The U.S. has not used the gold standard since 1933, when the Emergency Banking Act forced Americans to give up gold and convert their holdings to dollars. Since then, there have been “gold bugs” advocating for a return to the gold standard. Their argument? A gold standard prevents governments from issuing too much money. In the last 89 years since the official gold standard was jettisoned, gold nonetheless remained a hedge for, and typically benefitted from, inflation – but 2021 was a different kind of inflation. Precious metals, including gold actually decreased in 2021.
Inflation in 2021 was driven by a number of factors, though more money through accommodative monetary policy and government payments were certai...
What You Need to Know Today: The hot, dry weather forecast continues to drive strength in grain futures with corn and soybeans hitting another day of strong gains. Monday’s Crop Progress and Conditions data were in line with market expectations and showed relatively few concerns for the...
Yesterday we wrote about the Q1 GDP numbers and the June employment reports in an article entitled Real GDP for Q1 Relying on AI Buildout, Held Back by Consumer Spending. That article mentioned that consumer spending had become a drag on GDP. Nonetheless, real GDP in Q1 was revised upward to 2...
Key Takeaways: The Middle East and North Africa's arid climate and limited water resources have created a structural dependence on imported wheat. Government wheat tenders in major importing countries serve as important benchmarks for global trade, providing insight into exporter competitivene...
