Summary: Central Banks Are Buying Gold in Record Level—Why Retail Investors Still on the Sidelines?
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Global Gold Demand Remains Strong
Despite high nominal prices, Asian demand for bullion—especially in gold—remains relentless, signaling continued confidence in precious metals as a hedge. -
Central Banks Are Quietly Rebuilding Their Gold Reserves
Post-Bretton Woods, central banks are buying gold at record levels, citing new drivers like sanctions risk, de-dollarization, and anticipated shifts in the global monetary system. -
De-Dollarization Is Accelerating
U.S. banks report more exporters prefer settling trade in euros, yuan, or pesos, highlighting declining global appetite for the dollar in cross-border transactions. -
Resource-Rich Nations Nationalizing Gold Assets
Nations like Mali are reclaiming control of gold mines and building domestic refineries, often aligning with powers like Russia and China as part of a broader geopolitical realignment. -
China's Appetite for Platinum Is Surging
China imported over 405,000 oz of platinum in May alone—10x India's volume—driven by industrial and automotive demand, while U.S. exchange stockpiles continue to dwindle. -
Silver Briefly Hits $37/oz Before Expiry Drop
Silver had a breakout moment this week before pulling back to just under $36/oz on options expiry, still hovering near 13-year highs. -
Physical Market Tightness in Platinum and Silver
Both markets are running consistent structural supply deficits, supporting the case for continued price resilience or upside in physical metal over time. -
Retail Awareness in the U.S. Is Lagging Behind
Many American retail investors remain unaware or unconcerned about silver’s rally—what insiders view as a potential opportunity amid rising global interest. -
The Dow/Gold and S&P 500/Silver Ratios Look Fragile
Long-term technical charts suggest equity markets may be overvalued relative to precious metals, hinting at a potential reversion trend in favor of bullion. -
Silver's Industrial Demand Narrative Is Gaining Visibility
Viral social media charts—amplified by Elon Musk—are spotlighting silver’s critical role in green energy technologies like solar and nuclear, bolstering the investment case.
Global De-Dollarization Fuels Record Gold Buying by Central Banks
In a world that seems increasingly insane and unstable, it's not surprising to see the bid for gold and bullion ongoing in record size.
Asian bullion demand even at or near record nominal price points near anywhere you look, the demand is not stopping, it is instead climbing in nominal fiat US dollar terms.
North Americans are still asleep at the wheel, but their arriving late to the building bullion mania ahead is to be expected.
On net, government central banks continue buying Gold Bullion in post World War 2 Bretton Woods and full fiat currency era, record size.
About 1/3rd of them surveyed, with about 1/3rd of them sighting somewhat new rationales for increasing buying bullion.
-Concerns about sanctions
-Anticipation of Changes in the International Monetary System
-Part of De-dollarization policy
All three relatively new admitted sentiment drivers amongst the old standard reasonings.
Famed author of the 2007 book 'The Black Swan', Nassem Talib's commentary on Bloomberg was probably the normie shaking gold related clip of the week.
Here's what he had to say.
US bank executives are reporting that many exporters want invoicing and payment settlements in less and less US dollars.
Bloomberg reported this week,
When Paula Comings, the head of currency sales for US Bancorp, talks to US importers, she increasingly hears the same message: Their foreign counterparties no longer want to be paid in dollars.
Instead, they ask for settlement in euros, Chinese renminbi, the Mexican peso and the Canadian dollar, looking to limit their exposure to further swings in the greenback.
“A lot of clients previously were reluctant because dollars were sacred in the eyes of the supplier,” Comings said. “Now the vibe from overseas vendors seems to be, ‘Just give us our currency.’”
“The change is difficult to quantify in real time, but in markets from East Asia to Latin America, a growing number of exporters are opting to denominate contracts in euro, yuan, or even local currencies,” said Karl Schamotta, chief market strategist at cross-border payments firm Corpay in Toronto.
In a sign of the times in often unstable commodity rich nations, the recent trends of coups and then nationalizing mines and turning to new partners is becoming predictably more commonplace.
For instance the recent Barrick gold mine placed under Mali state control. With reports this week that Mali intends to break ground on a new domestically based gold refinery for all internal mined ore to pass through the value chain for alleged future development of the country.
Mali has recently broken away from France its former colonial power and moved towards Russia.
Russia is not the only nation intent on mining and refining mass gold from Africa, China has been in an offshore resource scramble for the last more than decade running.
Mali is but one of over 50 African nations signed onto the Chinese Belt and Road initiative.
After this break we'll describe further in fresh data detail how big China's seemingly insatiable demand for not merely gold but also platinum and silver is manifesting itself in both import data and information that mass amounts of western normies are increasingly being shown on major social media accounts.
The silver and gold markets finished down on this holiday shortened week.
The spot silver price briefly cleared spot $37 oz only to recede on options expiry today closing just under $36 oz bid.
The spot gold price closed at $3368 oz bid and the spot gold silver ratio closed at 93.
Quick fundamental physical flow check on the World Platinum market like silver in ongoing supply deficits year after year.
With stubbornly higher near record gold price levels for a long time now, there continues to be anecdotal reports of Asian jewelry buyers thrifting into platinum over gold, with the spot gold platinum ratio falling by nearly one ounce over the past two months alone from a high of near 3.6 to now near 2.6 oz platinum to afford 1 ounce of gold.
Indian platinum import levels are rising compared to last year. But when it comes to platinum it is the Chinese market that dominates global physical platinum demand.
Not merely for jewelry reasons but for their world leading automotive manufacturing, and other industrial applications its economy must have in platinum usage.
Last month, China imported over ten times the amount of platinum that India bought and these blue bars keep piling up and to the right.
NYMEX platinum warehouse levels are now down to a reported 331,666 oz total.
And last month May 2025, China imported over 405,000 oz of platinum alone.
Meanwhile long term US Stock market DOW / Gold ratio chart looks like it technically might fall off a cliff not long from now.
And the longterm S&P 500 / Silver spot price chart looks like a coming cliff dive has a long way to fall in time.
Industry friend Christopher Aaron of iGlobalGold pointed out in a poll he ran this week that most of his followers normie associates are not silver conscious at all still while spot price are pushing near 13 year high nominal price levels.
Meanwhile on Twitter X charts and data like this are being passed around regarding energies like solar and nuclear power which both heavily require silver industrial inputs.
Jesse Peltan posted this chart that passed around virally stating...
He followed that up with another tweet stating.
Elon Musk RT'd stating the following.
That will be all for this week's SD Bullion Market Update.
And as always, take great care of yourselves and those you love.
References:
Nassim Taleb on Risks, Gold, Private Markets, Trump Tariffs
https://youtu.be/7nL3bDaUSZw?si=PXRHwBQ-nTGza-ur&t=298
Many Exporters No Longer Want Dollars, US Bank Executive Says
https://archive.is/qfT1p
