There are two things I think are important about that. One, it’s a statement that gold is a currency. That is by far the most important thing. I think the other thing is, if it actually transpires that way, what does it mean for the demand for gold? Because now it’s considered currency, it’s, in essence, your working capital. You have to have it. It’s like a store, you have to have money in the till.”
So it’s obviously going to increase the demand for gold and we have seen some data that China has been a rather large buyer of gold. People will consider it a currency and it has to necessitate more buying. You know, Eric, I think one of the really interesting things that happened was the imports of gold into China, from Hong Kong, which always were less than 20 tons a month, all of the sudden, beginning about 5 months ago, went 20 (tons), 30, 40, 80 and in November 102 tons. 102 tons is a staggering number.
The world mines, excluding China, less than 200 tons a month. China cannot continue to buy 102 tons and not have the price escalate dramatically.”