Bretton Woods II: Bringing Back Gold To Our Financial Architecture?

In our latest blog, Did ECB’s Trichet Fire The First Salvo For A Possible Overhaul Of The Global Monetary Standard?, we indicated that the incredible monetary stress in our financial system have prompted ECB’s Trichet to suggest for a return to the obsolete Bretton Woods standard.

Now Mr. Trichet’s advocacy seems to have been picked up by other European leaders. According to the Financial Times article, “European call for 'Bretton Woods II'”,

``European leaders yesterday united behind calls for a "Bretton Woods II" summit to redesign the world's financial architecture, with Britain arguing the meeting could also be used to seal a long sought global trade deal.

``Gordon Brown, Britain's prime minister, said the world should turn the financial crisis into an opportunity and reform global institutions, such as the International Monetary Fund, conceived in 1944 when western leaders met in Bretton Woods, New Hampshire, and mapped out a postwar financial order.

Since the defunct Bretton Woods was centered on the US dollar-Gold Fix, from where all other currencies were fixed to the US dollar, gold thus supposedly functioned as the main adjustment mechanism or as the "natural discipline" of the erstwhile financial structure until of course it had been abused and closed.

Yet, suddenly we notice a sharp pick up on gold priced in several currencies….

All charts from World Gold Council…

In Euro...

In Sterling...


In South African Rand...
In Australian Dollar...

In Canadian Dollar...
In Indian Rupee...
So what's the connection of rising gold prices to the proposed Bretton Woods?

Could it be that the varied gold markets are probably telling us of the imminence of the proposed shift to a new monetary architecture?

Could these signal the resurrection of gold "the barbaric relic" as money once again?

And are we witnessing the denouement of the 'Mises Moment'?