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(Schiff)—The first half of 2023 was a record-breaking moment for central bank gold buying, led by none other than China and Russia. Organizations like the World Gold Council reported a staggering increase compared to 2022:
“On a year-to-date basis, central banks have bought an astonishing net 800t, 14% higher than the same period last year.”
Whether or not The January Effect will apply to the gold price as we finish the first month of 2024, there are plenty of indicators that the central bank buying spree will continue for at least the first half of the new year. Accelerating de-dollarization is just one factor, as powerhouses like China and Russia continue strategically moving further and further from the grips of USD hegemony.
Of course, actions by the Biden administration to isolate Russia with sanctions in the wake of the Ukraine conflict only provide further impetus for the Russians to continue divesting in any way they can from the US dollar. Combined with a volatile ruble and a wave of new American spending to feed its proxy wars in Ukraine and Israel, it only makes sense that Russia’s gold coffers will continue to grow.
You can also bet on China and Russia buying significantly more gold than what gets reported publicly, so the real numbers are always higher than they seem. As Jim Richards has pointed out many times, such as in this tweet from Q1 last year, countries like Russia and China hold gold acquired through off-the-books buying programs that far exceed what they officially claim:
“Central Bank of Russia reported a gain of 30 metric tonnes in its gold reserves. That’s after a year of flatlining more likely due to non-reporting than non-acquisition. Nice to see Russia back in the game.”
For more central bank gold-buying fuel, the Fed, claiming victory against inflation, has actually given up on fighting it. The Fed knows it backed itself into a corner and has no choice but to lower rates in 2024 — which means central banks will need a way to hedge against those easier money policies. And while the Fed’s balance sheet shrank in 2023, it didn’t even come close to closing the gap created by the trillions it added during the Covid era. Of course, that wouldn’t stop Powell from running his victory lap at 2023’s final post-FOMC press conference about stopping rate hikes:
“That’s us thinking we’ve done enough.”
However, lower rates in 2024 would bolster the case for even more inflation, not less — leading to a tanking dollar and surging relative prices for gold and other commodities. Peter Schiff isn’t the only one to have pointed this out, but all you have to do is forget what central banks say and look at what they do. The stage is set for banks to add more gold to their reserves to hedge against downward pressures on the dollar, even as the Fed claims victory over the inflation battle. The only question is which will occur first: a dollar crisis or a sovereign debt collapse? Central bankers aren’t going to wait to find out.
It's only the 2nd day of Jan. and the #NationalDebt already blew past $34 trillion. I think 2024 will set a record for the largest one-year increase in the U.S. National Debt in history. The only question is will there be a sovereign debt or #dollar crisis before the year ends.
— Peter Schiff (@PeterSchiff) January 3, 2024
After all, in 2023, not even higher nominal yields managed to slow down gold’s rally. Booming Treasury yields reflect less certainty in the health of the economy, not more, as investors flee to the perceived safety of Treasurys and bonds. But what goes up must come down, and a collapse in the Treasurys market would nuke the dollar, taking the rest of the economy with it:
“…a Treasurys crash will force the value of the dollar to plunge, which will lead to a brutal economic downturn — one in which the “standard of living” in the country will drop dramatically.”
Finally, 2024 brings even more uncertainty in the face of the US’s continuing proxy conflicts and, notably, a US presidential election that is reinforcing a global picture of domestic political instability. With candidates on both sides like RFK Jr. and Vivek Ramaswamy embracing anti-establishment messages about reigning in central banks, the military-industrial complex, and the US debt spiral, there are plenty of candidates shaking the nest in ways that would have been unheard of just a couple elections ago. As Robin Tsui of the South China Morning Post points out, somewhat obviously:
“…the potential for US government shutdowns, fiscal policy debates, and political stand-offs ahead of the 2024 US election cycle persist.”
It’s true that many economists and Fed officials haven’t given up hope for a ”soft landing” next year, which would imply decreasing demand for gold. But as time has pressed on, this is a claim that even they admit could end up being proven hollow. To any honest observer, more signs of instability, inflation, negative-yielding debt, and election-year madness all point to a strong need for safety throughout this year.
Looking past the claims that US bankers and officials are making in public, central banks know the truth: they need to keep gobbling gold. It’s the only strategic maneuver that makes sense, with few other meaningful ways to protect themselves from becoming collateral damage in the confluence of self-destructive economic meddling, overstretched foreign entanglements, and election-year political turmoil in the US.
