There were a bunch of financial reports this morning. But the one that caught my attention was the US trade deficit. Essentially, the rest of the world provides the US with stuff and they get US fiat in return. The U.S. trade deficit in goods widened 6.3% to $102.7 billion in July, according to the Commerce Department. IMHO this should have crushed the US dollar and this should have led to the price of gold and silver in US$ going higher. But the other reports were mostly good news, so interest rates went up, pushing the US dollar index (DXY) higher, and a drop in the price of gold and silver futures was what actually occurred.
The US trade deficit reports are seldom market moving news. But for gold and silver investors that are protecting themselves from US dollar debasement it's a data point that seems like it should be meaningful. How much longer will the rest of the world want to hold US dollars and give us stuff in return for fiat as the US debases the dollar via the enormous trade and Treasury deficits?
