Money Metals Exchange

Since the Federal Reserve announced the resumption of quantitative easing (QE) in December, the central bank has expanded its balance sheet by over $200 billion.

April 15th was Tax Day. It’s a source of misery for many of us as we write a big check to the IRS. But did you know the IRS isn’t the source of your biggest tax bill? In fact, you don’t even get a bill. You just pay the tax every time you buy something.

In a rapidly shifting geopolitical environment, gold continues to demonstrate both its resilience and its complexity as a financial asset.

There is no government report more meaningless and yet more relied upon by policymakers than the monthly non-farm payroll report released every month by the Bureau of Labor Statistics.

In a recent episode of the Money Metals podcast, host Mike Maharrey sat down with renowned precious metals analyst Jeff Clark to unpack the sharp pullback in gold prices and the dominant narratives driving market sentiment.

For investors who understand this distinction, the current pullback may represent an opportunity rather than a warning. Short-term sentiment may dominate headlines, but long-term fundamentals continue to point in a very different direction.

Many people forget that gold was in a bull market in early 2008 but suffered a significant selloff at the onset of the financial crisis when the yellow metal fell 32 percent, giving up about 40 percent of its previous bull market gain. Gold then took off and soared by over 153 percent over the next few years.

Bearish sentiment has taken over the markets. As one analyst put it, “Wall Street has thrown in the towel on gold.”

The Fed simultaneously needs to hold interest rates higher (and arguably raise them) to deal with increasing inflation pressure while also needing to cut interest rates due to the massive Debt Black Hole warping the economy.

Despite gold’s sideways performance in recent weeks, UBS still expects gold to gain 20 percent from its current price this year.

With its airspace closed and many flights grounded, gold stuck in Dubai is being sold at a discount.

The Debt Black Hole keeps getting bigger. Household debt grew modestly in the fourth quarter of 2025, ending the year at another record high.

In a recent episode of the Money Metals Midweek Memo, host Mike Maharrey discussed volatility in the gold and silver markets amid escalating geopolitical tensions and broader financial market turmoil. Maharrey opened by criticizing mainstream financial media coverage of a recent selloff that occurred as markets reacted to a conflict involving Iran.

Gold is going to become increasingly important as the deglobalization and de-dollarization trend that took off last year continues to gain steam, according to a recent report.

Gold’s sharp swings and a new Federal Reserve chair are not separate stories. In a recent episode of the Money Metals podcast, Mike Maharrey sat down with Axel Merk, President and Chief Investment Officer of Merk Investments, to connect the dots between market turbulence and what may be a structural shift at the Fed.

Stripping out more volatile food and energy prices, core CPI prices rose 0.3 percent month on month. The annual core CPI dropped from 2.6 percent in December to 2.5 percent, the lowest reading since April 2021.

Gold demand in the tech and industrial sectors was generally flat at 222.8 tonnes in 2025. This was down about 1.5 percent from 226.2 tonnes the previous year.

The silver market is projected to run its sixth straight structural supply deficit in 2026 as investment demand remains high.

Despite the recent selloff, Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce (CIBC) remains bullish, forecasting $6,000 gold and $100 silver in 2026.

Morgan agreed that the move looks parabolic on a chart. He also cautioned against assuming the rally is just retail euphoria. He pointed out that many physical silver holders have been net sellers even as prices rise, which implies the strongest buying pressure may be coming from larger, more strategic sources.

So, President Trump has announced his pick for Federal Reserve Chairman, and the markets are not pleased. Everybody seems convinced that Kevin Warsh is a “hawkish” pick, and markets are throwing a temper tantrum because they think he might take the easy money punch bowl away.

The dollar is in no danger of losing its status as the primary global reserve currency, but de-dollarization is chipping away at its dominance. It’s clear we’re moving toward a “multipolar” world where several currencies, along with gold, are making up a growing share of global reserves.

Several dynamics have converged to drive silver higher, including spillover effects from the gold bull market, steady industrial demand, surging investment demand, inflation, and geopolitical uncertainty. However, one factor is the key driver – there isn’t enough metal.

