relationship between gold and U.S. dollar

Gold And Interest Rates – No Correlation

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GOLD AND INTEREST RATES 2001-11

Over and over again, the following statement or something similar continues to find its way into commentary about gold:

“…prospects of higher US interest rates have the ability to limit upside gains. It must be kept in mind that Gold is a zero-yielding asset that tends to lose its allure in a high-interest rate environment”  

A variation of that statement:

“Because gold doesn’t bear interest, it struggles to compete when interest rates rise.” 

The statements imply a correlation between gold and interest rates. And the implied correlation suggests that higher interest rates result in lower gold prices.

If that is the case, then there should be some historical precedent to corroborate the correlation. There is. And we only need to go back a few years or more to find it. But it does not corroborate the correlation; it refutes it.

During the ten-year period 2001-2011, gold’s price increased from $275.00 per ounce to a high of nearly $1900.00 per ounce. And interest rates continued their long-term decline throughout that entire period.

In this example the original correlation is inferred to be supported by the opposite scenario  – lower interest rates and higher gold prices. So far, so good.

GOLD AND INTEREST RATES 1970-80

However, let’s go back a bit further along the time line. Between 1970 and 1980, the price of gold increased from $35.00 per ounce to $850.00 per ounce. But rather than declining, interest rates were on a tear.

Rather than “struggling to compete” gold was galloping ahead in the face of ever higher interest rates and increasing lack of demand for higher-yielding investments.

The higher rates were a reflection of lower prices for bonds and particularly U.S. Treasury securities. The 10-year U.S. Treasury bond yield exceeded 15%. Which makes you sort of wonder when you read something like this:

“Higher rates boost the value of the dollar by making U.S. assets more attractive to investors seeking yield.” 

Two ten-year periods of outsized gains in the price of gold. And interest rates were doing something exactly opposite during each period. There simply is no correlation between gold and interest rates.

Additionally, there is no correlation between gold and 1) social unrest, or 2) global terrorism; or 3) world wars. Gold is not a safe haven hedge and it is not an investment. It is real money.

WHY DOES GOLD PRICE CHANGE?

But is there something that correlates with gold? Anything at all? Why does its price change? And so dramatically, it seems?

With respect to gold and its price changes, there is only one thing that correlates. The U.S. dollar.

The U.S dollar is a substitute for gold. Gold is original money. The price of gold is an inverse reflection of the changing value of the U.S. dollar. The ongoing, never-ending deterioration of the dollar’s value means ever rising gold prices over time.

Gold is the standard; not the U.S. dollar. Gold has earned its designation as real money over five thousand years of history. It is original money. And it is real money because it is a store of value.

And there is historical evidence to support the correlation of gold’s price to the value of the U.S. dollar. Every change of significance in time and price for gold correlates with an inverse change in the value of the U.S. dollar. Higher prices for gold correlate with a lower value for the U.S. dollar. Lower gold prices correlate with stability and strength for the U.S. dollar.

The correlation between gold and the U.S. dollar is implicit. One does not ’cause’ the other. Either one is the inverse of the other.

Some have said that the argument about correlation of interest rates and gold depends on making a distinction between real interest rates and nominal interest rates. No correlation there, either.

That is because any patterns that appear to confirm correlation between real or nominal interest rates and gold need to include the U.S. dollar. The U.S. dollar is the determining correlative factor re: gold.

Without taking into account the relative strength or weakness of the U.S. dollar relative to gold’s price, any other correlations are either meaningless, misleading, or contradictory.

There are six major turning points (1920, 1934, 1971, 1980, 2001, 2011) on the chart (source) below. All of them coincided with – and reflect – inversely correlated turning points in the value of the U.S. dollar…

Gold Prices: 100-Year History
                                                                                               

The U.S. dollar is the world’s reserve currency and gold trades are settled in U.S. dollars. Since gold is priced in U.S. dollars and since the U.S. dollar is in a state of perpetual decline, the U.S. dollar price of gold will continue to rise over time.

