U.S. withdraws from Iran nuclear deal
Oil jumps past $70
Argentina hikes interest rates to 40%
S. 10 year disparity
Western buying returns to gold
Gold and silver both ended slightly up in a week dominated by heightening geopolitical news, weakening inflation data, and emerging market concerns.With gold closing the week at $1,318 (up 0.28%), €1,104 (0.37%), and £973 (0.2%).
In sterling, gold was up strongly on Thursday following the BOE’s decision not to raise rates, and from the weaker than expected industrial production data.

Gold Price in GBP, May 2018(see more posts on Gold prices, ) – Click to enlarge
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– Click to enlarge
On Tuesday the

– $8.8B Sprott Inc. sees higher gold on massive consumer debt, defaults & bankruptcies – Rising and record U.S. debt load may cause financial stress, weaken dollar and see gold go higher– Massive government and consumer debt eroding benefits of wage growth (see chart)
by Bloomberg
Rising U.S. interest rates, usually bad news for gold, are instead feeding signs of financial stress among debt-laden consumers and helping drive demand for the metal as a haven.
That’s the argument of Sprott Inc., a precious-metals-focused fund manager that oversees $8.8 billion in assets. The following four charts lay out the case for why gold could be poised to rise even as the Federal Reserve tightens monetary policy.
Gold futures have

Buy Gold, Silver Time After Speculators Reduce Longs and Banks Reduce Shorts
– Gold and silver COT suggests bottoming and price rally coming– Speculators cut way back on long positions and added to short bets– Commercials/banks significantly reduced short positions– Commercial net short position saw biggest one-week decline in COMEX history– ‘Big 4’ commercial traders decreased their short positions by 28,800 contracts
– Seasonally, January is generally a good month to own gold (see table)
– “If history is still reliable, January will be a great month to own precious metals”

Concentration of Traders in the CFTC COTs – Click to enlarge
Have you found the gold price in the last few months to be particularly

Bitcoin – Plan Your Exit Strategy Now – Maybe With Gold Made money in bitcoin? Well done. Don’t wait until the stampede starts. Here’s what you must do now. by Dominic Frisby in Money Week So there I was on Sunday afternoon, doing what it is one does on a Sunday – very little in …

Deepening Crisis In Hyper-inflationary Venezuela and Zimbabwe
– Real inflation in Zimbabwe is 313 percent annually and 112 percent on a monthly basis
– Venezuela’s new 100,000-bolivar note is worth less oday thehan USD 2.50
– Maduro announces plans to eliminate all physical cash
– Gold rises in response to ongoing crises

One Hundred Trillion Dollars Zimbabwe – Click to enlarge
A military coup-de-grace in Zimbabwe and a bankrupt Venezuela. Both countries have extreme hyperinflation, citizens are starving and basic medical treatment is near impossible to find. These are the real world problems 47.5 million people are currently facing.
Presidents Robert Mugabe and Nicolas Maduro both deny the crises in their

by Dominic Frisby of Money Week Every year, Ronald-Peter Stoeferle and Mark J Valek of investment and asset management company Incrementum put together the report In Gold We Trust – 160-plus pages of charts and thoughts, mostly gold-related, on the state of the world’s finances. There’s so much to look at and consider. It’s a sort of digital equivalent of …

Commodities King Gartman Says Gold Soon Reach $1,400 As Drums of War Grow Louder – ‘Commodities King’ Gartman sees $1,400 gold surge in months- “Gold is the one currency that will do the best of all…”- Pullback below $1300 “is relatively inconsequential”- Use gold price weakness to be a buyer “no question”- Bullish on gold …

U.S. Treasury Secretary: I Assume Fort Knox Gold Is Still There US Treasury Secretary Steve Mnuchin visits Fort Knox Gold Later tweeted ‘Glad gold is safe!’ Only the third Treasury Secretary to visit the fortified vault, last visit was 1948 Last Congressional visit was 1974 Speculation over existence of gold in Fort Knox is rife …

