The gold market rallied this week as the US dollar fell again.
The dollar index fell to a 7-month low on Thursday. Currency traders reacted to a government report showing that inflation eased in December. That raises the likelihood that the Federal Reserve will end its rate-hike campaign soon.
Gold prices rose on expectations of a more dovish Fed. Silver, meanwhile, is little changed on the week.
Well, has inflation peaked? The Consumer Price Index fell 0.1% in December, which reduced the headline CPI to an annual rate of 6.5%.
That’s still well above the Fed’s target, of course. And despite seeing some relief in fuel costs last month, consumers continued to grapple with rising food prices,
Price inflation may be moderating overall, but the inflation problem is far from over. The underlying cause is currency depreciation. The more dollars the government borrows and the more dollars the Fed creates out of thin air to buy government bonds, the less those dollars are worth.
No one in Washington, DC seems to know how to control spending or balance the budget. Some individual members of Congress have bold reform ideas. But they have no path to implement them given the political realities of a divided government and established leaders entrenched in both parties.
Sound money advocates are making more headway at the state level. In Tennessee, Senator Frank Niceley introduced the Tennessee Bullion Depository Act. The bill would establish a depository to operate exclusively or non-exclusively as a precious metals depository and can be privately held and operated. A House version of the bill, sponsored by Rep. Bud Hulsey, is expected to be introduced soon.
Niceley and Hulsey are staunch champions of sound money, earning them the 2022 Sound Money Legislator of the Year award last year for their work to eliminate Tennessee’s state sales tax on gold and silver.
The depository would serve as the custodian, custodian, and administrator of certain bullion and species that may be deposited by the State of Tennessee or by private persons or entities.
Privately owned and operated, a state-licensed depository allows citizens to store their precious metals for a fee. And state involvement in a private deposit potentially provides an additional layer of constitutional protection against federal government aggression, such as the 1933 gold expropriation.
Using a deposit account, citizens could one day transact using gold and silver electronically as well. An account holder could make a purchase and pay the seller by transferring precious metals to the seller’s account. The funds that are traded could also be converted into Federal Reserve notes and deposited into an account at a typical bank.
States that help establish deposit systems will further contribute to gold and silver being used as an alternative to the inflationary system of paper money.
Of course, people in every state have options for safely storing their precious metals. And with crime on the rise, it’s increasingly important to make sure your bullion holdings are safe.
We have heard numerous horror stories recently of clients having their bullion stolen from inside their own home.
The culprits often turn out to be people known to the victims and guests at their home. Common perpetrators of home burglaries include caregivers, housekeepers, and contractors. Sometimes even relatives or acquaintances take advantage of the trust that is given to them and steal from those close to them.
Unfortunately, most home safes are not as “secure” as people think they are. A safe that is clearly visible in an obvious place, such as in a garage or master bedroom closet, practically advertises itself to thieves as the place to find your valuables.
Any thief with a few tools, some skills, and some determination can break into a typical home safe.
For convenience and immediate access during an emergency, you’ll want to store some of your precious metals at home. But maybe not all of them.
The old adage applies, “don’t put all your eggs in one basket.” A single access point for your entire stash of bullion means you are potentially vulnerable to just one security breach.
Having multiple storage locations in your home or around your property makes it less likely that an individual criminal will loot all your valuables. Having at least one other storage location away from your home will ensure that you never suffer a total loss, even if your property is invaded and ransacked from top to bottom.
The risks of keeping valuable tangible assets at home include not only theft, but also fire, flood, and other disasters that could leave your home destroyed or inaccessible.
A commercial vault installation has much stronger and more sophisticated anti-theft systems than you might have inside your home.
Money Metals Depository is based in Idaho, and has become so popular that we are in the process of building a new 40,000 square foot facility that will make it the largest depository in the western United States. MMD is routinely audited and operates with the blessing and support of the Idaho state government.
More than 10,000 Americans have already established storage accounts at the Money Metals Depository, making it the fastest growing precious metals depository in the United States by far.
When it comes to physical security, a professional vault service like Money Metals Depository can’t be matched either. Our facilities offer armed guards, Class 3 vaults, multiple perimeters, state-of-the-art electronic security, dual controls, and fully segregated storage. Our facility is also located in a building next to the county sheriff’s office.
And if that’s enough, your bullion holdings are also fully insured in the unlikely event of loss or damage by Lloyds of London.