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The U.S. exported a stunning amount of gold since the turn of the
century. As the price of gold surged along with the massive increase in
U.S. debt, gold exports jumped to record highs. In 2012 alone, the
United States exported nearly 700 metric tons of gold. The total amount
of U.S. net gold exports over the past 17 years equaled the combined gold
reserves of six high ranking countries.
While the U.S. exported nearly 8,000 metric tons (mt) of gold since 2001,
it also imported a great deal as well. Thus, we arrive at a “net
export” figure by subtracting gold imports from gold exports. During
the past 17 years, there were only four years where the U.S. imported more
gold than it exported. These net gold import years were in 2004-2005
and 2010-2011 and totaled only 322 mt.
However, U.S. gold net exports were the mainstay as a staggering
2,340 mt of gold were shipped abroad. If we look at the chart
below, U.S. gold net exports picked up during the 2007-2008 U.S. Housing and
Investment Banking collapse:
From 2012 to 2017, U.S. net gold exports totaled 1,354 mt or 43.5
million. That’s one heck of a lot of gold. Of course, the United
States produces a lot of gold, 210-225 mt annually, however, domestic demand
consumes a large percentage of that amount.
Now if we compare U.S. net gold exports versus the official reserves at
top-ranking countries, the number turns out to be quite large.
The combined official gold holdings of the U.K., Saudi Arabia, Portugal,
Taiwan, European Central Bank and India of 2,512 mt is about the same amount
of U.S. net gold exports (2,430 mt) from 2001 to 2017.
Moreover, Italy (2,452 mt) and France (2,436 mt) which rank 4th and 5th
respectively in official world gold reserves, are approximately the same
amount of U.S. net gold exports during the same period (official gold
reserves: source, World Gold Council).
The majority of U.S. gold exports were shipped to Switzerland, the U.K.,
and Hong Kong. These three countries received more than 80% of U.S.
gold exports during the 17-year period.
When the U.S. Dollar finally loses its world reserve status, Americans are
going to wish that they held onto their gold instead of sending it overseas,
ending up mostly in China and India.
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