The net official sales are have been below 2% of total gold held by central banks in recent years. The annual average for the past 30 years is much less 1%. This is no demonetization
Claude, gold was demonetized in 1971 when the US stopped honoring its demand notes from those seeking to take delivery of gold in exchange for their dollars.
Since then, it has taken up space, been leased out at low interest rates, but it certainly has not been used like national reserves of Euros, Pounds, Yen... etc.
Hard physical paper money sitting in a bank is an asset not being put to work. That's why banks have ALWAYS played a sort of confidence game by not backing their outstanding loans 1 for 1 with cash reserves. They didn't do this under gold either, btw.
So what the bank depends on is the statistical risk of more loans going bad or defaulting than they have cash reserves, and at the same time having depositors demanding their cash. That is what makes banks fail.
So gold sitting in a bank vault hasn't, to my knowledge, been used like its paper brethren for the purpose of currency interventions (selling one currency and buying another). It just collects lease interest.
Converting that gold (over time and not just dumping it) to other more usable forms of reserves that ARE actually used (bought and sold) for currency stabilization is a rational and long overdue policy.
As for you folks who think congress is going to be your guardian angel in this gold struggle are fooling yourselves. A politician's "currency" is his ability to obtain votes. And an economically prosperous voter is a happy voter who will re-elect the incumbent almost every time.....
If a belief in gold begins to undermine the current belief and confidence in our economy, that shiny metal will suddenly find itself orphaned muy pronto up on Capitol Hill..
Btw, the recent statements by Japan, China, ... etc, are just so many words. They are not buying gold to strengthen their currencies, whether they want to or not. If they do anything, they will buy the currency belonging to their largest marketplace so they can maintain the favorable exchange rate as the BOJ has been doing over the past several weeks.
Regards,
Ron |
