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Bernanke Hints At QE3

dailycapitalist.com 
SEPTEMBER 30, 2011

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

* Gold slips lower as dollar benefits from falling stocks

* Bullion set for worst month in near 3 years, but quarterly gain

* Silver set for monthly and quarterly decline

By Jan Harvey

LONDON, Sept 30 (Reuters) - Gold retreated on Friday as gains in the dollar pressured commodities priced in the U.S. unit, and was set to end September with its biggest monthly drop in nearly three years after recent weeks' heightened volatility spooked buyers.

The metal remained on track for its biggest quarterly gain this year, however, as concerns that the euro zone debt crisis was far from resolved underpinned interest in gold as an alternative to assets seen as higher risk such as stocks.

Spot gold was at $1,614.30 an ounce at 1348 GMT, little changed from its level late in New York on Thursday, having earlier traded as high as $1,639.99.

Extreme volatility this month saw the metal in a near $400 range after hitting a record $1,920.30 an ounce on Sept. 6.

Though the correction from that high has lifted physical demand, buyers remain wary of gold after this month's violent fluctuations. Afshin Nabavi, head of trading at MKS Finance, said the market was struggling within the $1,600-1,650 range.

" With the current demand we are seeing in gold in particular, the market is not performing," he said. " I think we should see a good, healthy correction first, before heading towards the all-time highs."

Renewed fears of a slowdown in the global economy combined with the long-dragging euro zone debt crisis weighed on European stocks on Friday, as one of the most volatile and worst quarters since late 2008 came to an end.

Stock market weakness and worries over the euro zone crisis hurt the euro , which fell 1 percent versus the dollar. The dollar has benefited from this month's elevated risk aversion, up nearly 6 percent against a currency basket.

The risk aversion that drove gold prices higher earlier in the quarter turned negative for the metal as a slide in other assets prompted selling to cover losses elsewhere. A rise in margin requirements for U.S. gold futures also weighed.

Longer term, however, it is still expected to benefit from concerns over the U.S. and euro zone economies and the instability of the wider financial markets.

" Any time you have a sharp spike in risk aversion, gold prices tend to come off, and then once the markets start to normalise, prices tend to benefit," said Bank of America-Merrill Lynch analyst Michael Widmer.

" The fact that gold gets caught up makes perfect sense -- if you've got margin calls... and other positions under water, that will cause selling," he added.

" Ultimately the fundamentals that we thought were positive for gold are still in place -- issues in Europe and the United States, slowing GDP growth, central banks doing their magic."

U.S. gold futures GCv1 for December delivery were down 1.50 an ounce at $1,615.80.

 

 

ETF INVESTORS HOLD FIRM

Holdings of the world's biggest gold-backed exchange fund, New York's SPDR Gold Trust , dipped by 10 tonnes, the exchange said on Thursday, but were almost unchanged month-on-month despite the fluctuations in gold prices.

" The price drops were driven by investors' reaction to declines in equities, and were a combination of the need to raise cash or lock in profits," said HSBC in a note. " As long as ETF holdings remain steady, we expect gold prices eventually to stabilize and resume their long-term advance."

Data from the International Monetary Fund showed central banks also added to gold reserves in August, with Thailand buying 9.3 tonnes last month, Russia adding 5.6 tonnes and Bolivia buying 7 tonnes of gold.

Demand for physical gold, which picked up as prices declined from record highs, remained a firm support to the market, with the advent of the Indian festival season helping drive buying in the world's biggest gold consumer.

Silver was down 1.3 percent at $30.17 an ounce. Holdings of the largest silver ETF, the iShares Silver Trust , fell nearly 23 tonnes on Thursday.

Silver prices have also seen extreme volatility this month, in line with gold, and are set to end the month 25 percent lower, and the quarter down 10 percent.

Spot platinum was down 0.6 percent at $1,507.49 an ounce, while spot palladium was down 0.9 percent at $610.25 an ounce. (Editing by James Jukwey)

 

 

 

Silver to Go Up Hundreds of Percent From Here 


 

 

 

 

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Meltdown Part 1: " The Men Who Crashed The World"

 

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Gold holds gains heads for worst month since 2008

SINGAPORE  |  Thu Sep 29, 2011 8:55pm EDT

 

(Reuters) - Gold ticked up on Friday, having gained in the previous session on German approval of a stronger bailout fund to counter the  euro zone  debt crisis, but the metal was heading for its worst monthly decline in three years.

