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BRICS surrenders! Abandons dream of replacing the U$D with rubles. Going for the gold instead?

Photo above - Putin announces his new plan to dominate the world with . . . GOLD !!!!

The Soviet Union (“We will bury you”) collapsed in 1992. So did the Soviet ruble. In 1998 Russia announced it was replacing the old ruble. 1,000 soviet rubles for 1 new “Russian Federation” ruble. It didn’t help. The new ruble continued to sink like a stone. Today it’s worth about a penny.

No wonder Russia, which fantasizes itself as the pre-eminent member of BRICS, has given up championing the ruble as a replacement for the US Dollar. Their new idea is . . . GOLD!

Stop laughing. Any country with a failing currency (including the USA) always has gold in the conversation. The dollar is simply falling more slowly than the ruble, but we’re still losing out to gold. 1998, when Russia gave devalued the soviet ruble 1,000 to 1, an ounce of gold was worth $290. It’s about 10X that right now ($2,700). You want to know why even a $15 an hour minimum wage seems inadequate? The answer is how the dollar has been eroded by insatiable government spending and debt.

Back to BRICS. Brazil, Russia, China, India, South Africa, and places like Ethiopia have signed on. They’re tired having to “buy” dollars to settle trade contracts, even though their own currencies are semi-worthless. Even China’s Yuan languishes at around a dime. So if Rubles and Yuans and Indian Rupees and Brazilian Reals are all hilariously specious, BRICS members need SOMETHING to distance themselves from “dollar tyranny” (their term. Not the attitude of the EU, Japan, South Korea, Canada, Australia . . .). BRICS' plan is a to start a new international precious metals exchange. To ensure “fair pricing” (You’re laughing again. Stop that. I’m warning you.)

The reason everyone is laughing is because there already IS an international precious metals exchange. A bunch of them. They’re everywhere. London. New York. Berlin. Paris. Tokyo. Switzerland . . .

Russia and China – in their own vaults – only have trivial amounts of gold bullion. Less than 20% (combined) of the world’s supply. The places listed above have the rest. So if Putin wants to start settling oil delivery contracts in gold, he’s going to need to buy it someplace. Presumably the new Russia/China backed gold exchange will do ANYTHING except ensure fair pricing. We already have transparent and fair pricing worldwide. Russia and China would need to buy gold in the global markets – massive amounts. Just to get it started.

If you’re thinking ahead, a light bulb is probably going off. “Great Stalin’s ghost! Gold prices are going to soar if BRICS has to buy all that stuff just to get rolling.” From $2,700 to who knows? Double? Triple? China would probably try to conquer half of Africa just to grab the gold mines there. In addition to the unobtainium rare earth metals from Africa they need to control all the EV batteries on planet earth.

Don’t take the bait. Gold may, in fact continue to rise. But Russia and China are so NOT going to jump into the world gold market with a giant splash. Russia is broke. China is having its worst economic crisis in a generation. This is a giant head fake. To lure more unsophisticated nations with shitty currencies into BRICS. Because nobody loves the ruble and everybody loves gold. Even third world central banks which don’t know how money works. Right now the head of Uganda's central bank is probably trying to get a meeting with Yoweri Museveni (president for the past 40 years) and announce "Good news, everybody. I have the solution to our currency crisis. Gold."

I’m just sayin’ . . .

Russia in talks with BRICS over precious metals exchange | Reuters

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Tastyfrzz · 61-69, M

And next week the US will.probably announce a gold mine on an asteroid to flood the market. We'll be using it as pavement in ten years.

The "golden asteroid" is 16 Psyche, a metal-rich asteroid that NASA is studying with a mission that launched in 2023:

16 Psyche orbits the sun between the orbits of Mars and Jupiter.

Size: The asteroid is about 140 miles wide and is shaped like a potato.

Composition: Scientists believe the asteroid is made up of iron, nickel, gold, and other rare metals.

Estimated value: NASA estimates the asteroid's value at $10,000 quadrillion, which is more than the global economy.

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whowasthatmaskedman · 70-79, M

@Tastyfrzz I agree. But The base would be on Mars, so why not? Then they would send mining crews out to the asteroid belt and slingshot the ore back to earth. Or maybe even send whole asteroids into the moon to be broken down there and shipping. But I do like how we see this as an engineering project. The tech exists..😷

SusanInFlorida · 31-35, F

@Tastyfrzz if NASA knew anything about economics, they'd immediately recognize that bringing "$100 quadrillion worth of gold" back to earth would immediately render gold virtually worthless.

