Friday, April 24, 2009

China Went For The Gold . . . And Got It

Looks like Olympic medals weren't the only kind of gold China's been pursuing in recent years:

China revealed on Friday that it had secretly raised its gold reserves by three-quarters since 2003, increasing its holdings to 1,054 tonnes - or a pot worth about US$30.9-billion - and confirming years of speculation it had been buying.


This confirms what I've suspected for a while. China has been "shaping the battlespace" in its undeclared economic contest with the Anglo-West by stockpiling an alternative store of value that competes with the U.S. dollar.

The article also reveals something that took me by surprise:

China is the world's largest gold producer and does not permit exports of gold ingots, only jewellery, leaving plentiful supplies for the domestic market.


I had always thought South Africa was the world's top gold producer. Not anymore! Now Asian producers have more pricing power at the start of the supply stream. This knocks another pillar out from under the Anglo-West's ability to dominate the world.

The article concludes with Hou Huimin, vice general secretary of the China Gold Association, forecasting the end of U.S. dollar hegemony:

"The financial crisis means the U.S. dollar value is changing fast, and it may retreat from being the international reserve currency. If that happens, whoever holds gold will be at an advantage."


I couldn't have said it better myself. :-)

Nota bene: Anthony J. Alfidi is long FXI (with covered calls), IAU (with short puts), and GDX (with short puts).