'I'm not buying, not selling either': Jim Rogers on gold, buying silver & lessons from Indian women

Commodity guru Jim Rogers said he owns both gold and silver, but he has no intention to sell either. In an interview to Business Today, Rogers said he never tries to time the market and that, at the prevailing levels, he has no intention to buy either of the two precious metals. Rogers admitted he bought silver in the recent run-up in commodity prices.

The author of Street Smarts: Adventures on the Road and in the Markets said he has never sold his gold and silver and advised people to start owning small quantities of gold and silver at some point, even as he feels now is not the right time to buy them. If gold and silver prices go down from here, Rogers said he would love to buy further quantities.

Rogers said his approach to investing in commodities is that when they are down and when nobody wants them, he tends to buy more. “I don't ever want to sell my gold and silver. I want my children to have them someday,” Rogers told Business Today in a special interview.

On the recent rally in silver, Rogers said silver rallied more because it had fallen more. At the same time, gold was already making all-time highs a few months ago, he noted.

“I’m not very smart. But I know if something is down, I would rather buy it than something at a new high. But I own both, and I am not selling either,” Rogers said.

Most governments are printing large amounts of money and are in huge debt. The US is the largest debtor nation in history, Rogers said, adding that when most countries are debasing their currencies, owning gold is usually the best way to protect oneself.

“Economists will say don’t waste your time. I won’t care. Go down to the Indian market and you will see Indian women buying gold and silver, and they have been doing so for centuries. I learnt, and I hope I am smart enough to buy more if prices go down,” Rogers said.

Rogers said when gold and silver are down and people say they do not want to invest in the two precious metals, that is usually the best time to buy.

Rogers said he still has some equity exposure to China but has sold most of his other portfolio. He said most stock markets performed extremely strongly in the past few weeks. “When everything is going up, at least for me, that is the time to sell,” Rogers said.