FUNDAMENTALS

* Spot gold added $7.79 an ounce to $1,621.84 an ounce by 0043 GMT. Despite the gain, prices were headed for of 11 percent, their worst since October 2008 when they tumbled 17 percent following the collapse of Lehman Brothers.

* Gold rallied to a lifetime high around $1,920 an ounce in early September.

* U.S. gold rose $7.2 an ounce to $1,624.50 an ounce.

* German Chancellor Angela Merkel won a vote on enhancing the euro zone's bailout fund without needing to rely on the opposition, a senior member of Merkel's CDU party said on Thursday.

MARKET NEWS

* The euro clung to modest gains in Asia on Friday, following a brief boost after  Germany  approved an expansion of the euro zone bailout fund, but investors remain worried due to the many hurdles ahead of a workable resolution to the European crisis.

* The  Nikkei  share average was flat on Friday, wavering in and out of positive territory in the first minutes of trading as investors took profits after a late surge in the previous session, and was on track to gain for the week. .T

* U.S. crude futures extended gains on Friday, as the German vote to beef up the euro zone rescue fund and upbeat U.S. economic data eased market worries over a slowing globaleconomy.(Reporting by Lewa Pardomuan Editing by  Michael Urquhart)

 

 

 

 

 

globalresearch.ca
SEPTEMBER 29, 2011

 



 

 

 

* Lower prices attract buyers, euro zone crisis underpins

* Prices still vulnerable to wider market volatility

* Platinum retains hefty discount to gold

By Jan Harvey

LONDON, Sept 29 (Reuters) - Gold rose on Thursday, lifted by strong physical demand and gains in the euro, but was back from earlier highs as the German parliament's approval of new powers for the euro zone rescue fund damped interest in the metal as a haven from risk.

Spot gold was up 0.2 percent at $1,611.49 an ounce at 1152 GMT. Earlier it rose as high as $1,633.59 on talk that German Chancellor Angela Merkel could face dissent in her own party in the rescue fund vote, but eased as this dissipated.

Concerns over the ability of euro zone authorities to tackle the bloc's worsening debt crisis were a key issue pushing gold to a record $1,920 an ounce this month.

Traditionally the metal has been seen as a safe store of value at a time of volatility in other assets. Although recent hefty losses have undermined this reputation, it remains more stable than many other assets, particularly among currencies.

" Gold is the one currency without debt liabilities, so if you are worried about the debt situation in the U.S. and euro zone, an obvious currency to look towards is gold," said Danske Bank analyst Christin Tuxen. " There are still reasons for it to be regarded as a safe haven."

Gold remains supported by strong interest in physical metal after a series of sell-offs this week took prices to multi-week lows. Investors have been forced to liquidate their highly-valued gold holdings to cover losses on other markets.

Investors remain wary that fresh financial market ructions linked to the euro zone debt crisis could spark more losses in the precious metal, which this week has fallen as much as 20 percent from September's record highs.

Stocks markets climbed in early afternoon trade and the euro rose as the German parliament approved the euro zone rescue fund's new powers.

" A stronger euro on a 'good vote' will probably help gold given the way the metal has been reacting to EUR/USD of late," said UBS in a note.

The dollar index pared losses, however, helping to pressure gold. The dollar-priced metal becomes more expensive for other currency holders when the U.S. unit strengthens.

U.S. gold futures GCv1 for December delivery were down $5.20 an ounce at $1,612.90.

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Asset returns in 2011: r.reuters.com/suz52s

Gold correlation with dollar: r.reuters.com/ryx52s

Inflation adjusted gold price: r.reuters.com/pun62s

Gold in different currencies: r.reuters.com/wun62s

Gold/silver ratio: r.reuters.com/xyx52s

Gold/platinum ratio: link.reuters.com/xez92s

^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^>

 

DEMAND STRONG

Despite its recent losses, gold remains one of the best performing assets so far this year, up 15 percent against a 6 percent drop in European shares , a 26 percent fall in copper prices and a 2 percent rise in the euro's value versus the dollar.

