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.
US Gold Exports
While the U.S. has 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. However, U.S. gold net exports were the mainstay as a staggering 2,340 mt of gold were shipped abroad, as pointed out by analyst Steve Angelo in a recent column. 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:
The total amount of U.S. net gold exports over the past 17 years equaled the combined gold reserves of the six high-ranking countries with the majority of U.S. gold exports being shipped to Switzerland, the U.K., and Hong Kong.
These three destinations received more than 80% of U.S. gold exports during the 17-year period, but these are not the final destination of our gold, as global gold purchases we discussed in article, show the final destination of our gold.
When the U.S. Dollar will lose 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.
