Mike Maharrey

Gold was up nearly 26 percent through the first six months of 2025, ranking as the top-performing asset class. This booming performance continued the momentum built in 2024 when gold surged by 26.5 percent. After recording 40 all-time highs in 2024, gold set another 26 all-time highs through the first six months of this year.

Are undeclared silver purchases by the Russian government boosting the price of silver? There is some anecdotal evidence that they are. Silver is up nearly 28 percent this year. It briefly traded above $39 an ounce earlier this week. Even with those gains, the gold-silver ratio is over 100-1, signifying that silver is significantly underpriced compared to gold.

Based on the latest Consumer Price Index (CPI) data, prices showed signs of creeping higher in June. However, there were enough dovish points in the data to support those pushing for looser monetary policy. The headline annual CPI spiked from 2.4 percent in May to 2.7 percent in June, according to the latest data from the BLS.

Since hitting an all-time high of $3,500 in April, gold has consolidated and generally traded sideways in a range between $3,200 and $3,400 an ounce. Does this mean the bull run is over? A recent report by Metals Focus argues that while there are still plenty of short-term headwinds, the gold price remains well-supported, with strong potential for further upside.

Several interesting stories featured in the latest edition of the Silver Institute’s bi-monthly Silver News report. Based on the survey, 92 percent of retailers are optimistic that silver jewelry sales will continue to grow for the next several years. That’s up from 88 percent in 2022.

Affluent Hong Kong investors have nearly tripled their gold holdings over the last year. According to an HSBC survey, Hong Kong residents with $100,000 to $2 million in investable assets have allocated an average of 11 percent of their portfolios to gold and other precious metals. That was up from a 4 percent allocation just one year ago.

As we celebrate America’s independence, there is a lot of focus on the Founding Fathers. After all, they drove the American Revolution. The revolution was a mindboggling accomplishment. It was incredible that rag-tag U.S. forces were able to face down the mighty British Empire.

The pace of central bank gold buying picked up slightly in May. Globally, central banks officially added a net 20 tonnes of gold to their reserves in May, according to the latest data compiled by the World Gold Council. This compares to 14 tonnes in April.

Despite the prevailing notion that the Federal Reserve has implemented “tight” monetary policy, the money supply has expanded by more than $600 billion since its low point in mid-2023. Based on the “true” money supply measure (TMS), the money supply expanded by 2.2 percent year-over-year in April – up from a 1.4 percent increase in March.

Investment demand for gold remained strong in India last month, even as post-wedding season jewelry demand was soft due to price pressure. Meanwhile, many Indians are taking advantage of higher prices and monetizing their gold. Through the first two weeks of June, gold rose 4 percent. To date, gold is up over 30 percent in rupee terms.

Central banks have gobbled up over 1,000 tonnes of gold for three straight years, and most central bankers think the buying trend will continue. Last year was already the third-largest expansion of central bank gold reserves on record, coming in just 6.2 tonnes lower than in 2023 and 91 tonnes lower than the all-time high set in 2022 and now…

Due to a combination of central bank gold buying and the surging price of gold, gold has overtaken the euro as the world’s number two reserve asset. But it’s not so much that gold is replacing the euro. It is supplanting the dollar. At the end of 2024, gold made up 19.6 percent of global reserves, with the euro accounting for 15.9 percent but now…

The May CPI report is ratcheting up pressure on Jerome Powell and the Federal to cut interest rates. In other words, the perception that the inflation problem is solved is raising the specter of more inflation. In a social media post on Wednesday, Vice President JD Vance joined President Trump in calling for the central bank to cut interest rates.

Silver has cracked a key resistance level, and Rich Dad Poor Dad author Robert Kiyosaki called the white metal “the biggest bargain today.” Silver was up 5.3 percent on Monday, the biggest gain in eight months. And on Wednesday, the white metal surged above $36 an ounce in early trading. The last time we saw $36 silver was in 2011, when it…

Central bank gold buying moderated in April, as the gold price hit record levels. Globally, central banks officially added a net 12 tonnes of gold to their reserves in April, according to the latest data compiled by the World Gold Council. This was 12 percent lower than March and below the 12-month average of 28 tonnes.

Poland now holds more gold than the European Central Bank. The National Bank of Poland (NBP) governor Adam Glapiński noted this fact during a recent press conference, saying he views gold as a shield against global instability and a cornerstone of economic sovereignty.

The power of the James Webb Space Telescope dwarfs that of its predecessor and offers unprecedented resolution and sensitivity. The telescope’s ability to “see” deep into the infrared spectrum allows it to image the distant universe as far back as the first galaxies and even the first stars. Gold helps make this amazing imaging possible.

In a rare moment of honesty, Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell admitted he and his fellow central bankers don’t know what they’re doing as they wrapped up the May Federal Open Market Committee (FOMC) meeting. As was expected, the Fed held interest rates steady at the meeting, taking a “wait and see” attitude.

Demand for physical gold surged in the first quarter. But not in the United States. Asian investors primarily drove demand for gold bars and coins as American investors continued to sit on the sidelines. Chinese investors gobbled up 126.7 tonnes of gold bars and coins. That was a 47 percent increase from Q4 ’24 and a 12 percent rise year-on-year.

The LBMA gold price hit multiple record highs in Q1, with the average price coming in at $2,860 an ounce. That was a 38 percent year-on-year increase. The gold price was driven by multiple factors, including the specter of a trade war, geopolitical turmoil in the Middle East and Ukraine, stock market volatility, and dollar weakness.

China ranks as the world’s largest gold market. The price of gold climbed 8.4 percent in yuan terms in March. It was the strongest month for the yellow metal since March 2024. The RMB gold price recorded its strongest Q1 since 2002 when the Shanghai Gold Exchange (SGE) was established.

As gold marches ever higher, silver continues to lag. Don’t get me wrong. Silver hasn’t done horribly so far this year. It is up a little over 12 percent. However, it has failed to close the gap with gold, and that has many investors questioning what’s going on with the white metal.

The American economy is a bubble. The thing about bubbles is that they eventually pop. All they need is a pin. Tariff policy might be the pin that pops this bubble, but even if it isn’t, there is a pin out there with this bubble’s name on it. I’ve been calling this a “debt-riddled, bubble economy” for months (years, really), but…

After plunging for several days, stocks soared Wednesday afternoon after President Trump announced a tariff pause. The S&P 500 rocketed 9 percent, charting its third-largest single-day gain since World War II. Gold also whipsawed, having dipped below $3,000 an ounce, the yellow metal regained much of its loss and closed over $3,100.

If you wonder why so many central banks continue to load up on gold, Russia’s experience with the yellow metal provides the answer. Russia launched a gold buying spree beginning in 2014. Over the next six years, the Bank of Russia increased its reserves by around 40 million ounces (1,244 tonnes).

Indian investors are turning to gold as the domestic stock market tanks. This isn’t a surprise, but there is a twist. Indians are increasingly turning to ETFs to gain exposure to the yellow metal. Indians have a long love affair with gold. The yellow metal is highly valued as a store of wealth, especially in poorer rural regions.

Gold has broken above $3,000 and appears poised to push even higher. So far, platinum has not followed gold’s lead but seems to be watching from the sidelines. What is causing this divergence? To put the platinum price into perspective, the metal hit an all-time high of $2,213 an ounce in March 2008.

The Federal Reserve lost $77.6 billion in 2024. And by the way, a Fed loss is ultimately your loss. The central bank began bleeding red in late 2022. In 2023, it reported an operating loss of $114 billion. On top of its operating loss, the Federal Reserve reported unrealized losses totaling $1.06 trillion.