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September
04
2021

Facing Inflation Threat, German Investors Loading Up On Gold
Peter Schiff

While most American investors have faith that the Federal Reserve can and will successfully tighten monetary policy to fight inflation — or have simply bought into the “transitory” inflation narrative — Germans are loading up on gold as a hedge against growing inflationary pressures.

Through the first half of the year, gold coin and gold bar demand in Germany hit the highest level since 2009 – the aftermath of the 2008 financial crisis. First-half demand for bar and coins in Germany increased by 35% from the previous six months, compared with a 20% increase in the rest of the world, according to World Gold Council data.

Raphael Scherer serves as the managing director at Philoro Edelmetalle GmbH. He told Bloomberg that gold sales for the company are up 25% on what was already a strong 2020.

We have a long history of inflation fear in our DNA. Now the inflation risk is picking up. The outlook for precious metals is very positive.

Given Germany’s experience with hyperinflation under the Weimar Republic, it comes as no surprise that Germans are wary of inflation.

Gold investment took off in the country in the wake of the 2008 financial crisis and has been strong ever since. The global recession after the ’08 meltdown led to extremely loose monetary policy in Germany. The country has been in a negative interest rate environment for several years, and the Bundesbank has done billions in quantitative easing. Two and five-year government bonds have traded at negative yields since 2015.

The World Gold Council summarized why Germans tend to turn to gold when inflation looms.

German investors have an acute awareness of the wealth-eroding effects of financial instability. Hyper-inflation in the 1920s lingers on in the collective memory but, perhaps more importantly, German investors have seen fiat currencies come and go: in the past 100 years, Germany has had eight different currencies. It should come as no surprise that, when faced with such an unsettling economic backdrop, German investors turned to gold – which during our field research one investor described as an enduring currency – to protect their wealth.”

Gold investment picked up even more during the pandemic. Last year, Germans bought more coins and bars than any previous year.

In July, the German inflation rate jumped to the highest level in more than a decade. An article published by Bild was headlined  “Inflation is Eating Up Our Savings.” It included a graphic that showed how gasoline prices have surged, as well as steep price gains for other consumer goods.

The World Gold Council said that even if German inflation turns out to be transitory, “it seems unarguable that it is preying on investors’ minds.”

And that tends to go hand in hand with maintaining gold’s appeal. While 2020 set a very high bar that may prove challenging to repeat, German investment is likely to stay elevated for at least the remainder of this year.”

 



Peter is an economic forecaster and investment advisor influenced by the free-market Austrian School of economics. He is one of the few forecasters who accurately and publicly predicted the 2007 housing market collapse and subsequent 2008 financial crisis. His latest best-selling book, The Real Crash: America’s Coming Bankruptcy – How to Save Yourself and Your Country, warns that the 2008 crisis was just the prelude to a larger sovereign debt crisis in the United States that may lead to a collapse of the US dollar. Peter recommends long-term investment in foreign markets with sound fiscal policies, as well as global commodities including buying goldsilver and other physical precious metals.

Peter Schiff’s investment career began with Shearson Lehman Brothers in the early 1990s. In 1996, he and a partner started Euro Pacific Capital in Los Angeles, later moving the headquarters to Connecticut. The firm has since expanded, with offices in Scottsdale, Arizona, Boca Raton, Florida, Newport Beach, California, Los Angeles and New York City. Euro Pacific Capital’s investment strategy focuses on long-term wealth savings in the face of a declining US dollar with an emphasis on emerging market and commodity-focused investments.

Peter is best known for accurately forecasting the 2008 financial crisis. During a Fox News debate in December 2006, Schiff said, “What’s going to happen in 2007 is that real estate prices are going to come crashing back down to Earth.” Business news journals reported that Schiff accurately predicted the crisis, while “nearly all [macroeconomists] failed to foresee the recession despite plenty of warning signs.”

Peter has also worked in the political arena, first serving as an economic advisor for Ron Paul’s 2008 presidential campaign and later running for United States Senate in Connecticut in 2010 as a Republican. Politically, he leans Libertarian, with an emphasis on fiscal conservatism.

Peter started SchiffGold in 2010 after recommending for decades that investors allocate 10-20% of their portfolios to physical precious metals. Peter became concerned that some of his Euro Pacific Capital clients were being misled into purchasing overpriced “numismatic” gold and silver products from gold dealers with unsavory business practices. Peter started SchiffGold to provide a trustworthy alternative that would sell only the most liquid physical bullion products at the lowest possible prices. SchiffGold is backed by Peter Schiff’s Guarantee that it will only sell the most liquid physical bullion products at the lowest possible prices.

Peter’s expertise on money, economic theory, and international investing makes him a highly sought after as a speaker and analyst. He has been quoted and interviewed hundreds of times by media outlets around the world, including The Wall Street Journal, Barron’s, Die Zeit, Tokyo Shinbun, South China Morning Post, Investor’s Business Daily, The Financial Times, The New York Times, The Los Angeles Times, and The Washington Post. He regularly appears on CNBC, CNN, CBC, Al Jazeera, Fox News, and Fox Business Network.

 

  

www.europac.com

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