How big is the chance that China will use its own currency – the yuan – as a countermeasure in the trade war with the US? In my view, the chance that China will do so is negligible. Another possibility to hit back and harm the US is by stopping to buy and/or selling US Treasuries. This could potentially wreak havoc on US interest rates, driving them much higher. What are the odds that Beijing will use this weapon of financial destruction?

Boring. Meaningless. Not even slightly entertaining. These are some observations that I have found on Twitter with regard to the most recent ECB board meeting. I saw, however, a press conference that, if I would have to rank all ECB press conferences on a scale of importance, would certainly make it into the top 3 or even to the first place! Especially if you are a precious metals investor. Let me explain why.

The gold price broke earlier this year convincingly through the $1,300 per troy ounce barrier. In January, the gold price reached a level of $1,365/oz. The last time that gold prices reached this level was in March 2014. It has been four long years. Many thought that gold was on the onset of a renewed rally, that it would finally truly break through the point at which every single gold rally hesitated over the past years. Nonetheless, gold prices are gradually falling back to that cursed $1,300/oz level. What can we expect in the short run?