STOCK MARKET WATCH -- Wednesday, 19 November 2014

[Demeter]

11. Why is Putin buying gold?

EXCELLENT QUESTION! I WOULD POSIT THAT HE'S DOING SO BECAUSE HIS FUTURE TRADING PARTNERS (CHINA, INDIA, MIDDLE EAST) ARE PREFERRING REAL VALUE TO PAPER ASSETS....

http://www.cnbc.com/id/102196612

Russian President Vladimir Putin is developing a taste for gold.

With all of its income from selling oil, Russia is diversifying its reserves by buying massive amounts of gold, said William Rhind, CEO of the World Gold Trust Services.

Of all the central banks that make their reserve actions public, Russia has been the "largest, most active" gold accumulator, he explained. Still, Rhind said, the "elephant in the room" is how much gold China is buying, as Beijing does not publish these figures.

A recent report from the World Gold Council showed that many central banks, including Russia's, have beefed up their gold reserves. This investment, the report suggested, was "driven by a number of factors including a continued diversification away from the U.S. dollar and the backdrop of ongoing geopolitical tensions."


...More than half of all the gold added to central bank reserve assets in the third quarter was purchased by Russia (55 of about 96 metric tons), the World Gold Council report said. In total, Russia's central bank has bought about 150 metric tons of gold so far this year, Bank of Russia Chairwoman Elvira Nabiullinasaid on Tuesday.