Sunday, September 13, 2009

Now is the time for gold

This was originally written 9/13/2009

This blogger is now a gold bug. I tried to fight it, but now it makes too much sense. I even think gold is cheap.


Gold has been used as substitute currency at least since rhe Songhai king Mansa Musa flooded Western Civilization with the metal in the 1500s. In the first part of the 20th century, gold was used to back the government currency. The gold standard was abandoned in US but even today central banks and investors use the metal as a hard currency.


It is often stated that gold is an inflation hedge. It is not just sensitive to inflation. The value of gold rose significantly in real terms during The Great Depression, the most severe modern deflationary period. Gold actually rises in value during times of economic or geopolitical stress.(C) So whether it is the realization of trillions of losses by banks or the debasing of the US currency by massive borrowing by the US government, both scenarios contribute to stress and thus justify an increasing price of gold as a de facto currency.


Evidence of the upside of gold can be observed from many different sources.

(1) Miners

The world's largest gold producer, Barrick Gold, abandoned $3B in prices hedges to get long gold, you have to expect there is upside.(B)

(2) Short sellers


Greenlight Capital is long gold and cites due to emerging market central bank purchases. (D)


The author is long gold at $107.50.


(B) "Barrick Eliminates Hedges, Plans Offer", SF Gate, Sept 8, 2009, by Rob Gillies


(C) "Currency Trading and Intermarket Analysis" by Ashraf Laidi


(D) Greenlight Capital 2009 Q4 Newsletter