Despite the influx of tariff revenue, the federal government continues to run a massive budget deficit. The December budget shortfall came in at $144.75 billion, a record for the month. That was 68 percent higher than December 2024.

Last year, gold rose by over 64 percent, setting 53 new record highs along the way. Silver gained just under 148 percent. Platinum’s price increased by 125.9 percent. Palladium was up just over 80 percent.

With silver and gold both surging significantly higher over the past couple of weeks, a correction was inevitable. When an asset price quickly rises, at some point, it will ultimately become oversold. Investors book profits, and the price corrects.

In a recent episode of the Money Metals podcast, host Mike Maharrey sits down with Peter C. Earle, PhD, of the American Institute for Economic Research (AIER) to unpack what the gold standard actually is—and why it still matters in a world of fiat money.

Challenging the conventional view of gold as a bubble, this analysis explores whether the metal's 109% surge since 2024 signals a permanent paradigm shift rather than a looming crash.

Price inflation has slowed, but that doesn’t mean prices are coming down. They just aren’t rising quite as fast as they were.

The Federal Reserve announced a new round of quantitative easing (QE) on Wednesday. It also cut the federal fund rate by another 25 basis points.

The U.S. economy depends on consumers buying stuff. Persistent price inflation forced Americans to blow through their savings and then turn to credit cards to make ends meet.

It appears the holiday shopping season is being sucked into the massive Debt Black Hole floating through the global economy.

Gold ETFs globally reported net inflows of gold for the sixth straight month, driven by a strong surge in Asian investment.

A fundamental lack of available metal, driven by years of demand outpacing supply, is fueling a major rally in silver prices, which have climbed over 99% this year.

This article argues that the Federal Reserve's decade of ultra-loose monetary policy following the 2008 crisis, including nearly ten years of near-zero rates, has warped the perception of a "normal" interest rate environment.

In a recent episode of the Money Metals podcast, host Mike Maharrey sits down with Jordan Roy-Byrne, CMT, MFTA, editor and publisher of The Daily Gold, to unpack where gold and silver are in the current cycle.

Amid concerns that the traditional 60/40 investment mix no longer works, financial experts are recommending a 20 percent allocation to gold as a necessary portfolio adjustment. This shift is driven by the fact that gold is increasingly viewed as the most reliable hedge against inflation and government spending, unlike bonds which have lost their safe-haven status. Consequently, investors are initiating a "quiet revolution" by moving billions into gold ETFs.

In this Money Metals podcast episode, host Mike Maharrey talks with money manager Michael Pento of Pento Portfolio Strategies about what he sees as a dangerously distorted financial system.

In this episode of the Money Metals Midweek Memo, host Mike Maharrey leans on Greg Weldon’s “debt black hole” metaphor to explain how towering obligations now warp policy, markets, and household finances.

On the Money Metals podcast, host Mike Maharrey sits down with Philip Newman, founding partner and managing director at Metals Focus in London. Newman explains that Metals Focus, launched in 2013, is a pure precious-metals research house; it does not trade.

For the second straight meeting, the Fed cut the federal funds rate by a quarter percent on Wednesday. In an even more aggressive move toward monetary easing, the FOMC also announced balance sheet reduction will end in December.

The Powell put is on. The Federal Reserve chairman tried to sound like a hawk, but the central bank’s actions were those of a dove.

The headline annual CPI came in at 3 percent, according to BLS data. That was up from 2.9 percent in August and 2.7 percent in July. It was the highest print since January, and up from a low of 2.4 percent in March.

In a nutshell, the price of silver is rising because there simply isn’t enough metal to meet demand.

On a recent episode of the Money Metals podcast, host Mike Maharrey interviewed Greg Weldon. Gold had pushed past $4,300, and silver broke $54 on the day of recording.

In another sign that we are entering an era of even looser monetary policy, Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell hinted that balance sheet reduction is about to come to an end.

With gold scaling record highs on what feels like a daily basis, mainstream financial analysts are scrambling to raise their price forecasts.

