Gold is now the top U.S. export

XCSme

I thought it was tokens

jpollock

I wonder how much of that are foreign central banks moving their gold reserves out of the USA... France, The Netherlands and Germany have been moving gold. https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/cvgyn8q8gqxo

manlymuppet

How much of this is exports being ranked by value, and gold, even a little being worth a lot, quickly becomes the “top” export despite being relatively small in absolute quantity terms?

_ache_

If you think that USD value will drop sharply, it's a logical thing to do.

throw73847939

Gold is tiny compared to oil and other energy exports. I would more watch for drop in energy exports, and how US is screwing its partners right now!

leopoldcongo

All the gold was stolen from Africa or South America by the Europeans no?

metalman

ton for ton the US top export is CO², and it's largest import is O², or was, if it has slipped then that is the main reason behind the export of ag, as all of it is tied to actual industrial capacity

throwawayffffas

Straight up read God.

JumpCrisscross

> majority of gold exports are going to Switzerland, almost certainly to the refiners there Sounds like a refining bottleneck. Globally, “refining capacity is operating at near-total utilization” [1]. That is particularly true in America, where refiners are “limiting purchases” [2] and “turning away new clients” [3]. Global demand for gold—lead by China—is surging. That, in turn, made gold “the most-developed commodity over 2020-25” with “the highest [new] mine count each year during the period” [4]. Where are those mines opening? In “Australia, Canada and the US,” which “accounted for the largest share of new gold production.” [1] https://www.skillings.net/gold-refining-report-global-standa... [2] https://www.jckonline.com/editorial-article/metal-refiners-t... [3] https://www.jckonline.com/editorial-article/refining-pipelin... [4] https://www.spglobal.com/market-intelligence/en/news-insight...

legitster

The article points out the primary source is recycling operations. This is not some big currency or export program. It's most likely Grandma and Grandpa hawking their jewelry. The cash for gold industry in the US is absolutely massive and growing. Most of it is fueled by boomers dumping their assets into gold and silver - and then cashing it out when times get worse.

erkt

With the proper facilities, isn’t it already economical to transmute mercury to gold via neutron bombardment?

asphodele

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Homestake_Mine_(South_Dakota) "The Homestake Mine was a deep underground gold mine (8,000 feet or 2,438 m) located in Lead, South Dakota. Until it closed in 2002, it was the largest and deepest gold mine in the Western Hemisphere. The mine produced more than forty million troy ounces (43,900,000 oz; 1,240,000 kg) of gold during its lifetime. This is about 2,500 cubic feet (71 m3) or a volume of gold roughly equal to 18,677 US gallons. ... In 1876, settlers Fred and Moses Manuel, Alex Engh, and Hank Harney discovered the Homestake deposit during the Black Hills Gold Rush. The Black Hills had been guaranteed to the Lakota Nation by the Fort Laramie Treaty, but the land was stolen for its gold." When the illegal miners moved in on the Black Hills, Crazy Horse would on occasion raid them to sieze their gold, after which he would re-bury it.

beloch

"There are multiple foreign governments growing leery of the future loss of purchasing power of the U.S. dollar, where they would prefer a different reserve asset with a better track record. Among all foreign central banks combined, the value of their gold reserves now exceeds their holdings of U.S. Treasury debt." ... "When you put these factors together, my suspicion is that a high percentage of U.S. gold exports are going to China, though some must first detour through Swiss refineries to convert the gold into kilogram bars of acceptable purity. It is possible that the U.S. government may have acquiesced in this form of payment in return for other political concessions having to do with a number of global uncertainties." ----------------- U.S. bond yields (the interest the U.S. pays on its debt) are increasing because there is less demand for U.S. treasury bonds. Lenders are reluctant to buy U.S. government debt, but the U.S. government needs that money, so it must pay more. This reduces the value of the USD (i.e. increases inflation) and makes the USD a less attractive reserve currency (A good reserve currency holds its value.)*. Gold is just one alternative option, but it is something the U.S. actually has a fair amount of. The U.S. would likely be exporting Swiss francs now if it had a lot of those too. Why is there less demand for U.S. bonds? The U.S. is accruing a lot of debt with high spending and reduced taxes at the same time AI companies are competing for investment dollars (i.e. loans). There's only so much capital to go around, so interest rates go up. TL;DR: U.S. spends too much. Taxes too little. AI companies spend too much. Make too little. Investors want more interest to supply cash, so U.S. bond yields go up and USD value goes down. Anyone looking for stable currencies to hold start switching to gold (or others). No grand Chinese conspiracy is necessary. ____________ * The USD is doing well at the current moment, almost inexplicably, but the important thing is what lenders think it will do in the future.

PowerElectronix

Speaks volumes of the results the policies to make the US a manufacturing and exporting country are getting.

tgsovlerkhgsel

That would be a very convenient way to fix the trade balance that Trump is so obsessed about...

im3w1l

Judging by stock prices, I think the implicit expectation is that the US will soon start exporting a lot of AI.

EGreg

No, the top US export is still USD. That is how we get all those imports cheaper than most countries. Trump just made a deal w Putin for example to import Russia’s diesel … in exchange for USD.

widowlark

its just unwinding from the tariff holdings

zaps

Fort Knox is for tourists