15 Charts to Keep Your Eyes on for 2015

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BRICS of Gold

8. Many investors are aware that gold is often used as a safe-haven currency. We’re witnessing this fear trade unfold right now in most of the BRICS countries—Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa. By year’s end, Russia had snapped up 130 tons of the precious metal, a 73-percent increase from 2013. Since India eliminated its 80:20 rule in November, which mandated that 20 percent of all imported gold must be exported before any new shipments could be brought in, gold demand has exploded. In South Africa, gold producers are currently leading a stock market rally. And in China, wholesale gold demand has remained steady as its economy has slowed. Total withdrawals from the Shanghai Gold Exchange came in just shy of the record set in 2013. We’ll see if China can sustain its robust demand throughout the next 12 months.