Last week Paypal co-founder Pete Thiel spoke about gold's value now versus where gold's value has been (and could go again). 

While open discussions of the coming global sovereign Central Bank Digital Currency system are increasing in the public arena. The world's head central bank of central banks, the Bank for International Settlements this week, published a speech in which they acknowledged we are now living in an era of 'The Return of Inflation."

Surely the CBDC systems the BIS is helping 100+ nations build will help quell potential revolts from increasingly higher prices ahead for food and energy in the years to come.

China and Russia are increasingly trading commodities for the Chinese yuan directly. Specifically, energy inputs like coal and oil for yuan trades are increasing despite ongoing western sanctions.

The Central Bank of Russia will no longer buy gold at a fixed domestic price of 5,000 fiat Russian rubles per gram. Instead, Russia will buy gold at a negotiated price ahead.

Judging by the strength of the Russian ruble this past week, it seems the bid for rubles in international commodities training remains strong, having erased nearly all its losses from western sanctions related to the Ukrainian invasion to date.