On a recent episode of the Money Metals podcast, host Mike Maharrey interviewed Brien Lundin. Brien Lundin is the CEO of Jefferson Financial, publisher of Gold Newsletter, and organizer of the New Orleans Investment Conference.

There has been a lot of hype surrounding artificial intelligence, and AI stocks have helped propel the stock market to record highs. Meanwhile, gold stocks have quietly outperformed AI chip stocks.

For years, mainstream investment gurus have steered clients away from gold. But with the yellow metal gaining more than 87 percent since January 2024, it’s getting hard to ignore the yellow metal.

It will depend on how long the budget stalemate drags out, but from a historical perspective, the impact of government shutdowns has been relatively short-lived and contained.

Nomi Prins brings rare credibility to these conversations. She holds a PhD in international strategic studies with a specialization in political economy, and her career spans some of the most powerful financial institutions in the world.

Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell and his fellow central bankers are stuck between a rock and a hard place – and he knows it.

As expected, the Federal Reserve cut interest rates by 25 basis points last week. How will this impact the gold market?

Every time the mainstream declares price inflation dead and buried, new data comes out and rains on the funeral.

In the latest Money Metals Midweek Memo, host Mike Maharrey analyzed the ongoing bull markets in gold and silver, highlighting record highs, historical ratios, supply deficits, and why silver may now be poised for an even stronger run than gold.

Assets under management (AUM) by ETFs globally closed at another month-end peak and is now just 6 percent below the all-time high reached during the pandemic.

The U.S. dollar is experiencing a rare volatility squeeze, indicating that a major move is near. While the most likely direction is downward, any move will have a big impact on precious metals.

Higher gold prices have put a damper on central bank gold buying, but the World Gold Council still categorized August purchases as “firm.”

The tariff recession is cancelled, but with the Fed strangling rates, we are nowhere near the boom Trump wants.

Corporate bankruptcies hit a 14-year high in 2024, and the pace continued through the first seven months of 2025.

While gold hit all-time highs in April before consolidating, he notes the pullback has been unusually mild—less than 6% versus an average 10.1% correction during the 2001–2011 bull run.

Producer prices rose significantly more than expected in July, throwing markets into turmoil and calling into question what seemed like an almost certain Federal Reserve interest rate cut in September.

Despite triple the amount of tariff income, the July budget deficit surged to $294.14 billion, 19 percent higher than a year ago, according to the Monthly Treasury Statement.

After some back-and-forth over whether gold bullion imports into the United States would be hit with tariffs, the Trump administration confirmed yesterday that they will not be. In response, spot gold fell 1.62% and spot silver dropped 1.86%.

The July CPI data indicated moderate price inflation and boosted optimism for a September interest rate cut, even though monetary inflation is on the upswing.

For the second straight month, consumer borrowing was weak, indicating Americans might be close to their credit limits.

A surprise 39% tariff threat on Swiss gold imports sent shockwaves through the gold market. Gold prices remained relatively stable, but spreads exploded.

There are hints that at least a few within the federal government are toying with the idea of revaluing U.S. gold reserves.

Gold inflows into ETFs through the first half of 2025 hit levels not seen since the pandemic, and that trend continued through July.

President Donald Trump made headlines when he fired Bureau of Labor Statistics Commissioner Erika McEntarfer after a particularly bad July jobs report, calling it rigged.

Gold surged to a record high in April 2025 but has since entered a quiet phase, trading sideways.

Platinum charted a 49.8 percent gain through H1, rising from around $900 an ounce in January to $1,360 at the end of June. That compares with a 25.9 percent increase in the price of gold and a 24.9 percent rise in silver.

All the pieces are falling into place for silver’s bull market to accelerate, with a breakout into the $40s now looking increasingly likely in the near term.

Women love gold! The popularity of gold jewelry makes this pretty apparent.

Gold was up nearly 26 percent through the first six months of 2025, ranking as the top-performing asset class.

As central banks scramble to increase their gold reserves, many are turning to domestic mine production to save money, support local industry, and expand their reserves.

