By Nathan McDonald
For years, a trend has developed that, much to the dismay of global financial elites, has taken hold and will only accelerate from this point on.
The trend I speak of is none other than the global repatriation of gold reserves from Western powers such as the United States and the United Kingdom. Since the end of World War 2, both have been the main depositories of gold reserves for countries around the world.
This was once driven out of necessity. These two locations were considered the safest places in the world to keep hard money assets after many countries found their reserves ransacked and their countryside ravaged by war.
Fast forward to today. People are scratching their heads, wondering why they are keeping their hard money in far-off lands, protected by countries they are increasingly disconnected with, who are irresponsible in their daily financial lives, running up massive deficits and exploding debt levels.
Just this week, Hungary joined the growing list of countries who have demanded their physical gold reserves returned to them, perhaps sensing the global tide of unrest.
Deciding to bring back 100,000 ounces or 3 tons of the yellow metal they join the ranks of other countries that have recently made this decision. Countries such as Austria, Germany and the Netherlands.
For years I have written about each of these repatriations, and for years I have stated that more and more countries would make the wise decision to try and get back as much of their gold as possible, before they are left empty handed.
Austria demanded 15 tons of gold and indicated they plan on bringing home much more. Germany shocked the world by announcing a long-term plan to bring back the majority of its foreign-held gold deposits from the United States and France, while the Netherlands repatriated 120 tons, as well.
Sooner or later, any country that is smart and has gold held in foreign locations will wise up to this trend and demand to have their gold returned to them as well, to help protect their people in the coming financial turmoils that are sure to arise in the future.
As we know, gold reserves from the United States and London have been rehypothecated over and over again. This means that if there is a run on the price of gold, the price will explode higher as central banks are forced to go to the open market to recoup their physical gold reserves.
In the end, countries who continue to wear blinders and choose to avoid the growing problems around us are going to be hung out to dry, their gold reserves possibly lost for all time.
The early bird gets the worm, or in this case, the gold.
Nathan McDonald is a libertarian, entrepreneur and precious metals enthusiast. He has always taken a keen interest in free markets and economics since an early age, which naturally led him to become a true believer in precious metals and all that they stand for. Nathan served eight years in the Royal Canadian Navy as an electronics technician, seeing the true state of the world, before starting his first successful business. He has since gone on to create a number of businesses, all of which are still in operation and growing. In addition to this, Nathan runs a network of successful precious metals blogs, and a growing newsletter that has attracted readers from all around the world. He is a regular and highlighted writer for the highly respected Sprott Money Blog, which covers world events, geopolitics and of course precious metals. |
The views and opinions expressed in this material are those of the author as of the publication date, are subject to change and may not necessarily reflect the opinions of Sprott Money Ltd. Sprott Money does not guarantee the accuracy, completeness, timeliness and reliability of the information or any results from its use.