Angel Reese Slammed After Bragging About COVID Vaccinations – ‘Waiting for the Next One to Come Out’
by Western Journal
When young people say dumb things, those who know better tend to err on the side of grace. After all, let them make their mistakes. On the other hand, when those young people emerge as athletic stars and then build a platform from which to spew nonsense in a way…
Sylvester Stallone Survived an Abortion: “I Was Brought Into the World by Accident”
by Life Site News
Sylvester Stallone, known for his roles in Creed and Rocky, opened up about surviving an abortion attempt. His daughters, Sophia and Sistine Stallone, host the Unwaxed Podcast. They interviewed their father about his new Netflix documentary, “Sly.” During the episode, they discussed Stallone’s childhood, something that is addressed in the…
‘What the F***’: Joe Rogan Destroys NYT Headline Warning About Dangers of Constitution
by Daily Wire
Podcaster Joe Rogan absolutely destroyed a recent New York Times headline that warned about the dangers of the U.S. Constitution, suggesting that there’s no amount of “gaslighting” the news organization could do to make him see their side. During “The Joe Rogan Experience” podcast, Rogan and his guest evolutionary biologist,…
What Do They Know? Russia Increases Daily Gold Purchases by 700%
by Sponsored Post
In a significant move, Russia’s Finance Ministry has announced plans to allocate 8.2 billion rubles ($92 million) each day for gold and foreign currency purchases until October 4, the nation’s Finance Minister announced. “The amount of funds allocated for purchases of foreign currency and gold totals 172.9 billion rubles,” the…
CNN Data Guru Says Trump Will Win if He “Outperforms His Current Polls by Just a Single Point”
by Jason Cohen, Daily Caller News Foundation
(DCNF)—CNN senior data reporter Harry Enten said on Friday that former President Donald Trump will win the November election if he can slightly surpass his current poll projections. Vice President Kamala Harris is leading Trump by just 0.2% in the top seven battleground states, according to the RealClearPolling average. Enten,…
New Jobs Report Shows Millions of Americans Lost Jobs to ‘Foreign-Born’ Workers, F/T Work Yields to P/T
by Red State
Trying to nail down Joe Biden or Kamala Harris on the number of jobs they’ve “created” — the government does not create jobs; it can create economic conditions that can lead to job creation or job losses — during the last disastrous three-and-a-half years is like trying to nail Jell-O…
Putin Avoids ‘Kursk Trap’ as His Troops Poised to Take Pokrovsk
by SHTF Plan
President Putin has continued to downplay Ukraine’s major Kursk invasion, which has resulted in Russian territory occupied by Kiev forces, and has instead maintained that capturing and holding all the Donbas in eastern Ukraine remains the goal. “We have to deal with these thugs who made it into Russia,” he…
Leaked Army Advisory Warns of Migrant Gang Violence in Major Cities
by The National Pulse
A threat advisory issued by the U.S. Army to Department of Defense (DOD) personnel across the country warns the Venezuelan gang Tren de Aragua (TdA) has established a significant foothold in multiple American cities and poses a serious danger to local, state, and federal law enforcement. The document—designated as Controlled…
Are You Ready for the Big Steal … Again?
by Richard Blakley, WND
(WND)—The 2020 election was a mess. Only the gullible and self-deceived believe Joe Biden legally obtained more votes than any presidential candidate in U.S. history. If this were true, Democrats would have beaten their drums concerning this “historic” vote, like the pig in the old Valleydale Sausage commercials, but even…
YouTube Uses DOJ Allegations to Justify Axing Tenet Media’s Channel Without Due Process
by The Federalist
The widely used video platform YouTube removed Tenet Media and related channels from its services on Thursday after the Justice Department accused the company of partaking in a secret Russian influence operation. The revelation comes days after the Biden Department of Justice (DOJ) announced the seizure of nearly three dozen…
Has Anyone Noticed That We Know More About Yesterday’s School Shooter Than Crooks?
by Hot Air
The mainstream media has already done a deep dive into the bizarre details of the perpetrator of yesterday’s school shooting, and we have gotten more media availabilities from law enforcement on the events than we have yet gotten from July 13th’s attack on Donald Trump and the three other victims…
Strong Dad Engagement Programs Are Funding the Fight for Fatherhood to Save the Fatherless
by Caldron Pool
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Ex-CNN Analyst Says Commiela Harris “Has More Riding On” the Debate Than Trump, She’ll Be “More Nervous”
by Jason Cohen, Daily Caller News Foundation
(DCNF)—Former CNN political analyst Chris Cilizza said Friday he believes that the upcoming presidential debate holds more significance for Vice President Kamala Harris than it does for former President Donald Trump. Trump and Harris are slated to compete in their only scheduled presidential debate on ABC News on Tuesday. Cillizza…