Post #417

Frustrating the Tea Drinkers The Pyramids vs. Big Ben 🥇 A non-obvious fact: most gold trading physically takes place in places where no gold is mined. These are London, the UAE, and Switzerland. In the case of the UAE and Switzerland, this originates from political neutrality and geography; in the case of London, it is a legacy of the colonial era, which tightly bound global trade to British insurance and banking services. 🌐 The Egyptian government has decided to change this — at least rhetorically. Between Christmas and New Year, the Egyptian authorities and Afreximbank agreed on the creation of a pan-African Gold Bank in Egypt. ⚙️ The main substance lies in plans to establish an internationally accredited refinery, secure vaulting facilities, and associated financial and trading services. That is to replace the infrastructure on which the London Bullion Market Association’s (LBMA) central role in gold trading is built. ⏩ Creating such a gold hub is not really about constructing anything, but about financial services and security. Whether dear commodity traders will agree to strike hands in Egypt — or whether they'll still prefer locations further removed from the sites of extraction — is an open question. ➡️ Follow to stay informed - @devilsbelow