October 28, 2024 – Gold and silver markets enter this week’s trading on a path to set yet more new high marks ahead of the upcoming election.
Gold added to its recent string of record weekly closes on Friday, finishing at $2,759/oz. Silver outperformed on a percentage basis to make a multi-year high just shy of the $34/oz level.
Meanwhile, new U.S. sanction threats against Russia jolted the palladium market. Fears that Russia’s sizeable palladium supplies could be cut off to the global market helped push prices higher by 11% last week.
Metals markets continue to shrug off the Federal Reserve note’s strength versus foreign currencies (the U.S. Dollar Index). Hard money is gaining in terms of all forms of fiat money.
Friday’s Close (Weekly Gain/Loss)
Monday Morning (Gain/Loss from Friday’s Close)
Gold
$2,759 (+0.9%)
$2,753 (-0.2%)
Silver
$33.94 (+1.7%)
$34.00 (+0.2%)
Platinum
$1,029 (+1.2%)
$1,043 (+1.2%)
Palladium
$1,230 (+11.0%)
$1,252 (+1.8%)
Gold : Silver Ratio (as of Friday’s closing prices) – 81.3 to 1
Americans Are Living in Fear of ‘Crimeflation’
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Government statistics portraying robust jobs growth, shrinking inflation, and a booming economy aren’t squaring with Americans’ real-world experiences. The vast majority say their standard of living in recent years has gotten worse, not better.
A similar disconnect reveals itself on the subject of crime. For months, the White House and the mainstream media have been citing FBI statistics that purport to show the crime rate is coming down.
But ask residents of big cities whether they feel safer walking down the streets at night. Ask residents of border states whether they notice fewer problems with illegal immigration.
Ask mothers whether they feel more comfortable allowing their children to ride mass transit. Ask retail store managers whether shoplifting is occurring less frequently. Ask senior citizens whether they feel less likely to be targeted by scam artists.
The answer to all these questions would likely be a resounding “NO!”
Crime isn’t, in fact, going down. It turns out the FBI’s numbers were phony from the beginning.
The Bureau had initially reported there was a 2.1% drop in violent crimes in 2022. But after a revision to the data set, it admitted in a September 2024 press release that there was actually a 4.5% increase!
As John R. Lott of the Crime Prevention Research Center documents, even this reported increase in crime masks the true extent of it. That’s because an increasing number of crimes are going unreported and unprosecuted.
In some jurisdictions, entire categories of crime (such as thefts below a certain dollar threshold) are effectively being ignored by law enforcement.
National Crime Victimization Survey numbers show that total violent crime has risen by a 55% since Joe Biden assumed office.
Robberies, as reported by victims themselves, are up a grim 63%.
If you don’t want to become another addition to those “crimeflation” statistics, then you need to take precautions.
For example, flashing your wealth around by wearing expensive jewelry or watches out in public may no longer be safe (many police departments now specifically warn against it).
Owners of physical precious metals should take care to keep quiet about their holdings. They should also realize that a typical home safe doesn’t actually offer much protection from a burglar armed with basic tools such as a crowbar and drill.
Don’t put all your eggs in one basket!
Anyone who owns significant quantities of bullion should consider storing at least some of their sound money reserves in a highly secure storage facility that is regularly audited and fully insured.
Precious metals investors also need to be careful to avoid scams. Some have been around a long time in different forms. Others are newly proliferating now that gold is hitting records.
Last week, the Commodity Futures Trading Commission announced it has obtained a judgment in federal court against a predatory firm called Regal Assets:
Regal Assets solicited customers to transfer funds primarily from their tax-deferred retirement accounts to purchase precious metals from Regal Assets through self-directed IRAs. Rather than using all of the customers’ funds to purchase precious metals, the defendants misappropriated more than $21 million from more than 120 customers.
Money Metals has long been aware of Regal Assets’ corrupt practices. At one point, we took legal action against one of its affiliates for fraud and unfair trade practices after it published libelous, negative online “reviews” about our company to promote Regal Assets.
While the victims of the multi-million dollar fraud at Regal Assets can now seek restitution, they may never be made whole. (Best we can tell, the government never located the owner, Tyler Gallagher, who reportedly fled the country.) Nor will the victims of countless other scams, whose perpetrators may never be brought to justice.
Your best protection against getting fleeced when buying precious metals is to ignore the slick pitches that sound too good to be true. For safety, avoid doing business with dealers who advertise on cable TV using celebrity spokesmen.
Stick with bullion-focused dealers who have built up a reputation for stellar customer service and exhibit a genuine commitment to sound money principles.
This week’s Market Update was authored by Money Metals President Stefan Gleason.
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