Are interest rates too high? A lot of people think they are, and a growing chorus of voices is calling on Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell to cut rates.

Do you feel like you spend more and more money every month but get less and less for it? That’s because you are.

Money Metals Midweek Memo host Mike Maharrey isn’t buying the recent bearish turn in gold forecasts from Wall Street.

Powell & Company at the Federal Reserve sees an elevated stagflation threat. In response, they decided to do nothing.

After running a surplus in April thanks to tax day, the federal government was back to business as usual in May, spending massive amounts of money and charting another big budget deficit.

The Gold Reserve Transparency Act of 2025 (House Bill 3795), calls for a full, modern audit of America's gold holdings—something that hasn't occurred in over 65 years.

Supporters of tax cuts argue that they eventually "pay for themselves" and lower deficits through economic growth and increased revenue, even without significant spending cuts.

For the first time in five months, gold-backed ETFs globally reported modest outflows in May as investors took profits.

Gold’s recent surge to $3,500 was quickly followed by a sharp correction. Each tariff update or diplomatic rumor sends markets into a frenzy—rallying stocks, selling gold, or reversing course the next day.

The U.S. Dollar Index is at a critical inflection point, and how it behaves from here will have a major impact on the direction of gold, silver, and commodities.

While headlines scream about the latest deal or tariff suspension, Maharrey argues that investors are dangerously distracted from the real threat: America’s exploding national debt and the systemic consequences that follow.

The Oracle of Omaha, Warren Buffett, recently announced he will be stepping down as CEO of Berkshire Hathaway.

Gold remains firmly in correction mode — even I will readily agree with that.

Over the past four months, the price of gold in yuan terms has climbed by 24 percent, the strongest January to April performance on record. The Shanghai Benchmark Gold Price rose 6.9 percent in April alone. It was the fifth consecutive monthly gain.

Though silver has been quiet lately, it’s important to be aware of the many bullish factors that are setting the stage for a strong move higher.

During last month's tariff war, a big driver of stock-market declines was foreigners selling.

With financial markets whipsawing on every tweet and press release, Maharrey urged listeners to step back, take a breath, and consider the big picture — particularly on the issues of debt, inflation, and de-dollarization.

While the CPI has dipped close to the mythical 2 percent target, core CPI remains elevated.

Flows of gold into Asian ETFs exploded in April, driving global ETF gold holdings higher for the fifth straight month.

In a rare moment of honesty, Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell admitted he and his fellow central bankers don’t know what they’re doing as they wrapped up the May Federal Open Market Committee (FOMC) meeting.

China drove the surge in retail investment demand, charting the second strongest quarter on record.

Central banks continued to stockpile gold in the first quarter.

Record gold prices drove first-quarter demand in 2025 to the highest level since 2016.

Inflation is caused by the growth of the money supply, and gold is a strong hedge because it rises alongside it.

Conventional wisdom is that investors should hold gold as an inflation hedge. Over the long term, this is a wise strategy.ok,

While most market watchers have focused on the wildly yo-yoing stock market over the last few weeks, the Treasury bond market has been flashing warnings.

There are plenty of frustrated silver bugs. Gold is outperforming once again, and they wonder when silver will finally catch up.

CNBC Journalist Laments How the Fed Now Essentially Controls the Market.

U.S. Treasury debt has long been considered a “risk free” asset. Gold bugs hold a different definition of risk free, but for most of Wall Street and the investing public the assumption has been that there’s zero chance the U.S. government will ever default on its debt.

Gold has lost $170 since hitting a peak of $2,050 per ounce in early May.

Gold and silver prices slid lower to close out the third quarter. Entering trading for the fourth quarter, the metals are back, once again, in the middle of the range where they have languished for more than three years.

Energy and Gold Produces Face Increasing Pressures, Crimping Supply.

Forced deleveraging to be chaotic, causing a new Fed and banking panic.

When money becomes less valuable and costs rise, the money you have saved affords you exponentially less. In the short term, you may not notice the difference.

