ENERGY, CURRENCIES AND CHANGE. 🌎

2024: The year of change. Follow the Gold Telegraph on [Twitter]( Authored by Alex Deluce. Subscribe to the free newsletter here: [( This year is shaping up to be a transformational year. Russia and China's energy trade is soaring. China continues to encourage Gulf nations to utilize the Shanghai Petroleum and Natural Gas Exchange for yuan-based oil and gas trade settlement. This includes: - Saudi Arabia - United Arab Emirates - Qatar - Kuwait - Bahrain - Oman As BRICS expanded on January 1st, with Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates leading the movement to this economic bloc; it's highly expected that more and more local currencies will play a role in trade. In fact, China said last August that BRICS members should study local currency cooperation payment tools and platforms and promote local currency settlement, and members should strengthen cross-border payment cooperation. Saudi Arabia's Foreign Minister also commented that the Kingdom is the largest BRICS trading partner in the Middle East in total bilateral trade with the countries of the group exceeding $160 billion in 2022. $160 billion. This is massive. This brings us back to the issue of the petrodollar and its impact on the United States. The connections between the dollar and global energy markets have deep historical roots, such as the 1945 agreement between President Franklin D. Roosevelt and King Abdulaziz Ibn Saud, which traded Saudi energy supplies for U.S. security guarantees. Over time, a substantial portion of petrodollars earned by oil producers were reinvested in assets like Treasury bonds. But today? We are witnessing many nations divesting from their U.S. treasuries and diversifying their reserves into assets like gold. This was kicked into high gear following the United States and its allies' decision to freeze around $300 billion of sovereign Russian assets in the West in early 2022. This year alone, we saw 20% of oil transactions settled in currencies other than the dollar. As Saudi Arabia prepares to officially join BRICs, the influence of the petrodollar may begin to wane gradually. One of the most fascinating things in 2023 was when billionaire mining legend Robert Friedland said that he had been to Saudi Arabia 10 times in the last year and that there was a very active effort from about half of humanity to break the dollar. He also mentioned that an alternative to the dollar is being worked on, which will likely be backed by precious metals and base metals in an actual basket Saudi Arabia is strategically taking minority stakes in global mining assets worldwide as part of its Vision 2030 to diversify the economy beyond oil. The goal is to transform the Kingdom into a resource hub, particularly for minerals like copper, in response to the global transition that demands increased mineral production due to shortages in many key elements. It is a brilliant strategy. It makes even more sense if these elements start to assume a more prominent role within the framework of the global monetary system. Saudi Arabia's mineral endowment is worth an estimated $1.3 trillion and the Kingdom is also considering establishing gold refineries. If BRICS does indeed back a trading currency with hard assets, no doubt, Saudi Arabia will play a major role. - China is the largest producer of gold. - Saudi Arabia is the leader of OPEC and the OPEC+ group and is the second-largest oil producer. Saudi Arabia is China's second-largest oil supplier after Russia, and the two countries extensively deepened their ties in 2023. In early 2023, Saudi Arabia said the country was open to discussions about trade in currencies other than the U.S. dollar. In November, China and Saudi Arabia signed an agreement to set up a currency swap line worth around $7 billion. This deal ensures that Saudi Arabia has access to the Chinese currency at a fixed exchange rate, and Beijing has the same access to the Saudi riyal. With the rise of central bank digital currencies, the strategic acquisition of global mining assets and the development of domestic mining resources by BRICS member countries, coupled with the ongoing evolution of global commodity markets, 2024 appears poised to be a transformative year on multiple fronts. I believe strongly in my thesis. Years ago, I mentioned how gold will slowly morph into international trade in a digital structure as nations will need stability, and gold provides that. Currencies around the world are starting to breakdown. If you would like to learn more and follow my writing, please subscribe to my FREE weekly newsletter here: [( Please also follow me on Twitter, here: [( Have a great Thursday! - Gold Telegraph [Link]( You may [unsubscribe]( any time. Zero Hedge, P.O. Box 721, Mahwah, NJ 07430, United States