In this presentation, Jeffrey Christian of CPM Group discusses gold standards and explains why a return to a gold standard is improbable for many reasons. He begins with a review of current gold, silver, platinum, and palladium market conditions, noting that precious metals appear to be in a consolidation period after sharp gains earlier in the year.

Jeff then turns to the broader monetary question: Whether gold-backed currency systems could return in the future. He explains why gold standards have not prevented economic volatility, depressions, inflation, or currency failures in the past. While gold remains important as a reserve asset, it is too small relative to the modern global financial system to serve as the foundation for a workable monetary standard.

The discussion also covers central bank gold buying, the diversification of monetary reserves, the difference between owning gold and returning to a gold standard as a reserve asset, and why sound political and monetary leadership matters more than simply backing currency with gold.

Courtesy of the CPM Group