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this right here is the reason China stays quiet on Iran
everyone losing their mind asking where is Beijing while the US & Israel are bombing a major chinese energy partner and the answer is so brutal in its simplicity that most analysts miss it completely, the empire is eating itself alive and China is already building the replacementt
America just dragged the entire Middle East into a war for Israel & now Saudi arabia, UAE, kuwait & qatar are sitting in a room discussing pulling out of US contracts & canceling investment commitments
the Gulf states, the literal foundation of the petrodollar, the system that has kept the US dollar as world reserve currency since 1974 actively discussing the exit and Beijing did absolutely nothing to make that happen…Washington did it to itself
but here's what people miss: china saw this coming years ago and already laid the tracks, literally the belt & road Initiative has quietly wired 150 countries into c’hinese infrastructure, ports, railways, highways, fiber optic cables, power grids…while the western media barely covered it
Saudi Arabia started selling oil to China in yuan in 2023, that alone should have been front page news for a month, the BRICS just expanded to include Saudi arabia UAE and Iran in the samea bloc, China built CIPS as a direct alternative to SWIFT so the entire non western world can settle trade without ever touching the dollar, every single one of these moves was made before a single bomb fell on Iran
and then there's Africa…the youngest continent on earth, median age 19, projected to reach 2.5 billion people by 2050, the largest workforce the planet has ever seen & China understood 20y ago that whoever builds Africa's infrastructure owns the 21st century, while the US was spending 4 trillion dollars destroying Iraq & Afghanistan China was building railways in Kenya, dams in Ethiopia, ports in Djibouti, highways in Nigeria, tech hubs in Rwanda, stadiums, hospitals, government buildings, telecom networks powered by Huawei across the entire continent.. & they did it without firing a single bullet, no regime change, no sanctions, no lectures on democracy, just concrete steel, fiber optic and longterm contracts
so when people ask why China stays silent on Iran the answer is that silence is the strategy, every war America fights for Israel costs trillions, destabilizes energy markets, alienates Gulf partners and pushes the entire Global South closer to a system Beijing spent two decades building
the gulf states pivoting right now has zero to do with ideology, Washington turned their entire neighborhood into a warzone to serve Tel Aviv's regional strategy & then asked them to keep buying treasury bonds with a straight face….the math just stopped working and when the math stops working loyalty stops too
beijing's silencee on Iran is the most patient & most devastating move on the board, China is watching america dismantle its own hegemony in real time while quietly inheriting every alliance washington burns, it just has to keep building & keep quiet
Napoleon said nver interrupt your enemy when he is making a mistake, Xi turned that into a 50y doctrine & right now it's paying off faster than even beijing expected
Amid escalating tensions in the Middle East—including the ongoing U.S.-Iran conflict and threats around the Strait of Hormuz—China’s quiet financial infrastructure for Iranian oil imports has come under renewed scrutiny. At the center is a sophisticated, dollar-free payment and asset-recycling system that has sustained Iran’s oil exports (primarily to China, which absorbs over 80% of Iran’s seaborne crude) while advancing Beijing’s de-dollarization agenda.
This newsletter breaks down the mechanics, from settlement to gold conversion, based on established channels and recent geopolitical developments.
1. The Core Settlement Channel: Bank of Kunlun
Bank of Kunlun, a relatively small commercial bank controlled by China National Petroleum Corporation (CNPC/PetroChina), serves as the primary conduit for China-Iran oil trade settlements.
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Is this the right place to ask dumb questions regarding the bigger picture?
... I’ve seen a few thoughts on why we’ve seen another huge downdraught but they don’t really add up for me.
... As for silver, ... Have I got to wait another 14 years to see a decent gain ? ...
So China is selling its T-bills, who's buying them?
If there are no bidders the Fed has to " Print Money & Buy them " as the last resort
This is a good question. An institutional (or state) holder of Treasuries, wants to sell them.
Does the Fed buy T-bills from holders?
If anything, you should have Ben selling in '11 (and '10) to all the FOMO people.As for silver, it feels like a repeat of my experience of buying in 2011 and watching the price drop 50
These are good questions. I don't have all the answers; just that I've been trying to square what's happening with my own understanding of the world.Is this the right place to ask dumb questions regarding the bigger picture?
I was brought up to believe that gold was the place of safety when the drums of war were beating loudly.
I’ve seen a few thoughts on why we’ve seen another huge downdraught but they don’t really add up for me.
