Friday, December 26, 2014

Europeans want their gold back, and why that’s bad for the euro

Right across Europe, over the course of the last year, a series of European countries have been demanding that their gold reserves, which are often stored in different nations, are bought back home.
On the surface, that seems very odd. After all, gold GCG5, +1.96% has no meaningful role in the financial system any more. After a two-year bear market, it is not even worth as much as it was. It hardly seems worth the logistical or diplomatic hassle of bringing it back home.
The point about having gold on your own soil is that it is an insurance policy against a chaotic return to national currencies. The fact that so many countries seem to want that insurance tells you something important about the euro — and it is hardly comforting. They still think there is a real possibility of collapse.

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