The gold market was caught by surprise when two of eastern Europe’s biggest economies, Poland and Hungary, made rare purchases in recent months. Why central banks buy gold is often a major topic of market speculation. Were Poland and Hungary signaling worries about economic conditions? Were they cutting exposure to the dollar? Or maybe hedging against potential European Union sanctions?
Currency
Bears Embrace Asia as Stock Benchmark Sinks 20% From Record High
Asia’s main equity gauge is poised to succumb, joining four major regional benchmark indexes into bear-market territory. the MSCI Asia Pacific Index slipped 0.5 percent to 149.68 as of 10:10 a.m. in Hong Kong, taking its slump from a Jan. 26 peak to 20 percent.
Rupee Set to Slide to 75 per Dollar, Say Lenders
India’s trade deficit for August is likely to remain at $17 billion to $18 billion, while the Federal Reserve is set to raise rates again this month, both of which will weigh on the rupee, Philip Wee, a senior currency strategist at DBS, wrote in a note. UBS Securities India Pvt. cut its year-end forecast to 73 from 66, while Scotiabank sees the rupee approaching 74 in the run up to the Fed meeting.
Gold May Hit $1,300 by End of Year, ICBC Says
Gold Silver Reports (GSR) – Bullion is set to average $1,260 an ounce in the third quarter and rise further in the following three months as interest rate increases are priced in and physical demand emerges, Marcus Garvey, a London-based commodities strategist, said in an interview in India.
Bitcoin is More Like Gold than a Currency
Gold Silver Reports (GSR) – In the seven months since Bitcoin’s price peaked, it has fallen by about two-thirds. But it’s still almost three times more valuable than it was a year ago. So what does the future hold for Bitcoin? There are three scenarios:
Trump’s Turned Asia Junk Investors Into Nervous Nellies
Gold Silver Reports – Then there’s the collateral damage of his greenbackboosting, late-cycle fiscal stimulus, which is making investors worried about Asian currency weakness. Indonesian notes …
Bitcoin Is Failing As Currency
Gold Silver Reports (GSR) – The only way to value the likes of Bitcoin correctly is to recognise that it’s a speculative investment and not a currency, said Damodaran who is known for his work on valuing companies and understanding stock investments. “If you put the currency in pocket and you forget about it for a year then at the end of the year if you put it out then it shouldn’t have lost half its value.”