“A massive near-400 metric tons of gold has been shipped from London to New York since November,” GoldCore reported. The “unbelievable” demand for physical gold has caused a shortage in London. Reasons for gold scarcity and its price surging is attributed to China, Russia and other countries diversifying their reserves (i.e. de-dollarizing), but there is another factor, which the report does not consider.
Earlier this month Mali, the third largest African gold producer, seized three tons of Barrick gold, while Burkina Faso, the fourth largest gold producer in Africa, is also renegotiating contracts with U.S. and Australian gold miners. Zimbabwe, another gold producer, has put its currency, the Zimbabwe, on the gold standard.
“A surge in gold shipments to the U.S. has left traders scrambling to borrow from central banks, with wait times at the Bank of England stretching from days to weeks,” Zero Hedge reported. “The gold supply chain, long considered reliable, is now exposed to cracks that weren’t apparent before. …