Bitcoin Fork, Hyped ICOs – Immutable Gold and Silver
Latest developments show risks in crypto currencies
Confusion as bitcoin may split tomorrow
SEC stepped into express concern over ICOs
ICOs have so far raised $1.2 billion in 2017
ICOs preying on lack of understanding from investors
Physical gold not vulnerable to technological risk
Beauty and safety in simplicity of gold and silver
Forks and ICOs solves bitcoin v gold debate
There is still a huge amount of noise in the bitcoin and cryptocurrency space but there have been a few developments of late which have pushed the space further into maturity.
From what I can tell from dinner party conversations people who are vaguely aware of bitcoin now know that there are

Commercial Property Market Is Inflated and May Burst Again by David McWilliams Dublin property investors had better hope that Brexit happens soon. They should also hope that it’s not just a ‘hard’ Brexit, but a granite Brexit — a Brexit that’s as hard as possible. They should be betting on the buffoonery of Boris Johnson, …

Gold Hedges Against Currency Devaluation and Cost Of Fuel, Food, Beer and Housing  – Gold hedge against currency devaluation – cost of fuel, food, housing- True inflation figures reflect impact on household spending- Household items climbed by average 964%- Pint of beer sees biggest increase in basket of goods – rise of 2464%- Bread rises 836%, …

Millennials Can Punt On Bitcoin, Own Gold and Silver For Long Term  – Bitcoin volatility shows not currency or safe haven but speculation- Volatility still very high in bitcoin and crypto currencies (see charts)- Bitcoin fell 25% over weekend; Recent high of $3,000 fell to below $1,900- Bitcoin least volatile of cryptos, around 75% annualised …

“Time To Position In Gold Is Right Now” – Rickards   – “Time to position in gold is right now” – James Rickards- Fed has hit the ‘pause’ button; No more rate hikes for foreseeable future- Fed’s theories “bear no relation to reality” and has “blundered by raising rates”- Growth is weak, inflation is weak, retail sales …

Silver Analysts Forecast $20 In Bloomberg Silver Price Survey  – Bloomberg silver price survey – Large majority bullish on silver- Silver median “12 month-forecast” of $20- Precious metal analysts see silver “24 percent rally from current levels”- Investors are pouring money into silver ETFs- Speculative funds bearish even as ETF assets rise to record- Spec funds being …

History of Gold – How the gold industry has changed over 50 years
Thomson Reuters GFMS have compiled an interesting high level history of the gold industry in the last fifty years.
Topics covered and interesting historical facts to note include:
– Gold market size- Gold mine production "peaked in 2015"- South African production collapse from 1,000 tonnes- South African gold was flown to London and Zurich and an airliner had its own designated landing areas at Heathrow where gold moved directly from the place to secure vaults- It may still do – that is shrouded in secrecy!- Political concerns in France in 1968 saw massive demand- Strong demand in Japan in late 1980s when insurance companies were investing up to 3% of portfolios in gold- Record demand in the wake of the financial crisis- Investment in gold – Coin and bar demand rising globally- Massive uptake of bullion in the Far East, especially China- History of gold shows gold’s continuing importance as safe haven asset
Demand for physical gold investment. Source: GFMS Gold Survey
GFMS Gold Survey is recognized as an important source of information on developments in the gold market and have celebrated the Gold Survey’s 50th anniversary, by conducting a high-level look at the history of the gold market in the past half century.

Gold Bullion Coin Worth $4 Million, Stolen in Berlin Museum Heist
 – Gold coin called ‘Million Dollar Gold Coin’ or ‘Big Maple Leaf’ stolen from Berlin museum early on Monday- World’s purest gold coin and in the Guinness Book of Records for its purity of 99999 fine gold- Gold coin was legal tender, investment grade, bullion coin and only 5 other coins were minted- The other ‘Million Dollar Gold Coin’ is still available for sale by GoldCore safely stored in vaults in Ottawa- Royal Canadian Mint minted the gold coin in 2007 and carries imprint of Queen Elizabeth II- Like all bullion coins, is worth much more than its legal tender value- Gold should be stored in secure vaults, in safe jurisdictions such as Singapore, Hong Kong and Zurich

When debating whether or not gold has value or not, the naysayers will often argue that it is a "pet rock" and just a shiny, heavy, cumbersome piece of yellow metal that has no "intrinsic" value.
Ignoring the fact that the majority of humanity still know that gold remains great valued. Even daring thieves realise the value of gold and will go to great lengths to get their hands on it.
Yesterday morning German police received a call from Berlin’s Bode Museum saying that one of the  ‘Big Maple Leaf’ coins had been stolen over the weekend.