Tastyfrzz · 61-69, M

@SusanInFlorida That would be the idea. Make it as valuable as pavement.

Bel6EQUJ5

I’m just sayin’ . . .

Yes, you are, because I don't ever think it was Putin's plan for the rouble to be the currency that actually displaces the US dollar; he'd be happy if any currency were to do that. Of course he wouldn't complain if it did, but he's a realist, and not naive.
I don't know what your sources are, and the link you've provided here doesn't seem to work, but if Reuters was the only source you consulted, then I just can't take your post seriously. As I understand it, neither Russia nor China is on the verge of bankruptcy, and their economies are still growing at a faster rate than any economy in the West, especially the EU economies, which are practically shrinking.
And no, before you ask, I'm not "working for the Kremlin", nor a "Putin-bot". I'm just someone who has recently been following developments in this area. BRICS is expanding, growing, getting stronger, while the West is slowly and painfully dying.

To lure more unsophisticated nations with shitty currencies into BRICS. Because nobody loves the ruble and everybody loves gold. Even third world central banks which don’t know how money works.

Of course, because we all know those primitive savages who live in Africa can barely even count, nevermind know how money works and what it's for; they're just SO unsophisticated. Do they even have electricity? LOL
Oooga booga! Me cannibal, me want to eat you.

SusanInFlorida · 31-35, F

@Bel6EQUJ5 @Bel6EQUJ5 the premise of BRICS (until they became gold bugs) is that importing/exporting nations should be allowed to "settle" in their local currency.

So that when Russia buys stuff, it doesn't need to buy US dollars too. It can use declining rubles to reduce the transaction price.

and when nations buy russian oil, they would also have to buy russian rubles to settle in.

as if any of that would offset the 1000% decline in the new "russian federation ruble" since it was launched in 1998

Bel6EQUJ5

@SusanInFlorida 1000% decline? 😂
Yeah, nah!

Crazywaterspring · 61-69, M

The beauty of BRIC foreign currency is using individual country's currencies instead of US dollars.

My concern would be balancing local currencies. How much trade is there between, say, Brazil and Ethiopia?

They'll figure it out. Dollars have been the international currency for more than a century only because there are plenty to lubricate international commerce, are relatively stable and universally accepted.

SusanInFlorida · 31-35, F

@Crazywaterspring the only guys who want to settle in "local currencies" are nations who already experiencing inflation, and are counting on that to making paying their debts cheaper on settlement day. in fact, settlement in local currencies functions as an INCENTIVE to let inflation get worse.

Avectoijesuismoi · 31-35

You have missed that one of the BRICS countries has a very significant gold mining industry

whowasthatmaskedman · 70-79, M

@Avectoijesuismoi And Russia has a large energy supply industry. But the significsant thing is the cost of producing this resource has to be factored in...In both cases, these resources are finite...😷

whowasthatmaskedman · 70-79, M

Russia was never a major Brics player anyway. They dont trde enough with western ntions to matter outside of energy...😷

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whowasthatmaskedman · 70-79, M

@SusanInFlorida Putin uses the BRICS platform for the same reason Trump puts lifts in his shoes. To elevate himself. He has not legal standing. As for Xi....Dont fight a war on two fronts. Get the other sides fighting and stand back..Thats good business.😷

SusanInFlorida · 31-35, F

@whowasthatmaskedman BRICS is simply part of mosaic of chinese/russian attempts to disrupt democracy. take down the currency. sow doubt about elections. amplify racisim and anti-semitism. create spurious "news videos" like the one Russia faked showing ballots being destroyed.

whowasthatmaskedman · 70-79, M

@SusanInFlorida There we disagree. Brics is a result of America first abandoning the gold standard, so casting adrift the idea of real "value" attracted to the $US and then setting the priniting presses rolling without an eye on generating value at all, rather claiming the paper itself was "value" Which it isnt..
So America has in fact been charging rent on the global financial system for the privilege of using its currency for trade.. Now the Cjinese (at the new global trade powerhouse) have decided its time to retire the $Us and take over themselves and the other countries are along for the ride, seeing a chance to knock America off its perch for riding roughshod over their nations..😷

Roundandroundwego · 61-69

BRICS is just starting. Obviously you can just blow away anything you want blown away! No socialism without war from you! Everyone understands.

LeopoldBloom · M

@Roundandroundwego We can see how the tankies are wetting themselves over BRICS.

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