Making an investment in physical gold and silver is easy. Insuring these new valuables stored at home is more difficult. It may be outright impossible in larger amounts.

As investors look for clues about what monetary central planners are thinking at Jackson Hole, the BRICS countries – Brazil, Russia, India, China, and South Africa – are holding a summit of their own in Johannesburg.

Precious metals markets are extending their losing streak as the U.S. dollar pushes higher.

There aren’t many bullion investors who haven’t thought about using their stash to buy groceries one day.

One of the most common questions we get from clients is whether they should buy either gold OR silver. Anyone researching an investment in bullion can find good arguments for owning either metal.

As the world continues to be rocked by inflation and financial instability, four precious metals “megatrends” have emerged largely undetected by the mainstream – central bank gold buying, rapidly expanding silver uses, a platinum supply breakdown, and capital control schemes.

The World Silver Survey is an annual report published by The Silver Institute since 1990. It provides market participants with supply and demand statistics for critical sectors of the silver market, along with price and trade data.

Top Silver Mining CEO: "On the demand side, it’s pretty phenomenal…"

As the debt ceiling fight in Washington heads down to the wire with the risk of a technical default looming, investors are growing nervous.

The future of money is uncertain, and speculation about what comes next is all over the place. The Federal Reserve note "dollar" is the world's reserve currency, but its seat on that throne is no longer secure.

We are one third of the way through 2023, and it has certainly been interesting in the bullion markets thus far.

There are many reasons to buy and hold physical gold. The lack of counterparty risk, the diversification, and the hedge against inflation are among the top reasons to own the monetary metals.

The Federal Reserve Board reduced banking reserve requirements to zero in March 2020. So banks in the United States are technically not required to back customers' deposits with anything.

As interest rates show signs of peaking, gold prices are nearing new all-time highs.

Fears of bank runs precipitating a broader financial crisis helped spark a surge in bullion buying this week.

As warning signs for the economy mount, investors are cheering for more bad news. That's because they expect economic weakness will force the Federal Reserve to stop raising interest rates and eventually re-embrace loose monetary policy.

Precious metals markets are trying to tough this week despite another large rate hike by the Federal Reserve.

The Biden administration is working on plans to herd the public into digital currency controlled by the Federal Reserve.

The silver market scarcity has begun to resolve. We discuss what the data in the silver market is saying and why the market has become a Keynesian Beauty Contest.

Something is brewing in the economy. Since the election of Donald Trump, interest rates have spiked, copper prices have surged, and various sectors of the stock market have swung “bigly” on speculation of what “Trumponomics” will bring.

Post-election airwaves and publications today are filled with bad news, good news, and fake news.

Donald Trump’s victory came as the first surprise for many around the world. The reaction in the markets was the second surprise.

Most of us consider this year’s presidential election as the wildest and most unpredictable we’ve ever seen, but you wouldn’t know it by looking at the markets. Gold and silver spent most of the past three weeks going nowhere fast.

It just doesn’t matter much whether Hillary Clinton or Donald Trump wins the election, at least in terms of gold and silver market fundamentals.

Whether you surf the Internet for information about the precious metals and mining stocks or receive newsletters by snail mail, you're exposed to predictions by all and sundry.

We recently had the pleasure of interviewing Frank Holmes, CEO and Chief Investment Officer at U.S. Global Investors. He talks about a seasonal norm he sees playing out in the gold market over the next few months...

The 2016 election year is bringing out the worst among some elements of society.

Metals investors wonder what this presidential election will mean for gold and silver markets. Since Nixon closed the gold window in 1971 and the years of price inflation that followed, presidents have largely ignored gold, the Federal Reserve, and other issues related to sound money.

Gold and silver prices charged higher during the first 6 months of the year. They fell into a rut over the summer, and then hit the skids last Tuesday.

Are you a millionaire yet? Me neither.

We might have been by now, had we better understood the finer points of “fear” and “greed” during our investing lives.

October could see a ramping up of volatility across all asset markets. The month is notorious on Wall Street for the 1987 stock market crash. Fall crashes also occurred in 2002 and 2008.