June 2026 - Week 2 Edition
Central Bank Gold Buying Remains Strong but the Press Blames it on Loss of Faith in Trump!
If you think the U.S. press corps is mostly anti-Trump, you might be surprised to learn that the British press is far worse, as exemplified by the string of anti-Trump covers and major articles in The Economist. Recently, the British Telegraph commented on the rising volume of central gold buying with a political opening:
“Gold has overtaken US bonds to become central banks' favorite investment, as Donald Trump rattles faith in America's political stability.” – From the Daily Telegraph (Britain), June 2, 2026
The facts are clear but their political angle is clouded even though the Telegraph is uniformly labeled as a “right-wing, conservative” newspaper. The facts they cite are actually true but slightly disingenuous, beginning with this powerful fact:
“The share of gold in central banks’ official holdings of foreign currencies climbed to 27% last year, surpassing U.S. Treasuries at 22%, according to a report from the European Central Bank (ECB),” but that increase was due in large part to the rapidly rising price of gold during 2025 and not because of President Trump. As the Telegraph wrote: “The cost of a troy ounce rose by 65% last year, finishing 2025 at a near-record $4,322 (£3,209).”
The Telegraph fails to mention that the vast majority of central bank gold buying came during the Biden years. From a base average of 500 tons per year of central bank gold buying from 2011 to 2021, annual gold purchases doubled to over 1,000 tons per year in the Biden years, 2022 to 2024. Then, in 2025, in Trump’s first year, central bank gold buying fell to 863 metric tons before rising again in early 2026.
So, if anything, the “loss of faith in America’s political stability” came in the Biden, not Trump, years.
The peak wave of central bank gold buying from 2022 to 2024 was caused by (1) high inflation due to President Biden’s spending and stimulus programs, (2) the Russian attack on Ukraine, beginning in early 2022 and then (3) the rising Middle East tensions after Hamas invaded Israel in October 2023, when gold was still below $2,000 per ounce.
After these wars began, Allied sanctions against Russia were a major reason central banks wanted to exchange dollars (or rubles) for gold. At its peak in early 2026, gold had more than tripled since 2022, so these central banks were wise and far-sighted in their gold buying. As investors, we should do the same and “buy on dips” since the fundamentals fueling gold’s rise are still there.
Gold and silver are down sharply in early June, with gold off 10% and silver down 15% but we should bear in mind that major stock market indexes are also down, with the NASDAQ off 6.7% and the S&P 500 down 4.1% so far this month. We should also pause to survey the significant collapse in cryptocurrencies, once thought to be “the new gold.” Since peaking eight months ago in October 2025, Bitcoin is down over 50% and the No. 2-ranked cryptocurrency, Ethereum, is down 67%. In the same eight months, gold is up 4%.
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