Digital Gold On The Blockchain – For Now Caveat Emptor
– Bitcoin surpasses gold price – a psychological and arbitrary headline 
– Royal Mint blockchain gold asks you to trust in the UK government
– Royal Canadian Mint and GoldMoney blockchain product asks you to trust in government and the technology, servers, websites etc of the providers
– Invest in a gold mine using cryptocurrency – but wait until 2022 for your gold and trust the miners that it is there
– Blockchain and gold will likely make a “good team”, but they’re not ready yet

Bitcoin Gold, 2012 – 2017 – Click to enlarge

Are we nearly there yet? Gold on the blockchain.
In the last few weeks there have been significant developments in the world of gold, digital gold, blockchain and bitcoin. Those who have expressed an interest in gold investment, may have received articles from friends and family about how bitcoin prices reached parity with the yellow metal.
We have long argued that bitcoin and gold should be seen as complementary assets. But not everyone agrees and it doesn’t make a good story.

Digital Gold On The Blockchain – For Now Caveat Emptor
– Bitcoin surpasses gold price – a psychological and arbitrary headline 
– Royal Mint blockchain gold asks you to trust in the UK government
– Royal Canadian Mint and GoldMoney blockchain product asks you to trust in government and the technology, servers, websites etc of the providers
– Invest in a gold mine using cryptocurrency – but wait until 2022 for your gold and trust the miners that it is there
– Blockchain and gold will likely make a "good team", but they’re not ready yet
Are we nearly there yet? Gold on the blockchain.
In the last few weeks there have been significant developments in the world of gold, digital gold, blockchain and bitcoin. Those who have expressed an interest in gold investment, may have received articles from friends and family about how bitcoin prices reached parity with the yellow metal.
We have long argued that bitcoin and gold should be seen as complementary assets. But not everyone agrees and it doesn’t make a good story. Given bitcoin was first touted, and still is by some, as ‘digital gold’ or ‘as good as gold, but better’ then it has been inevitable that each time there is a significant movement in the bitcoin price then the media starts once again to pitch them against one another in a simplistic ‘cash of the currency titans’ narrative.

Gold Investing 101 – Beware Unallocated Gold Accounts With Indebted Bullion Banks and Mints (Part II)

Investors looking to gold again but gold buyers need to exert caution
Royal Mint – a royally expensive way to help the government
Unallocated gold – unsecured creditor of a bank?
If you cannot hold it, you do not own it
Own gold bullion coins as insurance, to reduce counter party risk and to preserve wealth
Conclusion – Reduce counter parties, Don’t over complicate

Yesterday we pointed out how the gold market is seeing renewed interest from new, first time gold buyers and gold investors. Concern unites them – they are concerned about the current trajectory of the world – politically, financially, economically, monetarily and environmentally.
As the old adage goes though – ‘all the glitters is not gold’ and novice, and indeed experienced, investors need to be careful that they are not seduced by ‘shiny trinkets’ which look ostensibly attractive but in fact are fraught with risk and not the safe haven that gold bullion is – when owned in the safest ways possible.
We looked at collectible gold and silver coins with massive premiums, gold plated coins masquerading as "pure gold coins" and the assortment of such coins for sale on eBay and other online retail platforms.

