Gold Bullion Is “Long-Term Insurance Policy” – HSBC’s Steel

Gold bullion is a “long-term insurance policy” according to James Steel, chief commodities analyst at HSBC, who spoke with Tom Keene about what’s driving gold markets on “Bloomberg Surveillance” yesterday.

(Source: Bloomberg)

In Bloomberg’s “Single Best Chart,” Keene displays inflation-adjusted ‘London gold prices’ going back to 1950.

Steel is cautious on gold in the short term but positive in medium and long term and thinks gold will “churn higher.”

When asked about whether he has a “message for gold bugs … people who have Krugerrands in their dressing room drawer”, Steel spoke of gold’s portfolio insurance benefits and “the diversification argument is the most powerful … it is an insurance policy”.

A better question would be what is his message to typical retail investors – or”paper bugs” if one wishes to be pejorative – who have no allocation to gold bullion whatsoever and whose investments and savings are at risk due to the looming next phase of the global financial crisis.