It is a soft, yellow, corrosion-resistant element, the most malleable and ductile metal, occurring in veins and alluvial deposits. A good thermal and electrical conductor, gold is generally alloyed to increase its strength. The Physical and Chemical Properties are the characteristics of a substance, like Gold, which distinguishes it from any other substance.
What are the Physical Properties of Gold?
Color Bright Yellow
Luster It has a shine or glow
Ductility It can be beaten into extremely thin sheets of gold leaf
Malleability Capable of being shaped or bent
Conductivity Good electrical conductor
Solubility Solubility (ability to be dissolved)
Hardness A relatively soft metal, gold is usually hardened by alloying with copper, silver, or other metals.
Density It is a dense metal
Melting point It melts at 1065°C
HARARE, July 5 (Reuters) - Zimbabwe's central bank said it would start selling gold coins this month as a store of value to tame runaway inflation, which has considerably weakened the local currency.
The central bank governor John Mangudya said in a statement on Monday that the coins will be available for sale from July 25 in local currency, U.S. dollars and other foreign currencies at a price based on the prevailing international price of gold and the cost of production.
The "Mosi-oa-tunya" coin, named after Victoria falls, can be converted into cash and be traded locally and internationally, the central bank said.
The gold coin will contain one troy ounce of gold and will be sold by Fidelity Gold Refinery, Aurex and local banks, it added.
Gold coins are used by investors internationally to hedge against inflation and wars.
Last week, Zimbabwe more than doubled its policy rate to 200% from 80% and outlined plans to make the U.S. dollar legal tender for the next five years to boost confidence.
Soaring inflation in the southern African country has been piling pressure on a population already struggling with shortages and stirring memories of economic chaos years ago under veteran leader Robert Mugabe’s near four-decade rule.
Annual inflation, which hit almost 192% in June, cast a shadow over President Emmerson Mnangagwa’s bid to revitalise the economy.
Zimbabwe abandoned its inflation-ravaged dollar in 2009, opting instead to use foreign currencies, mostly the U.S. dollar. The government reintroduced the local currency in 2019, but it has rapidly lost value again.
Having sparked hyperinflation in European gas prices and record energy costs around the globe with their poorly conceived and implemented Russian energy sanctions which have backfired spectacularly, allowing Moscow to reap record energy export profits and China and India to buy oil far below spot prices while leaving US motorists paying record prices at the pump, on Sunday the Biden admin alongside the G-7 announced that they will ban Russian gold imports to "further impose financial costs on Moscow for its invasion of Ukraine."
The import ban will apply to gold leaving Russia for G-7 countries for the first time, and will be codified by the US Treasury Department on Tuesday.
A worker removes gold ingots from molds at a metals plant in Kasimov, Russia.Photographer: Andrey Rudakov/Bloomberg
“The United States has imposed unprecedented costs on Putin to deny him the revenue he needs to fund his war against Ukraine,” Biden tweeted on Sunday, the first day of a G7 meeting in Germany; a formal announcement is expected later on during the summit.
“Together, the G7 will announce that we will ban the import of Russian gold, a major export that rakes in tens of billions of dollars for Russia” he added.
The United States has imposed unprecedented costs on Putin to deny him the revenue he needs to fund his war against Ukraine.
Together, the G7 will announce that we will ban the import of Russian gold, a major export that rakes in tens of billions of dollars for Russia.
While Western sanctions to punish Russia have largely closed European and US markets to gold from the world’s second-biggest bullion miner, the G-7 pledge would mark a total severance between Russia and the world’s top two trading centers, London and New York, largely a purely symbolic escalation.“What this does is formalize what the gold industry has already done anyway,” said Adrian Ash, head of research at brokerage BullionVault.
As a reminder, back in March the LBMA, or London Bullion Market Association, removed Russian gold refineries from its accredited list. As a result, shipments between Russia and London have collapsed to almost zero since the invasion of Ukraine.
Furthermore, an executive order signed by Biden on April 15 explicitly prohibits U.S. persons from engaging in gold-related transactions involving Russia’s central bank, the country’s National Wealth Fund or its finance ministry.
While refineries in theory could still import Russian gold directly, most of them have sworn off doing so. The association for Swiss refiners, which dominate the industry, denied that its members bought gold from Russia after trade data indicated the nation’s bullion had entered the country.
The official talking point here, encapsulated by the pro-Biden outlet, The Hill, is that "while it does not bring in as much money as energy, gold is a major source of revenue for the Russian economy. Restricting exports to G7 economies will cause more financial strain to Russia as it wages the war in."
