Gold, silver and oil prices all spiked significantly
higher today on news coming out of Saudi Arabia. Several members of the royal
family were arrested and imprisoned over the past few days. This appears to
be an attempt to consolidate power by the 32-year-old Crown Prince
Mohammed bin Salman.
The so-called “anti-corruption probe” is widely seen as
a countercoup that has led to the arrest of dozens of Saudi Arabian
royals, ministers and businessmen allowing Price Mohammed to further cement
control over the Kingdom. On Monday, Reuters reported that Saudi banks
begun freezing the accounts of those arrested.
But the plot has thickened…
Yesterday it was announced that Prince Mansour bin-Muqrin
and seven other high-ranking officials died in a helicopter crash near the
Yemen border. Prince Mansour was the son of Prince Muqrin bin Abdulaziz, a
former intelligence chief who was crown prince between January and April
2015, when he was pushed aside by Prince Mohammed’s father, King Salman, now
81.
Then today the Saudi Royal Court has confirmed the death
of another Saudi Prince, asAbdul Aziz bin Fahd was killed during a firefight
as authorities attempted to arrest him.
This comes days after the Saudi military intercepted
a ballistic missile over the nation’s capital of Riyadh. The Saudi-led
military coalition said on Monday it would temporarily close all air, land
and sea ports to Yemen to stem the flow of arms from Iran to Houthi rebels.
The Saudis are calling the missile attack “blatant act of aggression” by Iran
and “could be considered act of war”.
These events increase demand for safe haven assets such
as gold and silver, which have spiked higher on the news. Gold is up $12 to
$1,281 for a gain of nearly 1%, while silver is up 42 cents to $17.22 for a
gain of 2.4%.
The oil price is also shooting higher on this turmoil,
climbing above $57 for the first time in years. Saudi Arabia is the #2
oil-producing nation in the world, so a supply disruption can have
significant consequences.
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