“Back in 2005, when gold was $421 per ounce, we alerted Trends Journal subscribers to get ready to ride the “Golden Bull: Once gold breaks past the magic $500 per ounce mark… it will push gold beyond the 1980’s high of $885 per ounce.” On target, gold had a steady rise, peaking at $1,917 per ounce in 2011. Subsequently, when prices slumped to the mid $1,000 per ounce range in 2015,... read more

As we do every month, we have now published our widely watched central bank statistics. These figures give a clear view of central bank activity and how gold reserves are evolving. No cooling off period. The initial data for April – released by the IMF – shows demand remains in rude health. Net purchases amounted to healthy 43t, 8% higher month-on-month. Combined net purchases (over one t... read more

Gold prices rose on Monday to their highest in more than two months on worries that U.S.-Chinese trade tensions and Washington’s threat of tariffs on Mexico would hurt the global economy. Spot gold was up 0.7% at $1,314.20 per ounce at 1012 GMT, after touching its highest since March 27 at $1,315.59. U.S. gold futures rose 0.6% to $1,319.50 an ounce. “Safe-haven buyers are coming back... read more

Just hours after US National Security Advisor John Bolton formally accused Tehran of conducing the May 12 tanker "sabotage" attacks near the Strait of Hormuz, Iran's foreign ministry has responded that "we are ready for war" amid fears that Washington could still be on a war footing in the Persian Gulf. “We hope that we can start a dialogue, but we are ready for war,” Deputy Foreign Min... read more

Policymakers pulled out all the stops to fix the financial crisis, but they may have to get even more extreme when the next downturn hits. Future crises could see a “radicalization” of the types of measures taken to jolt the economy out of its last malaise, according to an analysis by AB Bernstein that looks both at the waning effectiveness of current attempts and the shape future efforts... read more

Rising tariffs on $200 billion in Chinese imports will translate to an extra $831 in annual costs for the typical American household, according to new projections from Federal Reserve Bank of New York researchers. Thursday’s projections on the impact of the newly-implemented 25% tariffs are about double the earlier estimates of $419 per household, the Fed said. The latest round of tariff h... read more

NAGASAKI, Japan (Reuters) - A sales tax hike scheduled for October could derail Japan’s economic recovery, a central bank board member said on Wednesday, noting more monetary stimulus would be needed if a slowdown hampered the bank’s efforts to boost prices. FILE PHOTO: Newly-appointed Bank of Japan (BOJ) board member Yutaka Harada leaves a news conference at the BOJ headquarters in T... read more

If you thought the Federal Reserve was done with quantitative easing, you might only be half right. As soon as next year, analysts say the Fed will resume large-scale buying of debt securities -- this time just U.S. Treasuries -- in amounts that may ultimately exceed its crisis-era purchases. According to an estimate by Wells Fargo & Co., the central bank’s balance sheet will rise past i... read more

Venezuela sold about $570 million in gold from central bank reserves over the past two weeks, skirting U.S. Treasury sanctions designed to freeze assets of the Nicolas Maduro’s administration, according to people with knowledge of the matter. The central bank sold about 9.7 tons of gold on May 10 and an additional 4 tons three days after, the people said, driving its reserves down to a 29-... read more

DoubleLine CEO Jeffrey Gundlach warned investors Tuesday that the U.S. is unequipped for recession as it becomes increasingly strapped by debt. “Any thoughtful person would be concerned,” the so-called “bond king” said in a webcast. “It’s sounding like a pretty bad cocktail of economic risk, and risk to the long end of the bond market.” The billionaire investor said the United... read more