That, of course, is incorrect: the biggest buyers of gold in recent years have not been G7 countries (United States, France, Canada, Germany, Japan, the United Kingdom and Italy), many of whom naively sold much if not all their gold in the recent past and have refused or simply don't have the funds to restock; instead purchases have all been by developing nation central banks (like India and Turkey, and of course China which however has a habit of only revealing its true gold inventory every decade or so) who have been quietly preparing to do what Russia is doing by dedollarizing and instead allocating capital into a counterparty-free asset.
As for Russia, its central bank has been an aggressive buyer of gold, not seller, and if anything Biden's decision will only make the gold market the latest to follow the example of oil and bifurcate: cheaper for Russian-friends and much more expensive for Russian enemies.
Still, the Hill is right in that the U.S. and its allies have been searching for more and creative ways to punish Russia for the Ukraine war that recently entered its fifth month. And whereas Biden has announced waves of penalties coordinated with allies that range from sanctions on Russian officials and oligarchs to export controls to sanctions on major Russian banks, so far the Russian ruble, which Biden gladly mocked back in February as "rubble", has since risen to a seven-year high against the euro.
Meanwhile, Europeans are also limited in what they can do because of their dependence on Russian energy imports. European countries have vowed to phase out Russian oil but have not taken steps like the U.S. to do so immediately because they simply can't. And the ironic think is that while European should be buying more gold to protect the purchasing power of their currencies ahead of the mass printing tsunami that is coming when the next recession begins, they are now voluntarily barring themselves from doing so.
As for "punishing" Russia, here is a chart of the US vs Russian current account balance: guess who is at a record surplus and who is at a record deficit.
Biden administration officials also teased new announcements to squeeze Russia ahead of Biden’s trip to Europe and it’s possible there will be more announcements beyond the plan to ban Russian gold imports. We expect all of them to backfire, especially if Biden decides to also target other Russian metals exports. As a reminder, unlike gold, flows of other metals from Russia such as copper, nickel and palladium have continued uninterrupted as Russia is simply irreplaceable in those supply chains and the commodities industry grapples with managing a long-held relationship with a major supplier of the world’s raw materials.
As for the price of gold, what happens when the second biggest gold mining nation in the world and a major source of supply is cut off from the western market...
... even if it is still allowed to transact freely with the "rest of the world" which accounts for roughly 80% of the population, and will most likely simply boost sales to China and the Middle East, both of whom will be happy to continue purchasing Russian gold? We'll find out in a few hours.
Msg. 00025 of 00028 (This msg. is a reply to
00024 by
Decomposed)
Jump:
>>>
The S&P 500 is looking at a weekly loss of 5% as it falls deeper into bear-market territory.
>>>
Ayup.
And, unlike the Y2K bubble bursting, my power companies
went down just like everything else in my portfolio.
>>>
";We are still supportive in the very near term, as we expect monetary and fiscal policy to tighten, but not as quickly as inflation," the analysts said.
>>>
I do not expect 'fiscal policy' to tighten - the demon-
crappers have no idea what that concept is.
Zim.
Mad Poet Strikes Again.
- - - - - The above is a reply to the following message:
Whatever the Fed's got gold can take it... so far
By: Decomposed in
GOLD Sat, 18 Jun 22 1:01 PM
(Kitco News) - The gold market is looking to end the week with a 2% loss; however, many precious metals investors see the price action as a major victory with gold standing up to the most aggressive Federal Reserve in nearly 30 years.
Markets are even pricing in another 75 basis point move next month as Federal Reserve Chair Powell said that inflation remains the biggest threat to the economy.
Despite this hawkish sentiment, gold prices are ending the week just below $1,850 an ounce, which has been a critical psychological level for the past month. Broadly, although gold prices ending the week in negative territory, they continue to outperform equities. The S&P 500 is looking at a weekly loss of 5% as it falls deeper into bear-market territory.
Gold prices remain relatively unchanged so far this year, while the broad stock market index is down nearly 23%.
Volatility in the marketplace is one significant reason why gold has held its ground in the face of the Federal Reserve's aggressive monetary policy tightening. Inflation continues to rise and the Fed's hawkish stance is raising the risks that the economy falls into a recession.
As to how much gold an investor should ow, Milling-Stanley said that research shows that the optimal level of gold in a portfolio is around 10%; during turbulent times that level can double. If these aren't turbulent times then I don't know what is.
";We are still supportive in the very near term, as we expect monetary and fiscal policy to tighten, but not as quickly as inflation," the analysts said.
