Posted on 12/03/2010 8:54:54 AM PST by TigerLikesRooster
China's gold imports surge fivefold
By Leslie Hook and Robert Cookson, FT.com
(FT) -- Gold imports into China have soared this year, turning the country, already the largest bullion miner, into a major overseas buyer for the first time in recent memory.
The surge, which comes as Chinese investors look for insurance against rising inflation and currency appreciation, puts Beijing on track to overtake India as the world's largest consumer of gold and a significant force in global gold prices.
The size of the imports -- more than 209 tonnes of gold during the first 10 months of the year, a fivefold increase from an estimate of 45 tonnes last year -- was revealed on Thursday. In the past, China has kept the volume secret.
"Investment is really driving demand for gold," said Cai Minggang, at the Beijing Precious Metals Exchange. "People don't have any better investment options. Look at the stock market, or the property market -- you could make huge losses there."
(Excerpt) Read more at edition.cnn.com ...
P!
Ammo and food is on my list. When the SHTF, carrying around a gold bar or bullion isn’t going to buy you anything but a bullet to the forehead. Gold is something with real value... when entities exist to exchange it. If government goes tango uniform, gold will be as useful as human waste, but bullets and a well-stocked dry cellar will save your life.
gold at 1408 this morning ... up 19+ today
silver at 29+
China is suffering from high price inflation and their citizen are fleeing RMB into gold
China just started letting it’s people buy into Gold ETFs, like GLD.
Feeling smart I bought silver at $17.00, feeling stupid I did not buy it at $5.00.
Silver is so much better than gold at this point.
China knows well the “Golden Rule”.
Those who have the gold... make the rules.
When the SHTF, carrying around a gold bar or bullion isn’t going to buy you anything but a bullet to the forehead.
I truly hope you forgot your sarcasm tag there, bubs.
No sarcasm. It’s silly to think that in a crisis anyone would be displaying their money, nor that gold won’t buy anything useful.
Please share with us the time and place in human history when a little gold didn’t buy stuff needed to survive.
(And I should note that I have no quarrel with stocking up on essentials before buying much gold).
If we got to a point where mob rule was the norm, walking around with any type of currency could get you killed. Local militias would likely create neighborhood or regional cordons to police their areas. If you left the protection of that area, and you’re not armed, you run the risk of being robbed or killed.
If you own gold bullion or coins, those could be used to trade for food or ammo, etc. However, in the most practical terms, standard currency would likely be more sought after, and walking around with gold bars would probably attract attention.
Your best bet is to hoard ammo and food and be prepared to trade it for skills (i.e. building shelter) or other goods. I’ve already established relationships with my nearest neighbors, and we’re all like minded individuals who believe the same thing. We go to the range together, we assess each others’ stashes for gaps that we could fill, etc. We’ve completely dismissed currency as utile in an emergency. The desperate and the hungry will come to those of us who have goods to trade, and if they’re of greater means but only have currency, I wouldn’t see a use for that currency.
In this situation, the markets are in shambles, rule of law is suspended, foreign militaries are on our shores, power is out, water is hard to find and unsafe to drink from the tap, stores are already looted; this is end days sort of stuff.
Obviously if we’re in a situation where the Dollar is worthless, having gold is practical provided shops have some way of agreeing on the value.
As far as historical references, I don’t have any that I can cite with certainty. Gold’s value as a material is indisputable, but as currency, in today’s market, paper currency is more useful and available.
And what happens when you offer gold to buy something? If you’re hungry and not thinking straight, you could give up that gold for much less than if you knew its value. Who determines the value of nn ounces of gold? We would already be in a situation where bartering is the preferred method of doing business. Gold only has “value,” per se, when markets can set those values. Otherwise, it’s just an ornate element.
Ya know, bubs, I apologize. I misread your initial response. Would I be correct to assume that you meant that if someone was dumb enough to carry around gold bars, they deserve to be robbed?
I thought you were arguing with my premise. My apologies for the misunderstanding.
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