KW: One more article direct from Jim Rickards newsletter:

Here’s an Example of How Mainstream Media Propagandize Against Gold

It’s no secret that academics, policymakers and mainstream media are united in their efforts to disparage gold as a monetary asset. Apart from the usual canards about gold as a “barbarous relic,” the media cover the news in ways that hide or distort what’s actually going on in the global gold market. Here’s an example. The headline at the link below begins “Central Bankers Get Tired of Gold,” and the first sentence reads, “The biggest owners of gold are tiring of the metal.” Gee, it sounds like central banks are dumping gold by the ton. But the article reports that central banks addedabout 200 metric tonnes of gold to their reserves in the first half of 2016. It’s true that the increase was less than the prior two quarters (central bank purchases were about 320 metric tonnes in the last two quarters of 2015), but it’s still an addition. The article also makes it sounds like gold is out of favor. It’s not. In fact, central bank gold demand shows strong seasonality: The second half of each year is generally stronger than the first half. Comparing the first half of 2016 with the second half of 2015 is an apples-to-oranges comparison because of this seasonality. The article also says, “In May, China reported no gold purchases.” This dire-sounding report ignores the fact that Chinese gold purchases are often “off the books” to avoid market impact and that China produces 450 metric tonnes of gold per year from its own mines so it can add to its reserves without imports. The message to investors is that the media deck is stacked in favor of stocks and against gold. Keep that in mind the next time you’re doing portfolio allocations.

The biggest owners of gold are tiring of the metal.

Source: Central Bankers Get Tired of Gold as Lower Exports Cut Cash – Bloomberg