There are ongoing subjective, changing valuations of the U.S. dollar from time-to-time and these changing valuations show up in the constantly fluctuating value of gold in U.S. dollars.  (read more here)

Kelsey Williams is the author of two books: INFLATION, WHAT IT IS, WHAT IT ISN’T, AND WHO’S RESPONSIBLE FOR IT and ALL HAIL THE FED!

Gold Prices – Inflation vs. Deflation

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GOLD PRICES

Inflation is the debasement of money by government. The expansion of the supply of money and its subsequent loss in value results in an increase in the general level of prices for goods and services.

Deflation is characterized by a contraction in the supply of money and a decrease in the general price level of goods and services. (What we are currently experiencing is called ‘disinflation’ which is a lower rate of inflation.)

The purpose of this essay is to clarify and explain accurately what to expect regarding gold prices if deflation occurs.

According to Wikipedia: “Inflation reduces the real value of money over time, but deflation increases it. This allows one to buy more goods and services than before with the same amount of money.”

The United States Government, via the Federal Reserve Bank, has been  practicing inflation regularly for over one hundred years. They are good at it. Their efforts have resulted in a ninety-eight percent “reduction in the purchasing power per unit of money.”

The reduction in purchasing power of the U.S. dollar is reflected in the higher price of gold.

In 1913, with gold at $20.65 per ounce, twenty U.S. dollars in paper money was equal to twenty dollars in gold. Today gold is at $1270.00 per ounce, more than sixty times higher than in 1913.

The higher price for gold does not mean that gold has experienced an increase in purchasing power. Rather, its higher price reflects the decline in purchasing power of the U.S dollar.

Deflation is different. It is the exact opposite of inflation.  And the results are different as well.

As we said earlier, deflation is characterized by a contraction in the supply of money. Hence, each remaining unit is more valuable; i.e. its purchasing power increases.

Government causes inflation and pursues it for its own selfish reasons.  A government does not voluntarily stop inflating its currency. And it certainly isn’t going to reduce the supply of money. So what causes deflation?

Government causes deflation, too. Deflation happens when a monetary system can no longer sustain the price levels which have been elevated artificially and excessively.

Governments love the inflation they create. But with even more fervor, they hate deflation. And not because of any perceived negative effects on its citizens. It is because the government loses control over the system which supports its own ability to function.

Regardless of the Fed’s attempts to avoid it, deflation is a very real possibility. An implosion of the debt pyramid and a destruction of credit would cause a settling of price levels for everything (stocks, real estate, commodities, etc.) worldwide at anywhere from 50-90 percent less than currently.  It would translate to a very strong US dollar.  And a much lower gold price.

Those who hold US dollars would find that their purchasing power had increased.  The US dollar would actually buy more, not less. But the supply of US dollars would be significantly less.  This is true deflation, and it is the exact opposite of inflation.

The relationship between gold and the US dollar is similar to that between bonds and interest rates.  Gold and the US dollar move inversely.  So do bonds and interest rates. If you own bonds, then you know that if interest rates are rising, the value of your bonds is declining.  And, conversely, if interest rates are declining, the value of your bonds is rising.  One does not ’cause’ the other.  Either result is the actual inverse of the other.

Inflation leads to a U.S. dollar which loses value over time; hence, this is reflected in a higher gold price.

Deflation results in an increase in value/purchasing power for the U.S. dollar; hence, this is reflected in a lower gold price.

Those who expect gold to increase in price during deflation are wrong for several reasons.

Gold is not an investment. And it does not respond to the various headline items that journalists and analysts continue to repeat erroneously. It is not correlated with interest rates and it does not respond to housing statistics. It is not influenced by world events, terrorism, or the stock market.

Gold is real money. The U.S. dollar is a substitute for real money, i.e. gold.

If deflation occurs, there is no other possibility except for lower gold prices.

(to read more about gold and its relationship to the U.S. dollar, see here)

Kelsey Williams is the author of two books: INFLATION, WHAT IT IS, WHAT IT ISN’T, AND WHO’S RESPONSIBLE FOR IT and ALL HAIL THE FED!