U.S. withdraws from Iran nuclear deal. Oil jumps past $70. Argentina hikes interest rates to 40%. S. 10 year disparity. Western buying returns to gold. Gold and silver both ended slightly up in a week dominated by heightening geopolitical news, weakening inflation data, and emerging market concerns.With gold closing the week at $1,318 (up 0.28%), €1,104 (0.37%), and £973 (0.2%).

$8.8B Sprott Inc. sees higher gold on massive consumer debt, defaults & bankruptcies. Rising and record U.S. debt load may cause financial stress, weaken dollar and see gold go higher. Massive government and consumer debt eroding benefits of wage growth (see chart).

Gold and silver COT suggests bottoming and price rally coming. Speculators cut way back on long positions and added to short bets. Commercials/banks significantly reduced short positions. Commercial net short position saw biggest one-week decline in COMEX history. ‘Big 4’ commercial traders decreased their short positions by 28,800 contracts. Seasonally, January is generally a good month to own gold (see table). “If history is still reliable, January will be a great month to own precious metals”

Deepening Crisis In Hyper-inflationary Venezuela and Zimbabwe. Real inflation in Zimbabwe is 313 percent annually and 112 percent on a monthly basis. Venezuela’s new 100,000-bolivar note is worth less oday thehan USD 2.50. Maduro announces plans to eliminate all physical cash. Gold rises in response to ongoing crises.

Latest developments show risks in crypto currencies. Confusion as bitcoin may split tomorrow. SEC stepped into express concern over ICOs. ICOs have so far raised $1.2 billion in 2017. ICOs preying on lack of understanding from investors. Physical gold not vulnerable to technological risk. Beauty and safety in simplicity of gold and silver.

Is the London property market heading for tough times? The most recent housing figures and a new Bank of England report suggest it may well be. Recent figures show that 77% of London houses sold in May went at below asking price, up from 72% in April.

Bitcoin surpasses gold price – a psychological and arbitrary headline. Royal Mint blockchain gold asks you to trust in the UK government. Royal Canadian Mint and GoldMoney blockchain product asks you to trust in government and the technology, servers, websites etc of the providers. Invest in a gold mine using cryptocurrency – but wait until 2022 for your gold and trust the miners that it is there. Blockchain and gold will likely make a “good team”, but they’re not ready yet.

Gold Bars Worth $800,000 Owned By Prince. Prince, RIP, owned gold bars worth just over $800,000 according to the statement filed in a Minnesota court last Friday.

Gold Price In GBP Rises 4% On Brexit and UK Economy Risks. Pound fell 2% against gold yesterday after Theresa May created Brexit concerns. May’s ‘Hard Brexit’ denial does not calm markets growing fears. Investors concerned about lack of government strategy and uncertainty. UK Prime Minister bizarrely blames media and “those who print things” for sterling depreciation. GBP gold builds on 31% gain in 2016 with 4% gain so far in 2017.

Gold gains in USD, GBP, EUR, CAD, AUD, NZD, JPY. Gold gains in CNY, INR & most emerging market currencies. Gold surges 31.5% in British pounds after Brexit shock. Gold acted as hedge and safe haven in 2016 … for those who need safe haven. Furthers signs of market having bottomed and bodes well for 2017. What drivers will gold respond to in 2017? EU elections and contagion risk, Geo-politics, terrorism, war and cyber war. Outlook for gold good during Trump Presidency (2017 to 2020)

A couple of weeks ago an article appeared on Bitcoin Magazine entitled ‘Some economists really hate bitcoin’. I read it with a sigh of nostalgia. As someone who has been writing about gold for a few years, I am used to reading similar criticisms as those bitcoin receives from mainstream economists, about gold.

Deposit bail-in risks are slowly being realised in Ireland, after it emerged overnight that FBD, one of Ireland’s largest insurance companies, have been moving cash out of Irish bank deposits and into bonds.

Silver kangaroo coins have seen sales surge to over 10 million coins which is double the expected demand for the year. Introduced to the market less than 11 months ago in September 2015 at a launch attended by GoldCore, sales of the new release Perth Mint’s 2016 Australian Kangaroo 1 ounce silver bullion coin were anticipated to reach 5 million coins in their introductory first year.

Gold Prices Rise 16% In Q1 – Best Quarter In 30 Years
– Gold prices gained 16% in Q1 – best quarterly performance since 1986– Gains due to increasing global financial, macroeconomic and monetary risk– Stocks come under pressure – Flat in U.S.; Falls …