Free Republic

FRANCE COMPLETES REPATRIATION OF 129 METRIC TONS OF GOLD RESERVES BY SELLING GOLD HELD AT THE NY FED, BUYING NEW BARS IN PARIS⚠️ France just “repatriated” their gold reserves held at the NY Fed by selling them & using the proceeds to buy new “modern” gold bars in Paris according to an article from Reuters: “A 2024 internal audit recommended completing the ​process for the small share of French gold still held ⁠in New York. The residual stock of 129 metric tons, or about ​5% of France’s total gold reserves, was upgraded by selling the gold ​and buying compliant bars...

With its economy strangled by international sanctions, Iran is turning more than ever to the wealth hidden beneath its soil. And now, a stunning revelation: a colossal gold deposit has been found in the Shadan mine, located in the country’s eastern region. Estimated at over 61 million tons of ore, this find could reshape the balance of the global gold market. Iran’s subsoil is rich in untapped treasure. The nation is already known for its substantial gold resources—around fifteen mines are currently active. For a country hampered by years of economic restrictions, mining has become nothing less than a lifeline....

Gold is supposed to be one of the first assets investors run to when the world gets dangerous. War in the Middle East, oil supply disruptions, rising inflation fears, and a more hawkish interest rate outlook should, in theory, create a near-perfect backdrop for the precious metal. Instead, gold has done the opposite. It has sold off hard, leaving many investors wondering whether one of the market’s oldest safe-haven trades is starting to fail when it is needed most. That disconnect matters. Gold is not just another commodity. For many investors, central banks, and households around the world, it represents...

ICBC and Agricultural Bank of China have run out of investment gold bars. And silver premiums over London spot are 13%. Comex silver contract is sinking into irrelevance. Last weekend, the US and Israel attacked Iran and the week’s news was dominated by another Middle East war. Markets’ gut reaction was to mark down investment assets and mark up dollars. Consequently, in the confusion gold and silver declined on the week as the dollar rallied. In European trade this morning gold was $5090, down $230 from last Friday’s close, and silver at $82.70 was down $11 over the same timescale....

According to a statement released by the Autonomous University of Barcelona (UAB), the Romans extracted gold from alluvial deposits in the Eastern Pyrenees. Using optically stimulated luminescence dating techniques, Oriol Olesti Vila of the UAB and Jorge Sanjurjo-Sánchez of the University of A Coruña dated two samples of fill from the remains of an ancient hydraulic structure on the Segre River to the third and fourth centuries A.D. The researchers explained that Roman miners would have eroded gold deposits from the riverbanks with water, and then washed them, either by channeling water through the sediments or flooding the sediments with...

Auston Matthews’ triumphant return to Toronto could have gone a lot worse. The Maple Leafs recognized their three Olympians during Saturday’s 5-2 loss to the Ottawa Senators, their first home game since the conclusion of the 2026 Winter Olympics. At the first TV timeout of the contest, fans erupted in applause for Sweden’s William Nylander and Oliver Ekman-Larsson — before giving a mixed reaction toward the Maple Leafs captain. Of course, the star center had more recently captained Team USA to its first men’s hockey Olympic gold medal since 1980 at Canada’s expense. Jeers sprouted from the crowd as the...

Kitco News) - In a historic shift for state level finance, Texas has officially moved from a passive storage model to an active, state run bullion supply chain. The rollout, announced live from the Texas State Capitol, introduces a first of its kind dot gov storefront that allows the public to purchase state branded gold and silver directly from the Comptroller office. The initiative marks the first time a U.S. state has facilitated a closed loop system for precious metals, bridging the gap between manufacturing, vaulting, and direct to consumer sales. Texas is the first state to facilitate a closed...

Amateurs using metal detector located the tomb and after the initial major finds they contacted the archaeological authorities.The well-preserved grave contained an uncharacteristically large 12th-century sword as well as what appeared to be a Viking-age blade that may have been part of a cremation ceremony.The find was brought to light in a field in Hyvikkälä, Janakkala, which had showed signs of pre-historic settlement, by amateur metal detectorists After uncovering a few minor objects, the metal detector picked up a spear tip and an axe blade. After some digging, the group discovered a broken sword. At this point, the hobbyists broke...

President de Gaulle of France initiated the secret operation “Vide-Gousset” and repatriated 3,313 tonnes of gold reserves from the vaults of the Federal Reserve in New York and the Bank of England in London from 1963 until 1966. De Gaulle feared America’s deficit in its balance of payments would rupture Bretton Woods and lead to a devaluation of the dollar against gold. All France’s dollars were converted into gold, and to avoid treachery, the metal was repatriated over the course of three years. It took 44 boat trips and 129 flights to bring home more than three thousand tonnes of...

In Greek mythology, Cassandra was granted the power to see the future, but cursed so that no one would believe her. She warned of disaster repeatedly, only to be ignored until tragedy struck. Today, the United States has its own modern-day Cassandras, and once again our warnings are being dismissed. Knowledgeable experts have cautioned that our nation’s fiscal path is unsustainable. Federal budget documents themselves have repeatedly sounded the alarm. Credit rating agencies have raised increasingly serious concerns. Despite these warnings, Washington continues to behave as though time is unlimited and there are no consequences to continuing to ignore the...

