A decade’s worth of US job gains has now been wiped out in under two months. The latest jobs losses are the worst monthly figure on record.
So, what have governments done?
This year a global total of $3.9 trillion (6.6% of global GDP) has been magically created through quantitative easing.
What’s crazy is this figure is expected to go as high as $5.3 trillion by year-end.
That’s $5,300,000,000,000…
Why is this a problem?
A rising currency supply is the root cause of price inflation — an increase in the price of goods and services, decreasing the buying power of your hard-earned money.
Until 1971, there was some gold backing left in the system which prevented excessive inflation like this.
This meant that the value of money was backed by the value of gold. Since this backing has been removed, the value of gold has risen — because its supply is limited — while some currencies have been devalued as more and more money has been magically created through quantitative easing.
Legendary U.S. hedge fund investor Paul Tutor Jones recently had the following to say:
“It [the printing of new money] has happened globally with such speed that even a market veteran like myself was left speechless. We are witnessing the Great Monetary Inflation — an unprecedented expansion of every form of money unlike anything the developed world has ever seen. I still remain a fan of gold. I predict it could also rally to $2,400 and possibly to $6,700 if we went back to the 1980 extremes.”
Sean Sanders, CFA Charterholder added: “The loss of confidence in governments, rock bottom consumer sentiment and unprecedented money printing response from governments is why it’s critically important today more than ever to hold inflationary hedges like gold in your investment portfolio.”
Why invest in gold?
Gold is a safety net in terms of economic uncertainty and it acts as a hedge against inflation thanks to its limited supply and long trading history. So unlike central banks who are printing money at unprecedented levels, gold’s supply remains steady.
This means gold acts as a rand hedge and is widely recommended as part of a diversified portfolio. It’s one of a handful of investments with a positive return in 2020 — gold prices are around $1,750 an ounce and have gained 16.4% so far in 2020 and 37.4% over the past 12 months.