Importance of Hiding Gold Creatively and Securely If Taking Delivery

Why gold retains value?
Interesting unknown gold facts
"Prepare your jaws for a sizeable drop!"
History, finite, rare and peak gold
"It is beautiful to look at…"
‘Heavy metal’ – Thud sound of a gold bar (kilo)
‘Going for gold’ – Olympic gold medals to Chelthenham ‘Gold Cup’
Peak gold … "Hard work to get gold out of the ground…"
How much an Oscar is actually worth?
Importance of hiding gold creatively and securely if taking delivery
Owning a safe – "hidden away and bolted down"
Owning gold in secure storage in Zurich, Singapore and Hong Kong

Talking all things gold with @MarkTOByrne, the #Oscars statue is only worth €600! This gold bar however is worth €35,000! #DermotAndDave pic.twitter.com/nFrzrucDZS

It’s the day after the Oscars and we’ve got gold on our minds!

Mark O’Byrne from Goldcore Ireland popped in to chat to Dermot & Dave this morning.
Mark told us lots of interesting facts that we didn’t know and revealed how much an Oscar is actually worth…
The entire statue is actually only sprayed with gold and is therefore worth a measly €600.

The Oscars – Worth Their Weight in Gold?

89th Oscars to air this weekend
Oscars have been dipped in 24 karat gold since 1929
If the Oscars were made of solid gold they would weigh 330 ounces
330 ounces of gold is worth $408,210 at today’s prices (nearly €400k & £330k)
Oscars cannot be sold, making them a tricky investment piece
Steven Spielberg keeps his gold Oscar with the Academy for ‘safe-keeping’
Shows importance of owning gold in safest ways
Price of gold has climbed from $20.67 since the first Oscars ceremony to over $1,237 today

‘We All Dream In Gold’ read the strap line for last year’s Academy Awards. This is no doubt still the case for the nominees of the 24 awards set to be given out at this Sunday’s 89th Oscars.
Since the first awards in 1929 nearly 3,000 oscar statues have been awarded to the lucky darlings of the film industry. After the teary speeches, after-parties and press junkets following their win, what is left for those who have achieved the highest-level of recognition in the film industry?

Winning an Oscar is an expensive business, studios spend millions trying to get their hands on at least one, each year. But film and celebrity is a fickle trade and few people can remember who received Oscars last year, let alone when they were first launched in 1929.

Prince, RIP, owned gold bars worth just over $800,000 according to the statement filed in a Minnesota court last Friday.

At the time of his death, Prince had taken delivery of and had in his possession 67 gold bars, 10 ounce gold bars, valued at $836,166.70. That’s according to an asset inventory compiled by Bremer Trust released by the Carver County District Court, as first reported by the Minneapolis Star Tribune.
The release inventory showed that the “Purple Rain” singer had no stocks, bonds, or other financial assets, but did have a substantial amount of land, property, cash and gold bars.
Besides the gold bars, Prince also had “about $110,000 in four bank accounts, unclaimed property, capital credits and cash” according to the Minneapolis Star Tribune.
He also had a dozen tracts of land in Carver and Hennepin, Minnesota that have an estimated total value of $25.4 million.
His estate has been valued between $100 million and $300 million before taxes, which are expected to claim roughly half.
Among the items that have not yet been assigned a specific value are the ‘When Doves Cry’ singer’s musical instruments, household furnishings, jewellery and his famous ‘Purple Rain’ and ‘Graffiti Bridge’ motorcycles.
In addition, the value of Prince’s copyrights and trademarks are still unclear.

Gold Price In GBP Rises 4% On Brexit and UK Economy Risks
– Pound fell 2% against gold yesterday after Theresa May created Brexit concerns 
– May’s ‘Hard Brexit’ denial does not calm markets growing fears
– Investors concerned about lack of government strategy and uncertainty
– UK Prime Minister bizarrely blames media and “those who print things” for sterling depreciation
– GBP gold builds on 31% gain in 2016 with 4% gain so far in 2017

Gold Price in GBP(see more posts on gold price, )Gold in GBP – 1 Year and Timeline (GoldCore)

1. June 24: Brexit: Gold surged 20% in sterling to £1,015/oz in two days after UK votes to leave EU
2. August 4: Bank of England expands QE – launches latest massive money printing experiment
3. October 6: “Flash crash” — pound collapses 5% against gold in just over a minute
4. January 9: Pound falls another 2% against gold as UK PM fails to reassure markets – Click to enlarge

Gold rose to its highest in over one a month today as fears that the UK will have a ‘Hard Brexit’ with the EU led to safe-haven buying.