Physical gold demand in Asia has been extremely strong as prices retreated from record highs. Premiums for gold bars were at their strongest since at least February in Singapore and Hong Kong and their highest in a year in India.

Meanwhile, holdings of gold-backed exchange-traded funds have remained relatively robust.

" Volumes have been heavy as investors, on the Exchanges at least, have been forced to dump gold for cash," said RBS in a weekly note on Thursday. " There has been very little movement in the ETFs, however, signalling that the core holders are not going to desert gold as an important risk hedge."

Among other precious metals, silver was up 0.3 percent at $29.96 an ounce. Silver prices have suffered hefty losses this month, plunging by more than a quarter as the support offered by higher gold prices evaporated.

Spot platinum was flat at $1,520.74 an ounce, while palladium was up 0.2 percent at $616.97 an ounce.

Platinum retained its unprecedented discount to gold prices as buyers worried a more anaemic economic environment would weigh on demand for industrial precious metals.

" Platinum margins are being squeezed by rising labour costs, and prices are falling due to weakness across the commodities complex," said Standard Chartered in a report.

" While we expect prices to trend higher in the year ahead, downside risks are elevated. High-cost producers might therefore want to sell into rallies as insurance against further margin erosion." (Reporting by Jan Harvey editing by Keiron Henderson)

 

 

 

 

September 28, 2011 • 16:51:35 PDT

Jim Rogers: Gold Price Correction May Take Awhile, But Buy the Dips!

 

" " Do not sell your silver, do not sell your gold anybody who is in this for a long term, silver & gold will both go much higher over next few years.... read more

 

SINGAPORE, Sept 29 (Reuters) - Gold extended losses and
dropped more than 1 percent on Thursday as investors turned to
the safety of the U.S. dollar on uncertainty about a resolution
of Europe's debt crisis that stirred fears about global growth.

 FUNDAMENTALS	

 * Spot gold fell $15.51 an ounce to $1,592.39 an
ounce by 0010 GMT after falling 3 percent in the previous
session. It had tumbled to a two-month low of $1,534.49 on
Monday -- down from a lifetime high around $1,920 an ounce
struck in early September.  	

 * U.S. gold futures GCcv1 lost $21.4 to to $1,596.7 an
ounce.   	

 * German Chancellor Angela Merkel faces a battle for her
political survival on Thursday when some of her coalition,
worried about throwing good money after bad by bailing out
Greece, could humiliate her in a parliament vote on euro zone
rescue schemes. 	

 MARKET NEWS	

 * The euro was under modest pressure in Asia on Thursday on
profit taking and squaring of positions following a large
three-day rally, with investors still worried about the European
debt crisis ahead of a crucial vote in Germany. 	

 * Japan's benchmark Nikkei average opened down 1.02
percent at 8,527.64 on Thursday, while the broader Topix  	
 shed 0.83 percent to 747.78.  	

 * Commodity-related stocks drove Wall Street lower on
Wednesday as stiff declines in energy and metals prices
underscored investor concerns about global economic weakness and
Europe's raging debt crisis. 	

 * U.S. crude oil futures lost more than $1 a barrel to below
$80 in early Asian trade on Thursday as investor concerns
mounted about Europe's attempts to solve its sovereign debt
problems. 	

 DATA/EVENTS	

 0755 Germany Unemployment rate sa  Sep 2011    	

 0900 EZ Business climate           Sep 2011   	

 0900 EZ Economic sentiment         Sep 2011   	

 1230 U.S.Gross Domestic Product-final Q2         	

 1230 U.S. Initial jobless claims  Weekly         	
	

 

 

  September 27, 2011 • 22:53:07 PDT

Silver Update 9/27/11 - Occupy Silver

Read More

 

 

 

  With extreme volatility across markets globally, including gold and silver, here are some key points  the Godfather of newsletter writers, Richard Russell, wrote about in last couple of commentaries,  “Gold  -- Here we have a pattern breaking down but gold is still trading ABOVE its 200-day moving average.  I think a lot of gold has been sold to cover losses and margin calls.    MACD  is deeply oversold, and  RSI  is becoming oversold.  That should slow the decline in gold.  The big picture that is affecting everything is massive world debt, de-leveraging, and nobody knows how or can agree on halting  deflation.”

  Please Read the Rest @ the ORIGINAL SOURCE

Original Source