GOLD IS LEAVING THE US. AND FAST.

At the end of April, news spread through the media that the Turkish government had repatriated $25.3 billion worth of its gold from the US. 220 tons of the precious metal left the US Federal Reserve's vault last summer. Turkey thus joined the group of countries that no longer place unlimited trust in the broadly understood power of the US.

POLITICS OR ECONOMICS?

Although many experts point to the political dimension of Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan's decision, one cannot help but feel that it also has an economic dimension. For several years now, international efforts have been underway to strip the dollar of its status as an international currency. Countries such as Russia and China no longer want to base their financial security on dollar reserves. Instead, they are steadily expanding their gold reserves.

THE DETHRONEMENT OF THE DOLLAR

For several years now, Russia and China have been openly expressing their desire to become completely independent from the US currency, and thus from the United States. It is widely known that politics and economics are closely intertwined. The best proof that Erdogan also belongs to this camp is his recent appeal to the International Monetary Fund (IMF). In April, Turkey's controversial leader publicly stated that international loans should be settled in gold rather than US dollars.

NOT THE FIRST AND NOT THE LAST

Last year, there was a lot of talk about Germany repatriating gold, bringing 674 tons of it back to its central bank vault. Some of it came from the Federal Reserve, and some from the Bank of France. The biggest sensation was caused by the fact that the entire operation was completed three years earlier than originally planned. According to some sources, the German authorities also brought 940 tons of gold from the Bank of England.

WHY THE RUSH?

Long-term plans regarding the US dollar are an important, but not the only reason why more and more countries are deciding to repatriate gold. The rush to carry out such a serious operation as transporting several hundred tons of precious metal must be driven by more pressing reasons.

It is primarily about a lack of trust in the US's assurances regarding the actual contents of its vaults. And this is hardly surprising – the official US reserves have never been fully audited by any independent and external body. Many experts suspect that some of the gold held in the famous Fort Knox, for example, is of insufficient purity and will not be accepted on the international precious metals market.

Based on: "Where In The World Is Gold?", Investing.com