– Gold gains in USD, GBP, EUR, CAD, AUD, NZD, JPY
– Gold gains in CNY, INR & most emerging market currencies– Gold surges 31.5% in British pounds after Brexit shock– Gold acted as hedge and safe haven in 2016 … for those who need safe haven– Furthers signs of market having bottomed and bodes well for 2017
– What drivers will gold respond to in 2017?
–  EU elections and contagion risk, Geo-politics, terrorism, war and cyber war
–  Outlook for gold good during Trump Presidency (2017 to 2020)

Gold Price PerformanceSource: GoldPrice.org – Click to enlarge

Gold was the best performing currency in 2016, rising as it did in all major currencies. It again performed the function as a hedge against currency devaluation and this was seen particularly in sterling terms with gold rising 31.5% in British pounds after the Brexit shock.

Gold Chart in USDGold in USD in 2016

Gold prices closed 2016 at USD 1,159.10, EUR 1,098.36 and GBP 942.58 per ounce.
Gold prices closed 2015 at USD 1,062.25, EUR 974.32 and GBP 716.36 per ounce.
(Gold AM fixes on December 30th 2016 and December 31st 2015 respectively) – Click to enlarge

UK investors and savers who had an allocation to gold protected their wealth from the Brexit debacle and the sharp falls in sterling seen in its aftermath.

– Gold gains in USD, GBP, EUR, CAD, AUD, NZD, JPY
– Gold gains in CNY, INR & most emerging market currencies– Gold surges 31.5% in British pounds after Brexit shock– Gold acted as hedge and safe haven in 2016 … for those who need safe haven– Furthers signs of market having bottomed and bodes well for 2017
– What drivers will gold respond to in 2017?
–  EU elections and contagion risk, Geo-politics, terrorism, war and cyber war
–  Outlook for gold good during Trump Presidency (2017 to 2020)

Gold Price PerformanceSource: GoldPrice.org – Click to enlarge

Gold was the best performing currency in 2016, rising as it did in all major currencies. It again performed the function as a hedge against currency devaluation and this was seen particularly in sterling terms with gold rising 31.5% in British pounds after the Brexit shock.

Gold Chart in USDGold in USD in 2016

Gold prices closed 2016 at USD 1,159.10, EUR 1,098.36 and GBP 942.58 per ounce.
Gold prices closed 2015 at USD 1,062.25, EUR 974.32 and GBP 716.36 per ounce.
(Gold AM fixes on December 30th 2016 and December 31st 2015 respectively) – Click to enlarge

UK investors and savers who had an allocation to gold protected their wealth from the Brexit debacle and the sharp falls in sterling seen in its aftermath.

It has never been more important to own gold as part of a diversified portfolio. The form your gold investment takes is just as important as owning it in the first place. ETFs and pooled gold may not be functional in extreme markets and may themselves be subject to systemic risk events.

Fifty gram gold bars sit across a one kilo gold bar at bullion dealers Goldcore, in London, U.K., on Thursday, March 11, 2010. Photographer: Chris Ratcliffe/Bloomberg

We are living in extraordinary times and key to any investment plan that can weather the coming global financial storm is access to all important – liquidity.
Traditional market liquidity is drying up. Increasingly dark pools are hoovering up equity and FX volumes. Markets are becoming disjointed and prone to large wild swings. Central banks are entering the market on political mandates as opposed to a search for yield, algorithmic investors are untested in bear markets and likely unprepared. The table is set for significant disruption and systemic damage. Your gold investment may not be accessible nor liquid in times extremis.
When you buy gold as a systemic hedge you do so hoping that it will never be needed. You may even hope it falls in value, because if it is falling all your other productive assets are hopefully appreciating.