Finally, it appears that the debate between gold and bitcoin as the best store of value has been settled. This has not been a good week for the cryptocurrency markets after Celsius Network announced that it was halting all transactions on its platform. Bitcoin the leading crypto currency is now testing support just above $20,000 an ounce. Bitcoin is down a whopping 55% year-to-date.
Some analysts are expecting further pain in digital currencies as rising interest rates reduces market liquidity.
(Kitco News) - The gold market is looking to end the week with a 2% loss; however, many precious metals investors see the price action as a major victory with gold standing up to the most aggressive Federal Reserve in nearly 30 years.
Markets are even pricing in another 75 basis point move next month as Federal Reserve Chair Powell said that inflation remains the biggest threat to the economy.
Despite this hawkish sentiment, gold prices are ending the week just below $1,850 an ounce, which has been a critical psychological level for the past month. Broadly, although gold prices ending the week in negative territory, they continue to outperform equities. The S&P 500 is looking at a weekly loss of 5% as it falls deeper into bear-market territory.
Gold prices remain relatively unchanged so far this year, while the broad stock market index is down nearly 23%.
Volatility in the marketplace is one significant reason why gold has held its ground in the face of the Federal Reserve's aggressive monetary policy tightening. Inflation continues to rise and the Fed's hawkish stance is raising the risks that the economy falls into a recession.
As to how much gold an investor should ow, Milling-Stanley said that research shows that the optimal level of gold in a portfolio is around 10%; during turbulent times that level can double. If these aren't turbulent times then I don't know what is.
";We are still supportive in the very near term, as we expect monetary and fiscal policy to tighten, but not as quickly as inflation," the analysts said.
Finally, it appears that the debate between gold and bitcoin as the best store of value has been settled. This has not been a good week for the cryptocurrency markets after Celsius Network announced that it was halting all transactions on its platform. Bitcoin the leading crypto currency is now testing support just above $20,000 an ounce. Bitcoin is down a whopping 55% year-to-date.
Some analysts are expecting further pain in digital currencies as rising interest rates reduces market liquidity.
Gold is a long-term inflation hedge and safe haven, said Gary Wagner, Editor of the GoldForecast.com and Jeff Christian, Managing Director of the CPM Group.
Speaking to David Lin, Anchor and Producer at Kitco News, Wagner and Christian agreed that under certain conditions, gold is also a hedge against stock market volatility.
Addressing the idea that gold’s role as an inflation hedge means that the price should follow the rate of inflation, Christian explained that the metal does not hedge on a short-term basis, nor does it move up when inflation is constant in the low single-digits.
“The correlation between changes in inflation and changes in gold prices is 9 percent,” he explained. “… Gold is good at protecting you against hyperinflation, but it’s not particularly good at protecting you from that gnawing 1 to 3 percent inflation.”
Hyperinflation is often defined as a at least a 50 percent monthly rise in prices.
Although Wagner agreed with Christian’s analysis, he added that gold is a long-term inflation hedge. “Gold is an excellent hedge against inflation, but it’s not sensitive to short-term moves,” he said. “But over time, what we have seen is that it has the same buying power.”
Wagner provided an example to illustrate his point.
“In 1910, with one ounce of gold, you could buy a night at the Plaza… you could buy a nice suit… and a steak dinner,” he said. An ounce of gold today can still purchase those same items, according to Wagner.
Christian defined a safe haven asset as having a low correlation to stocks and bonds, and thus protects investors against volatility. “Overall the correlation [between gold and equities] is negative 4 to 5 percent in the long-run” noting that gold is a long-term safe haven asset.
Stock markets have experienced major sell-offs, with the S&P 500 down 13 percent year-to-date.
Christian added that these recent events demonstrate gold’s safe haven properties. “The second quarter has been bad for gold and silver, and they’ll probably be down,” he explained.
“But, if you look at the first quarter… silver was the best-performing asset of 11 asset classes at 7.7 percent increase over the first quarter. Gold was second best at 6.6. [percent]… Anybody who tells you that gold and silver haven’t done their job in protecting the value of their portfolio, this is American education at its worst,” he said.
Wagner said that in general, equities and gold move in opposite directions. However, he highlighted quantitative easing as an exception to this trend.
“If you look back to 2008, when they were flooding liquidity into the markets… you had both U.S. equities and gold moving up,” he said.
Wagner posited that U.S. inflation is due to supply shortages, exacerbated by the Ukraine conflict. He added that this is far from “transitory,” saying, “Are [inflationary pressures] transitory? I think they’re a lot more persistent than the Fed assumes that they were. My sense is that inflationary pressures will run high at least through the end of the year, maybe the first quarter of next.”
