange reactions on Wall Street. In this episode of […]

American Gold Eagle Sales Up 455% in 2020

Demand for physical gold and silver surged last year as smart investors sought safe haven from a record-breaking expansion in the money supply, record federal budget deficits, and quantitative easing set to infinity. Sales of US gold and silver bullion coins at the US Mint hit a 4-year high in 2020.