Why Krugman, Roubini, Rogoff And Buffett Dislike Gold
By Jan Skoyles  Edited by Mark O’Byrne 
A couple of weeks ago an article appeared on Bitcoin Magazine entitled ‘Some economists really hate bitcoin’.
I read it with a sigh of nostalgia. As someone who has been writing about gold for a few years, I am used to reading similar criticisms as those bitcoin receives from mainstream economists, about gold.
As with bitcoin, gold is just a step too far for many economists. Criticism is often, as with bitcoin, targeted at the people who invest in it, rather than the asset’s own track record, fundamentals and safe haven attributes – classic attacking the ball and not the man.
This frequently involves name calling and the pejorative ‘goldbug’ label. This is used to try and discredit anyone who says anything positive about gold including being bullish on the price or seeing it as an important diversification. Often some of the gold naysayers refuse to distinguish between gold as a diversification in an investment or pension portfolio and gold’s role as a hedge against currency devaluations on one side and on the other calls for a gold standard.
Two completely separate matters – one pertaining to monetary policy and the other to investing, saving and personal finances.

(Media Release – September 8, 2016 – Immediate Release) – Jan Skoyles – @Skoylesy has been appointed Research Executive  at international gold specialist @GoldCore .
As a recognized thought leader in the gold and fintech space, Jan will augment GoldCore’s research capabilities and will focus on the UK economy and gold’s role as an important diversification, payment and savings vehicle.

As one of the world’s largest and fastest growing gold bullion delivery and storage providers, GoldCore continues to focus on educating its large client and subscriber base, social media following and the wider public of the importance of owning physical gold for diversification and financial insurance purposes.
Jan Skoyles became interested in precious metals and financial technology when she wrote her dissertation on the use of gold and silver in modern monetary systems. Following graduation in 2011, she joined UK gold investment platform, The Real Asset Co, as a co-founder and Head of Research. Her work and views on both gold and fintech have been featured on a range of media including the BBC, Reuters, RT, Wall Street Journal, Al Arabiya, Forbes and The Telegraph, as well as her own online investment show, Get Real.

Deposit bail-in risks are slowly being realised in Ireland, after it emerged overnight that FBD, one of Ireland’s largest insurance companies, have been moving cash out of Irish bank deposits and into bonds.
Revelations regarding deposit bail-in risks came in the wake of warnings of a new property crash centred on the housing market in Ireland. The former deputy governor of the Central Bank warned in an op-ed in a leading international financial publication, Project Syndicate, that Ireland is at risk of another housing market crash.

Insurer FBD has moved over €150 million out of the Irish banking system and into corporate and sovereign bonds over the past year. The move was prompted by low returns offered by bank deposits and the risks that deposit bail-in rules could see deposits confiscated.
FBD chief executive Fiona Muldoon told the Irish Independent that the “extremely low returns offered on term deposits by banks, coupled with fears that new bail-in rules introduced this year by the European Union could expose bank bondholders and depositors to bailing out a failed lender, meant it has shifted investments away from banks.”
The new deposit bail-in mechanism is designed to protect banks and is touted as a way to prevent taxpayers being liable for bailing out collapsed lenders.

Deposit bail-in risks are slowly being realised in Ireland, after it emerged overnight that FBD, one of Ireland’s largest insurance companies, have been moving cash out of Irish bank deposits and into bonds.
Revelations regarding deposit bail-in risks came in the wake of warnings of a new property crash centred on the housing market in Ireland. The former deputy governor of the Central Bank warned in an op-ed in a leading international financial publication, Project Syndicate, that Ireland is at risk of another housing market crash.
Bail-In Regimes – Key Considerations (GoldCore Research)
Insurer FBD has moved over €150 million out of the Irish banking system and into corporate and sovereign bonds over the past year. The move was prompted by low returns offered by bank deposits and the risks that deposit bail-in rules could see deposits confiscated.
FBD chief executive Fiona Muldoon told the Irish Independent that the "extremely low returns offered on term deposits by banks, coupled with fears that new bail-in rules introduced this year by the European Union could expose bank bondholders and depositors to bailing out a failed lender, meant it has shifted investments away from banks."
The new deposit bail-in mechanism is designed to protect banks and is touted as a way to prevent taxpayers being liable for bailing out collapsed lenders.