One possibility that makes sense is that those Middle East countries getting hammered by Iran, need dollars quickly in order to pacify an unhappy population and to pay the bills that petro dollars would normally cover . So who is buying ?
Or are we seeing maximum smack down cos we need to know ‘all is well’
As for silver, it feels like a repeat of my experience of buying in 2011 and watching the price drop 50%
Have I got to wait another 14 years to see a decent gain ?
Don’t they use a shit ton of the stuff in those mighty missiles ?
Any rational thoughts on wtf is going on ?
So good news then and a relief to realise that the tax man will get a whole lot less, should I decide to sell and go back into real estateOn December 31, 2025, the price of gold closed at approximately $4,339.65
On December 31, 2025, the silver price closed around $70 to $75 per ounce
This AM;
Gold $4,401.00
Silber $69.53
OH THE PAIN!!!
\snark
Some wise thoughts there locoman. As you say, certain components of civilisation have to remain valid for stored wealth to work even at barter level . The last 15 years of holding metals has taught me detachment and to realise what is important.These are good questions. I don't have all the answers; just that I've been trying to square what's happening with my own understanding of the world.
NOTHING is a Safe Haven in chaos. If your city or region (or nation-state) is one giant brawl...civil war, or the object of some Americian-military love...nothing is going to stop groups with more arms, or more thugs, or more numbers, from just looting you.
Even if you're left alone, relatively...if everything collapses, PMs are useless. Your needs will be shelter and food. Your trade goods will be other essential needs, immediate-gratification luxuries (candy, booze and cigarettes) and of course, sex.
No one will want gold coins in that chaos. They have weight and no immediate utility.
My point is, PMs will not have unmitigated value. In any kind of organized structure, with people looking ahead...looking to trade...needing money of some sort, for trade...gold has value when paper notes, when mutual-fund statements, do not.
But not in the chaos of destruction. And not in a totalitarian situation where the non-Elites are FORBIDDEN to have wealth - something we may have to face in the future.
Bottom line is, gold's value depends on survival of individual autonomy and on the presence of some sort of organized human activity.
So, why is its market-value collapsing now? Malicious manipulation with paper contracts, to drive the herds into government and financiers' debt instruments. With all the destruction, the cost of expended munitions, which will have to be replenished with printed fiat...the crazed Elites NEED their Ponzi to hold up moar. That means moar acceptance of government debt, and less money going off grid, into stores of gold.
So, manipulation.
Don't look at the $/oz exchange. The dollar is a construct, and now controlled by people who are not acting with society's best interest at heart. The way to judge gold's value is what it will buy, using the exchange tools available; and if that has fallen, ask why. The sudden cutoff of energy? The fog of war? Revolution? Famine? Those drop the exchange value of any money or tool of trade.
Hah, I was that fomo buyerIf anything, you should have Ben selling in '11 (and '10) to all the FOMO people.
Hong Kong is inviting a number of China-friendly central banks to participate in its gold-clearing system as part of a push to elevate the city as a major bullion-trading hub.
The city is targeting countries already engaged in Beijing’s Belt and Road initiative to supply the institutional clout needed to position Hong Kong as an alternative center to London, according to people familiar with the matter, who asked not to be named discussing sensitive matters. They did not specify which central banks had been invited.
The drive by Hong Kong will complement Beijing’s recent efforts to woo sovereign nations to store gold in mainland China, and is part of a broader strategy to extend the international appeal of the Chinese yuan as an investable asset, the people said.
The Hong Kong government didn’t reply to a request for comment.
A public campaign unveiled this year promotes the special administrative region as a trading, financing and storage hub for gold, with a government-run clearing system slated to begin trials this year. Hong Kong also signed a cooperation pact with the Shanghai Gold Exchange and reiterated a pledge to expand gold-storage capacity to 2,000 tons within three years.
Securing the buy-in of central banks – the ultimate providers of liquidity, given the large volumes of gold held in reserves – could give a significant boost to Hong Kong’s ambitions, along with support from established financial institutions that serve as market-makers. Together, they form the backbone of the world’s dominant gold-trading hub — London — where billions of dollars’ worth of the metal is traded every day.
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Hong Kong is still finalizing details of its proposed clearing system, the people said, including the type of bars permitted for delivery and the currencies in which trade can be settled.
Some of the people said the city is considering using the London Good Delivery standard – the global benchmark used by big banks and sovereign buyers – to align with international markets. A standard tailored for Hong Kong is also under consideration, although that may take some time, the people said.
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