 G-7 Bans Russian Gold; Putin LaughsIf there’s one good thing to be said about the G-7, it’s that it's consistent. Too bad it’s that it's consistently useless. On Sunday, members of the G-7 decided they’d waste some time by banning imports of gold from Russia. British Prime Minister Boris Johnson said the ban will "directly hit Russian oligarchs and strike at the heart of Putin's war machine." Biden tweeted:
And U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken said on CNN that gold, “is the second-most lucrative export that Russia has after energy — it’s about $19 billion a year — and most of that is within the G-7 countries. So cutting that off, denying access to about $19 billion of revenues a year, that’s significant.” So let’s break this down. First of all, Blinken is correct that Russia exported about $19 billion worth of gold last year. And that $19 billion is a significant amount of money… to most people. But $19 billion is no money at all relative to the Russian economy. “Lithium Crunch” Ahead: Buy THIS Stock Our exploding battery demand is causing a giant lithium crisis. According to the International Energy Agency, current lithium production will have to increase by 50x in the coming years... But one little-known company has figured out how to make high-performance batteries that require NO lithium whatsoever. This patented technology was developed in cooperation with the University of Queensland and is starting to roll out as we speak. Check out my free report on this once-in-a-lifetime opportunity. The total value of Russian exports last year is estimated to be about $275 billion. That’s down from about $330 billion in 2020. So $19 billion in gold exports is a drop in the bucket relative to the country’s total exports. Moreover, the G-7 consists of Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, the U.K., and the U.S. — seven countries. That’s it. There are more than 180 other nations that aren’t part of this ban. And the G-7 nations really aren’t the biggest importers of gold to begin with.
So what’s this all about? Well, it turns out that Russia’s gold exports are mostly specific to one single country: the United Kingdom. For American and American investors, the ban on Russian gold imports virtually means nothing at all. That’s simply because the United States doesn’t really import gold from Russia. According to the World Gold Council, Russia is the world’s second-largest gold producer by volume. Last year, the Russian Federation exported about $17 billion worth of gold, making it the world’s fourth-largest exporter. Of that $17 billion, it’s estimated the U.S. only imported $11,000 worth of Russian gold — that’s about 0.00006%, if you were counting. The bulk of Russia’s gold exports goes to the U.K. In 2021, Britain imported $15.2 billion worth of the yellow metal from the Russkies — that’s nearly 90% of Russia’s total export value. The remaining Russian exports go to Switzerland ($693 million), Kazakhstan ($424 million), Turkey ($380 million), and India ($96.6 million). Could This $6 Virginia Tech Upstart Be About to "Crucify" Coal?
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We have to wonder if Russia’s accumulation of its gold reserves has anything to do with what’s happening now. For the market, the Russian gold ban is a non-event. Gold prices were up slightly following the G-7 news. But it’s more likely gold was following the dollar. Until next time,
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