This article expresses the viewpoints of one of our precious metals specialists, based on recent news reports and opinion-based analysis of the situation. This information should in no way be taken as professional investment advice. As always, we encourage you to talk to your financial advisor before making any investment decisions.
In my opinion, President Putin has placed his strategic nuclear deterrence forces on standby and has stated that he has nuclear submarines with the capability of launching 500 nuclear warheads at the U.S. and NATO countries. He has threatened to use his nuclear capabilities if any country interferes with his plans in Ukraine.
Russia has challenged the entire world to a high-stakes game of nuclear poker and has opened with an all-in bet. It seems unlikely that Putin would want to destroy the countries he wants to sell oil and natural gas to, so this may be a bluff. However, the seriousness of his threat should give each of us pause and consider the possibility he has truthfully revealed his intentions.
Get Our Free
Investor's Guide
Personally, I do not think Putin has any intention of launching nuclear weapons. Instead, he is trying to bait the U.S. into an expensive conflict provoking the Federal Reserve to continue printing incredible amounts of dollars to aid Ukraine in war. Inevitably, energy costs will increase, creating a higher across-the-board cost of living for all Americans. Putin is engaging in adventurism in Ukraine, but do not be fooled; this war is against the American economy and the dollar’s international reserve currency supremacy. War is the fastest way to stimulate an economy and undo it. The U.S. economy is incredibly stressed right now. Another expensive war won’t help. Putin is trying to knock down a few dominoes in the already strained American economy to cause a complete economic collapse.
Before the invasion of Ukraine, President Biden stated that no one believed that the sanctions would deter Russia. Why would they? In the summer of 2021, the U.S. placed additional sanctions on Russia, even though Russia has been steadily reducing its dollar holdings for years, steadily changing its U.S. Dollar position for Euros, Chinese Yuan, and gold. Currently, 30% of Russia’s national wealth fund is in the Chinese Yuan, and 20% is now in gold.
Those investors following the market closely would have noticed China has also increased its buying
of gold. China bought 813.59 metric tons of gold in 2021, which was 48% more than they bought in 2020. China is expanding the trials of its digital currency and is quickly approaching a scalable release. Russia seems to be betting they will have it soon, or else they would not have risked all international trade to secure Ukraine at this moment in time.
Russia’s brazenness is completely predictable. Six months ago, the U.S. left its own citizens behind enemy lines in Afghanistan. Environmentalists convinced American politicians to abandon energy independence. The President of the United States begged OPEC to produce more oil, even though it has the largest oil reserves on the planet. The language Putin understands is strength. President Putin does not believe President Biden will use American strength if it offends his political base. In other words, the perception is that America is showing weakness. Russia is too smart to attack what is strong. They attack what is weak.
How did the U.S. get into this situation where Russia has this much leverage and influence in international affairs? It started decades ago when the U.S. changed from a manufacturing economy to a service economy. We let people in India, Germany, China, Russia, and Ukraine make our toasters, bicycles, and even our lumber. American wealth has become paper-based. The American mistake was making our economy paper. Learn from their mistake and make yours tangible and durable. It is the paper that Russia is attacking with their metal bombs because the paper is weak.
If you also believe paper is weak, why don’t you fortify your portfolio with precious metals? Instead of waiting for Russia and China to put all their pieces in place to destroy the dollar, why not get your excess money out of harm’s way now and put a percentage of your wealth into gold, silver, platinum, and palladium? In my opinion, Russia believes the dollar is going to die, so they hold 20% of their portfolio in gold. We are at a place in history where Russia is not hesitating to threaten nuclear war. China is also holding large amounts of gold to prepare for what’s coming. We are at a place in history where Russia is not hesitating to threaten nuclear war. Instead of waiting to see if they are bluffing or not, why don’t you call one of our precious metal experts to see how metals can protect you from the war on your purchasing power. The time is now. Today is the day. If you already have metals, great! Are you sure you have enough to weather the coming storm? If you do not have metals yet, what are you waiting for? The U.S. Gold Bureau can be reached at (800) 775-3504.
Posting in:
byRyan Watkins, Op-Ed Contributor