Wagner added that the war in Ukraine needs to be resolved before prices return to stability.
Hey, that price check at Boston Bullion is great.
So, when ya go to redeem the gold one owns, can you expect to get the market price when ya sell them back ??
How does that work?
OR, if I were to buy a LOT of Gold say somewhere and don't necessarily wantto have the physical gold, can I cash it in later when I think it is time to sell??
Just trying to wrap my head around this.. I dang sure don't want the gubmint deciding I need to ante up my physical gold to them cause Biden has spent us into oblivion .......
Msg. 00020 of 00028 (This msg. is a reply to
00017 by
Decomposed)
Jump:
Hi De!
Back from messing around with clients..
Hey, that price check at Boston Bullion is great.
So, when ya go to redeem the gold one owns, can you expect to get the market price when ya sell them back ??
How does that work?
OR, if I were to buy a LOT of Gold say somewhere and don't necessarily wantto have the physical gold, can I cash it in later when I think it is time to sell??
Just trying to wrap my head around this.. I dang sure don't want the gubmint deciding I need to ante up my physical gold to them cause Biden has spent us into oblivion .......
Seriously, the chart is a great place to begin. I will point oiut that gold has risen $600.-$700 in 4 years.. Considering that it was around $1200 in 2018 that's not a BAD Rate of return
Around 32 percent over 4 years. That is 8 percent per annum.
That said, its expensive to get into because of the cost per ounce . Zim might could buy 100 ounces as an initial buy but he has wisely invested in sticks that pay dividends, which is the gift that keeps on giving.. I like that move..
I do not own gold or silver.. I have thought about it but can't quite seem to pull the trigger...
I am guaranteed a minimum 7 percent annual increase on my investments.. It matters not what the markets do, its seven percent per annum at the low end.
So, with these things in mind, as the resident Gold investor and researcher, WHY should someone BUY GOLD and what do you do with it if you buy Physical gold when you want to sell it?
I mean, I can't go to the store and use Gold coins to pay for things.. And I need to worry that my own government would likely try to confiscate my physical gold as it has become more of a tyranny than a government.
Anyway, I have bookmarkeed tis site and look forward to reading more.. As you know, I am not a huge poster due to time constraints.
Seriously, the chart is a great place to begin. I will point oiut that gold has risen $600.-$700 in 4 years.. Considering that it was around $1200 in 2018 that's not a BAD Rate of return
Around 32 percent over 4 years. That is 8 percent per annum.
That said, its expensive to get into because of the cost per ounce . Zim might could buy 100 ounces as an initial buy but he has wisely invested in sticks that pay dividends, which is the gift that keeps on giving.. I like that move..
I do not own gold or silver.. I have thought about it but can't quite seem to pull the trigger...
I am guaranteed a minimum 7 percent annual increase on my investments.. It matters not what the markets do, its seven percent per annum at the low end.
So, with these things in mind, as the resident Gold investor and researcher, WHY should someone BUY GOLD and what do you do with it if you buy Physical gold when you want to sell it?
I mean, I can't go to the store and use Gold coins to pay for things.. And I need to worry that my own government would likely try to confiscate my physical gold as it has become more of a tyranny than a government.
Anyway, I have bookmarkeed tis site and look forward to reading more.. As you know, I am not a huge poster due to time constraints.
Msg. 00016 of 00028 (This msg. is a reply to
00015 by
Decomposed)
Jump:
Hi De!
You are officially "The GOLD Standard" ! lol!!!
Seriously, the chart is a great place to begin. I will point oiut that gold has risen $600.-$700 in 4 years.. Considering that it was around $1200 in 2018 that's not a BAD Rate of return
Around 32 percent over 4 years. That is 8 percent per annum.
That said, its expensive to get into because of the cost per ounce . Zim might could buy 100 ounces as an initial buy but he has wisely invested in sticks that pay dividends, which is the gift that keeps on giving.. I like that move..
I do not own gold or silver.. I have thought about it but can't quite seem to pull the trigger...
I am guaranteed a minimum 7 percent annual increase on my investments.. It matters not what the markets do, its seven percent per annum at the low end.
So, with these things in mind, as the resident Gold investor and researcher, WHY should someone BUY GOLD and what do you do with it if you buy Physical gold when you want to sell it?
I mean, I can't go to the store and use Gold coins to pay for things.. And I need to worry that my own government would likely try to confiscate my physical gold as it has become more of a tyranny than a government.
Anyway, I have bookmarkeed tis site and look forward to reading more.. As you know, I am not a huge poster due to time constraints.
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