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The recent development of the Chinese government no longer restricting Gold and silver ownership and now actively promoting it is a very, very big deal (see article reporting this here and see this clip from Chinese television promoting silver - please remember that this item would not appear on Chinese television without explicit central government approval). To quote from the linked article:
"The Chinese are being converted from being the lowest per capita [G]old consumers in the world to a nation of small precious metals investors. Now, by next year, Chinese consumption of [G]old is likely to exceed that of India, which has been for years the world's biggest [G]old market."
This will generate huge physical demand for Gold and silver. I am currently intermediate-term bearish on silver and neutral on Gold because I still believe we need another deflationary price wave of asset liquidation. However, this story is a longer term development that is wildly bullish for precious metals investors and owners.
The physical markets for Gold and silver are severely constrained. Those who say otherwise are dishonest or ignorant. Paper Gold and silver, which is not the same as Gold and silver at all, is plentiful. It is easy to buy the GLD ETF, a futures contract or some other paper proxy for actual physical Gold. I think these instruments defeat the purpose of Gold and silver investing and actually help to keep the price much lower than it should be. I do not advise paper Gold. Those who want paper investments should invest in Gold mining companies, but I think it is prudent to first secure some physical Gold as a portfolio anchor and insurance against paper defaults.
The development of the Chinese government actively encouraging physical precious metal investment is not just important because of the sheer physical demand this move will generate. It is also philosophically and politically important and is yet another sign post pointing to the end of U.S. Dollar hegemony for those who care to pay attention.
A government with a fiat currency that is backed by nothing but paper promises should be trying to get its citizens to despise Gold! Gold is the enemy of fiat currency regimes and always has been. America has been taught that Gold investing is kooky or weird and for "end of the world" types. This mantra has been repeated by the mainstream financial community over and over and Americans, in aggregate, have been brainwashed to believe it.
Why wouldn't the Chinese, who have an unbacked paper currency pegged to America's unbacked paper currency, promote saving money in Yuan to their people? Why wouldn't they tell their people how strong their banks are and how they can earn 5% or 10% on a long-term certificate of deposit? In short, why aren't they lying to their people about money as our government lies to us?
There aren't many reasonable options for this conundrum. They all center around one theme: the Chinese government wants more Gold and silver within its borders. Why would it want that? What is the point of the central government promoting an investment class that creates very few jobs and has little prospect for immediately growing the Chinese economy?
I believe China is preparing for a post-U.S. Dollar world and I believe they are planning to promote a precious metals backed currency in some form (whether their own or an international currency for trading purposes). I believe this is being done methodically and gradually by China and I believe it has grave long-term implications for the U.S. Dollar.
Though not good for the U.S. Dollar, a return to sound currency on any scale is a welcome development in my mind. Gold is money. Gold is a check on spendthrift governments that insist on Keynesian insanity. Gold stands in the way of those who believe increasing the indebtedness of a country is a way to grow or stimulate anything besides debt and increased central bank power.
While China has begun promoting real savings to their people, the United States continues to deny reality and promote toxic waste to its citizens, pretending that our Dollar is strong and our banking system is solvent. When demand for Gold and silver increases in the United States, our government conveniently stops making the retail coins they are legally bound to produce. The more popular these U.S. Mint coins become, the less our government wants to make them. Here's a previous rant on this topic.
When stepping back from the day to day price swings, this is a big picture of an emerging economy and a declining one. It is not pretty. And please don't think I'm excited by the prospect of China gaining global power - I'm not. I wish it weren't so. American citizens need to buy physical metal in much bigger quantities than they have so far. Our government should be promoting physical precious metal investment and should be falling all over themselves to provide an unlimited supply of U.S. minted Gold and other precious metal coins. But alas, up is down and right is left in a fiat world, so all I can do is scream and yell in cyberspace to let off a little steam and hopefully let a few people know what's coming so they can prepare.
As an aside, many people have asked me about how to buy and store precious metals. I am going to summarize how easy it is in one long-winded paragraph!
You can buy $10,000 worth of Gold by buying ten 1 ounce coins and it is roughly the same physical size as a $10 roll of quarters. Why are people concerned about storage? If you can't find a safe place to put an object the size of a $10 roll of quarters, then you may have to consider paying for a safety deposit box or other storage facility. If you have hundreds of thousands of dollars to invest, well that's a different story (email me - let's do lunch!). I recommend government 1 ounce coins for novice investors (e.g., American Eagles, Canadian Maple Leafs, South African Krugerrands, Austrian Philharmonics) and they can be mail ordered with minimal shipping costs (may be cheaper than using a local coin shop but there's nothing wrong with comparison shopping for such a big purchase). I would buy whichever of these 1 ounce coins has the lowest price on the day you are ready to make a purchase and avoid "rare" or "special" coins and just go for the plain Jane cheapest 1 oz. government Gold coins you can find. I have used several dealers in the past and never had a problem with any of them but I like apmex.com and gainesvillecoins.com (no financial relationship with these firms other than as a customer).
Let's get physical along with China and restore some of the wealth destroyed over the past few years by replacing it with actual debt-free savings.