Faber Says Own Gold, Prepare for QE4 as Easing Follows Brexit

Gold’s investment case has been strengthened by the U.K.’s vote to quit the European Union as the fallout may spur the world’s central banks to step up easing, hurting currencies and favoring bullion, according to Marc Faber, publisher of the Gloom, Boom & Doom Report.

The U.S. Federal Reserve may even embark on a fourth round of quantitative easing, or QE4, Faber said in an interview on Bloomberg Television on Wednesday, adding that he typically buys bullion every month. While he also likes gold shares, they need to correct first after recent gains, he said.

Gold has soared after the U.K.’s vote last week as investors seek a haven from financial turmoil and contemplate the possible implications, including additional steps from central bank policy makers in Europe, the U.S. and Asia. Holdings in bullion-backed exchange-traded products have swelled to the highest level since September 2013 as banks including Goldman Sachs Group Inc. have boosted their price forecasts.

‘Print More Money’

“If Brexit is used as an excuse, the central banks will print more money, QE4 in the U.S. is on the way and the depreciation in the purchasing power of currencies will continue,” Faber said in the interview from Hong Kong. “In that situation, you want to own some gold.”

Bullion for immediate delivery rose as much as 0.7 percent to $1,321.55 an ounce, and traded at $1,321.24 at 1:57 p.m. in Singapore, according to Bloomberg generic pricing. In the immediate aftermath of the vote on Friday prices surged to $1,358.54, the highest in more than two years.

Gold has advanced 25 percent this year as the European Central Bank and Bank of Japan embraced negative rates to kick start growth and the Fed pauses after its first hike since 2006 last December. The U.S. central bank undertook three rounds of quantitative easing starting in 2008 to overcome the impact of the global financial crisis.

New Headwinds

Fed Governor Jerome Powell said Tuesday the vote has the potential to create new headwinds for economies, including the U.S., introducing uncertainties that may merit reassessing policy. Traders now see a greater probability the bank will cut rates in upcoming meetings than raise them.

Faber’s views add to a bullish chorus about bullion in the wake of the poll. The metal may stand at the start of a major bull market should the Brexit vote prove to be a forerunner of greater political and financial instability around the world, Evolution Mining Ltd.’s Jake Klein said on Tuesday.

“Global growth has contracted, in other words, growth rates have been reduced and many countries are in recession already. That has nothing at all to do with Brexit,” Faber said. “Brexit is actually not about an end of globalization. On the contrary, it’s about people that rebel against the arrogant elite in the financial centers.”

Bloomberg
June 28, 2016