The price of gold fell from a record $5600 to $4770 per ounce. On Friday, the price of silver fell by 31%. This is the biggest percentage drop in the price of this bullion since March 1980. What could be the reasons for such declines?Gold hit a new record high on Thursday at $5600 per ounce. Silver was trading at $120 per ounce. Suddenly, precious metal prices began to fall. By Friday evening, gold was already costing $470 per ounce. Gold fever reached a new high at the beginning of 2026, with prices hitting a record earlier this week....

High-flying gold and silver took a staggering hit in overnight trading with the precious metals losing roughly $6 trillion in just 30 minutes — as oil prices surge over fears over Iran. Gold tumbled back after hitting a new record at $5,595.47 an ounce as investors rushed to assets deemed safe, including silver, which reached its own record of $120.44 an ounce. The dollar steadied after losing ground most of this week. Gold declined more than five per cent and silver plunged more than eight per cent, while copper and nickel prices also fell, as traders reassessed the market. “The...

Gold and silver prices plunged Friday, as President Donald Trump’s nomination for the next chair of the Federal Reserve, Kevin Warsh, appeared to relieve concerns about the central bank’s independence and sent the dollar soaring. Spot silver was down 28% at $83.45 an ounce, trading near its lows of the day. Silver futures plummeted 31.4% to settle at $78.53, marking its worst day since March 1980. Meanwhile, spot gold shed around 9% to trade at $4,895.22 an ounce. Gold futures dropped 11.4% to settle at $4,745.10. The sharp moves down were initially triggered by reports of Warsh’s nomination. However, they...

Call it the Post Powell Panic! After The Fed decided to do nothing at the FOMC meeting. Gold is down -12% from the peak, trading below $5,000. Silver is down -21%, trading below $100 for the first time since Friday, officially in a BEAR MARKET. Rough night in the precious metals market space. An absolute BLOODBATH. Is the top behind us? Gold -6% Silver -12% Copper -4% Platinum -13% Palladium -11% Trillions in market cap wiped out in a few hours. Powell at The Fed FOMC meeting imitating former Fed Chair Janet Yellen. And Trump has nominated Kevin Warsh for...

Gold and silver prices plunged on Friday, as President Donald Trump’s nomination for the next chair of the Federal Reserve, Kevin Warsh, appeared to relieve concerns about the central bank’s independence. By 7:12 a.m. ET, spot silver was down 10.6% to settle at around $103.81 an ounce, paring back earlier losses. In the early hours of the morning, the metal had plummeted as much as 16% and dipped below the $100 milestone.

Last year might have proved a good time to own shares in the chip-maker Nvidia, along with the booming American tech giants. Or a piece of the defence manufacturers as the world re-arms. Or to hold a position in some of the rapidly growing economies of South America or Asia, or even one of the hyped-up crypto currencies. There were plenty of places investors expected to make money over the past year. As it turned out, however, there was one asset that outpaced them all, even though it generates no income: gold, and to an even greater extent, its junior...

Gold extended its blistering rally on Thursday to hit a record just shy of $5,600 an ounce, as investors sought safety amid geopolitical and economic uncertainties, while silver came within a whisker of breaching $120. Spot gold shot up 2.6% to $5,538.69 an ounce by 0349 GMT, after hitting a record $5,591.61 earlier in the day. "Growing U.S. debt and uncertainty created by signs that the global trade system is splintering into regional blocs as opposed to a U.S.-centric model (are leading investors to pile into gold)," said Marex analyst Edward Weir.

Kitco News) - Investment demand remains the driving force in the gold market as prices surpass $5,000 per ounce. But the marketplace is evolving, with tokenized gold growing in popularity as investors look to protect themselves from monetary uncertainty, geopolitical risk, and declining confidence in traditional financial hedges. On Monday, the world’s largest gold-backed stablecoin, Tether Gold (XAU₮), published its fourth-quarter performance report, showing that it now accounts for more than half of the entire gold-backed stablecoin market. In the report, Tether noted that last year the global digital gold market saw its valuation grow to $4 billion, up from...

(Kitco News) - Gold and silver prices are strongly higher in afternoon trading Wednesday, with gold leading the way this time, powering to an all-time high of $5,360.60, basis April Comex futures, as of this writing, and scoring the largest daily price gains ever, in dollar terms. The precious metals are supported by safe-haven demand as the U.S. dollar wobbles on the foreign exchange market. April gold was last up $197.20 at $5,317.20. March silver prices were up $5.59 at $111.52. Gold and silver markets have shown no significant price reactions in the immediate aftermath of the Federal Reserve’s two-day...

Financial writer and precious metals expert Bill Holter (aka Mr. Gold) has been predicting record high gold and silver prices. We are nowhere finished with record prices for the metals happening every week and sometimes every day. Mr. Gold now has a new prediction about paper exchanges not being able to deliver physical metal. Holter says, “We exploded through $100 per ounce silver, and we went through $5,000 per ounce on gold, but that’s not the story. The story is there are already over 40 million ounces standing for delivery in January. January is a non-delivery month. If you go...