The central banks of Russia and China have been major buyers of gold this year, and that shows they realize the international monetary system is in a real pickle, says James Rickards, author of "The Death of Money: The Coming Collapse of the International Monetary System."
Russia has purchased about 150 metric tons of gold in 2014, according to its central bank Governor Elvira Nabiullina, driving its holdings to 1,149.8 metric tons, the highest since at least 1993.
"By purchasing gold, China and Russia have indicated that they understand how fragile things are and that they're getting ready for the demise of the dollar,"
Rickards told The New York Times.
"At the same time, other countries have been watching what they're doing and are saying to themselves, 'If things are really that bad, then we better get our gold back,' possession being ninetenths of the law."
February gold futures traded at $1,194.40 Monday morning on the Comex after hitting a four-year low of $1,130.40 Nov. 7.
To prevent the dollar's demise, Steve Forbes, chairman of Forbes Media, has for years advocated returning to the gold standard. "Gold maintains its intrinsic value better than anything else on Earth, and that's for 4,000 years," he told
Birch Gold Group earlier this year.
"And when you see the dollar price fluctuate around gold, that means the dollar is either weakening or people's perceptions about the dollar are changing."
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