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February
29
2020

Why Is Gold Tanking?
James Rickards

The coronavirus continues to take its toll on the stock market.

If you were expecting a major recovery today after yesterday’s bloodbath, you were very disappointed.

Stocks opened higher this morning but soon fell back into red territory again, where they stayed throughout the day.

The Dow ended up losing another 879 points today after yesterday’s 1,031-point hammering.

The S&P and Nasdaq were also big losers today, down 98 and 256 points respectively.

For investors accustomed to “buying the dip,” this is quite a change. As noted macroeconomic analyst Mohamed El-Erian said earlier today:

I understand the inclination to buy on the dip. I understand that the path of least resistance in this market is to bounce up… but I stress, this is different.

Meanwhile, the all-important 10-year Treasury yield fell to a record low this morning as investors continue to pour into safe-haven assets.

The 10-year yield dropped to 1.32%, falling beneath its previous record low of 1.325%, which it set in July 2016 following Brexit.

That means the bond market is projecting a poor outlook for the global economy. And over the long haul, the bond market has an excellent track record of being right.

Gold was down big today, losing $45.20. But that’s not because of gold itself. It’s all about the falling stock market.

When you think about it, it doesn’t make sense.

After all, if investors are fleeing for safety, which we’re seeing in the Treasury market, why wouldn’t they be buying up gold as well?

Gold was up close to $30 yesterday, before the price began dropping late in the day.

Here’s the likely reason why gold is falling right now when it should be rising…

With the stock market plummeting, hedge funds and other institutional investors have had to suddenly raise cash to meet margin calls on their positions in the equity markets. And they had to get the cash from somewhere.

Gold is a very liquid asset that can quickly be traded for cash.

They can either sell the actual gold bullion they own or they can unload their positions in gold ETFs (like GLD).

So my estimate is that they dumped their gold positions to raise the money. And that’s been driving the listed gold price lower.

It has nothing to do with gold’s fundamentals, which are actually very strong. Demand is increasing, central banks are hoarding record amounts of gold and new supplies are dwindling.

That’s a recipe for skyrocketing prices, and the bull market in gold is still very much intact.

The latest selling is just a quirk of the market, in which institutions have to raise cash in order to cover their positions when the market’s dropping.

Again, it has really nothing to do with gold itself. This is just a temporary blip.

If you haven’t bought gold yet, this is an ideal opportunity to scoop up gold at a bargain-basement price. Or, if you already own gold, to stock up on more.

For gold at least, it’s an ideal opportunity to “buy the dip.”

Gold is going much, much higher.

I’m not sure how many more opportunities like this we’re going to see. I urge you to take advantage of it while you can.

Regards,

Jim Rickards
for The Daily Reckoning

James G. Rickards is the editor of Strategic Intelligence. He is an American lawyer, economist, and investment banker with 35 years of experience working in capital markets on Wall Street. He was the principal negotiator of the rescue of Long-Term Capital Management L.P. (LTCM) by the U.S Federal Reserve in 1998. His clients include institutional investors and government directorates. His work is regularly featured in the Financial Times, Evening Standard, New York Times, The Telegraph, and Washington Post, and he is frequently a guest on BBC, RTE Irish National Radio, CNN, NPR, CSPAN, CNBC, Bloomberg, Fox, and The Wall Street Journal. He has contributed as an advisor on capital markets to the U.S. intelligence community, and at the Office of the Secretary of Defense in the Pentagon. Rickards is the author of The New Case for Gold (April 2016), and three New York Times best sellers, The Death of Money (2014), Currency Wars (2011), The Road to Ruin (2016) from Penguin Random House.

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