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Gold & metals

Last Updated : 28 January 2013 at 23:50 IST

Gold bearish,FOMC Meet, US non-farm payrolls to set price trajectory: Barclays

LONDON (Commodity Online): Gold prices tumbled last week failing to breach $1700 per ounce levels triggering profit taking amid improving market sentiments, according to Barclays Research.

The solidity of the physical market will set the downside for prices, while buying in China has been strong ahead of the Lunar new year, it will need to be coupled with a pickup in other regions to provide strong support. This week’s FOMC meeting and US non-farm payrolls will be key in setting gold’s price trajectory.

The macro environment remains bullish with uncertainties in USA providing some support while investor inflows appears neutral as exchange traded funds net redemptions amounted ot 4.2 tons lst week, extending the net outflows for the year-to-date to 23.4 tons, Barclays Research said.

“The bulk of the outflows continue to be concentrated in the US listed products. In our view, a slowdown in investor appetite remains a key downside risk for prices. “

Continued high volume on the Shanghai Gold Exchange in December indicates that Chinese gold demand has remained strong ahead of the Lunar new year. Bar premiums in Hong Kong have fallen since last week but remain elevated at $1.40. However, Chinese buying has not been strong enough to offset soft Indian demand. Local prices had fallen to levels last seen in August by the end of the week as the INR strengthened supporting consumption.

The close under 1675 opened up a pullback to range lows, and gold continues to slide to those lows near 1640 where we expect to see a bid materialise. Resistance: 1676, 1696 Support: 1650, 1625, Barclays Research said.

10 Reasons Precious Metals Prices Are Ready to Break Out In 2013

Last Updated : 27 January 2013 at 09:20 IST

Silver: The honest capital

Source :Commodity Online

By Dr Jeffrey Lewis
A basic issue with silver investing for many people is that the actual metal is scarce, valuable and increasingly vulnerable to explicit and implicit confiscation.

Yet silver is not only an investment vehicle. It also acts as an alternative savings vehicle to saving wealth in fiat currencies.

Silver remains both literal and symbolic of the principles here. Furthermore, the physical possession of silver requires a different kind of investor strength and resolve, and it involves directly confronting market risk, storage risk and confiscation risk.

Silver investment
Investment suggests the anticipation of making a profit, and that certainly has been the recent trend for those lucky to be holding silver. Most market observers acknowledge that silver will eventually trade to its intrinsic value based on the bullish underlying fundamentals.

Appealing investment qualities of silver investing include its various industrial properties and its strategic important as a scarce and valuable commodity with inelastic demand.

Will it matter if the thousands of ounces of silver used in each Tomahawk missile cost multiples higher in U.S. Dollar terms when the government paying for these weapons has an essentially infinite ability to create the necessary number of monetary units used to buy those ounces?

This highlights the role of silver as a monetary asset or one more akin to an alternative savings vehicle.

The sanctity of savings
People are now living in an economically challenging time period where savings and capital are needed most, and yet the reward for or return on savings is at its lowest point in recent history.

Saving requires self-respect, sacrifice, strength and stamina.Savings — like capital formation —is precious to the wider economic community.

In a system where the promises to pay are generally adhered to, savings should be rewarded over time by an accumulation of capital. This process would grant the saver more options and freedom than they otherwise would have had.

Investment implies trading or taking risk in return for an anticipated profit, but savers are owners.

Silver is honest capital
Silver is a scarce natural resource with considerable intrinsic value. As such, silver is honest capital. Taking physical ownership of silver requires self-awareness and responsibility. It is not easy.

Above all, silver investing and ownership requires honest thinking about ourselves, our capabilities and our limitations.

The protection of honest capital thus requires clear and rational thought about the world, its dangers, its opportunities and the nature of risk.

Since savers provide the capital which makes that activity possible, they make the satisfaction of society’s desires possible.As capital grows cumulatively, today’s capital stock lays the foundations upon which tomorrow’s prosperity is built.

Furthermore, the decisions that people of today’s generation make with their capital and savings are what they will leave to tomorrow’s generation. It seems best to leave capital of true intrinsic value to your heirs, rather than paper promises. 

 

Thursday, January 24th 06:39 PM IST

Silver to keep outperforming Gold in 2013 : Morgan Stanley

In a statement, Morgan Stanley however said macroeconomic conditions remain favorable for further price appreciation in the yellow…....Continue

Why is Gold at a cross road while Silver is outperforming?

After reaching the January high, silvers prices dipped back to $ 32.09 on the back of the IMF report…

 

Commodity Technical Analysis: Gold Has Retraced Entire 1/17 Move

Daily Bars

Chart  Prepared by Jamie Saettele, CMT  using  Marketscope 2.0

Commodity  Analysis: Gold took out the January 2nd high last week. This is important because it nullifies bearish implications from a first day of the month (and year) high. Focus is on the trendline that extends off of the October and November 2012 highs and 50% retracement of the decline from the October high at 1710.

Commodity Trading Strategy: Looking for support, which extends to 1653, to hold.

LEVELS: 1642 1653 1662 1677 1687 1697