A lotus root farmer sorts freshly harvested shallow-water lotus roots in Yinjiayuan village, in Nantong, in eastern China's Jiangsu province, on August 3, 2026. (Photo by CN-STR / AFP via Getty Images) / China OUT

A person walks past an electronic board showing the U.S. dollar and Japanese yen exchange rate at a securities firm in Tokyo on Monday, Aug. 3, 2026. (AP Photo/Eugene Hoshiko)

This photo taken on June 30, 2026 shows a welcome sign outside the Precious Metals Recovery building at The Royal Mint in Llantrisant, south Wales. At the heart of Britain's coin factory, old Bank of England telephones are stripped down and dipped into giant vats to recover a hidden treasure: the gold in their circuits. Behind barbed wire and coded security gates at its site near Cardiff in Wales, the Royal Mint -- the state-owned maker of Britain's coins -- is turning electronic waste into luxury jewelry. (Photo by Darren Staples / AFP via Getty Images) / TO GO WITH Britain-gold-currency-environment,REPORTAGE by Lucie LEQUIER

This photo taken on June 30, 2026 shows chemical analyst Kate Griffiths agitating an electronic component in chemicals to remove the gold at The Royal Mint in Llantrisant, south Wales. At the heart of Britain's coin factory, old Bank of England telephones are stripped down and dipped into giant vats to recover a hidden treasure: the gold in their circuits. Behind barbed wire and coded security gates at its site near Cardiff in Wales, the Royal Mint -- the state-owned maker of Britain's coins -- is turning electronic waste into luxury jewelry. (Photo by Darren Staples / AFP via Getty Images) / TO GO WITH Britain-gold-currency-environment,REPORTAGE by Lucie LEQUIER

This photo taken on June 30, 2026 shows silver bullion bars at The Royal Mint in Llantrisant, south Wales. At the heart of Britain's coin factory, old Bank of England telephones are stripped down and dipped into giant vats to recover a hidden treasure: the gold in their circuits. Behind barbed wire and coded security gates at its site near Cardiff in Wales, the Royal Mint -- the state-owned maker of Britain's coins -- is turning electronic waste into luxury jewelry. (Photo by Darren Staples / AFP via Getty Images) / TO GO WITH Britain-gold-currency-environment,REPORTAGE by Lucie LEQUIER

This photo taken on June 30, 2026 shows a jewellery assembler working with silver at The Royal Mint in Llantrisant, south Wales. At the heart of Britain's coin factory, old Bank of England telephones are stripped down and dipped into giant vats to recover a hidden treasure: the gold in their circuits. Behind barbed wire and coded security gates at its site near Cardiff in Wales, the Royal Mint -- the state-owned maker of Britain's coins -- is turning electronic waste into luxury jewelry. (Photo by Darren Staples / AFP via Getty Images) / TO GO WITH Britain-gold-currency-environment,REPORTAGE by Lucie LEQUIER

This photo taken on June 30, 2026 shows a worker removing silver bullion bars from a string tool at The Royal Mint in Llantrisant, south Wales. At the heart of Britain's coin factory, old Bank of England telephones are stripped down and dipped into giant vats to recover a hidden treasure: the gold in their circuits. Behind barbed wire and coded security gates at its site near Cardiff in Wales, the Royal Mint -- the state-owned maker of Britain's coins -- is turning electronic waste into luxury jewelry. (Photo by Darren Staples / AFP via Getty Images) / TO GO WITH Britain-gold-currency-environment,REPORTAGE by Lucie LEQUIER

This photo taken on June 30, 2026 shows electronic components waiting to have the gold chemically removed at The Royal Mint in Llantrisant, south Wales. At the heart of Britain's coin factory, old Bank of England telephones are stripped down and dipped into giant vats to recover a hidden treasure: the gold in their circuits. Behind barbed wire and coded security gates at its site near Cardiff in Wales, the Royal Mint -- the state-owned maker of Britain's coins -- is turning electronic waste into luxury jewelry. (Photo by Darren Staples / AFP via Getty Images) / TO GO WITH Britain-gold-currency-environment,REPORTAGE by Lucie LEQUIER