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March 18, 2013 - 15:05:18 PDT
While the equity markets inch back to their 'safe' place of de minimus volumes & slow leakage higher, it seems real m...
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March 18, 2013 - 15:19:25 PDT
let's see what happens. I expect that the central banks will wish to paper over this problem & move back to a muddle...
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March 18, 2013 - 16:18:43 PDT
Cyprus is a beta test. The banksters are trying to commit bank robbery in broad daylight, and they are eager to see if ...
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March 18, 2013 - 13:55:31 PDT
This will be the beginning of a minimum $1,900 advance in gold. This will represent more than a doubling of the current...
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March 18, 2013 - 06:20:35 PDT
Today billionaire Eric Sprott spoke with KWN about Jim Sinclair, $11,000 gold, and a skyrocketing silver price. Enclose...
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by Brandi Brundidge
March 18, 2013
EUROZONE WORRIES PUSH INVESTORS TO HARD ASSETS SUCH AS GOLD
Concerns lingered throughout the day after the eurozone’s
agreement to bailout Cyprus for an estimated $10 billion euros and a
requirement for the country’s savers to forfeit up to 10 percent of their
deposits. The bailout provided gains to both the U.S dollar and to Gold as
investors sought a safe haven asset. “If you have deposits in Spain and Italy,
you have to really be considering that those deposits aren't going to be safe
for too much longer,” said Jeffrey Sica, chief investment officer of Sica Wealth
Management. “Even mere mention of deposits being fair game will lead people not
only to withdraw money out of their bank accounts, but lead them towards hard
assets like Gold.”
The euro dropped to a three-month low against the U.S. dollar and other
foreign currencies as the Cyprus bailout jolted financial markets this morning.
“
There is a very real
possibility of a run on the banks, people are lined up at the ATMs as we
speak I cannot believe that they (European officials) didn't see this
coming,” said Sean Cotton, vice president and foreign exchange adviser at Bank
of the West in San Ramon, Calif. “The question is, could this happen to other
countries? I am by no means an ‘oracle,’ but right now, I am diligently
searching for any and all companies that produce mason jars and or mattresses I
have a feeling they are going to make a killing.”
At 5:00 p.m. (EDT), the APMEX Precious Metals spot prices were:
- Gold, $1,607.10, Up $12.00.
- Silver, $28.93, Up $0.01.
By Geoffrey VarnerMarch 18, 2013EUROZONE TURMOIL RETURNS GOLD ABOVE $1,600Cyprus and consequently the euro are back in the news as international lenders agreed to approve a 10 billion euro ($12.9 billion) bailout for Cyprus. This time the bailout comes with a price tag Cyprus must pay for part of its bailout through an imposed tax on bank deposits. The tax is expected to raise about 5.8 billion euro, but the precedent is setting a tone of fear in other troubled countries such as Italy and Spain. The news put downward pressure on the euro, but boosted the dollar.
Ilya Spivak, currency strategist at DailyFX said the Cyprus bailout plan “has pushed the euro sharply lower at the start of the trading week amid rising fears of mass capital flight.” He continues on to say that investors across the zone could scramble to move their capital out of the region.
The plan in Cyprus has injected weakness into the equities market, but in a classic move for Gold, it is back above $1,600 for the first time in more than two weeks. Risk and uncertainty like the bank shakeup in Cyprus commonly sends investors to safe haven investments like Gold.
Credit Suisse commodity analyst Karim Cherif said, “With what is going on in Cyprus right now, investors are looking for some hedges and Gold is benefiting from that.” Gold’s safe haven appeal had been waning in recent months as investors were moving toward higher risk assets on economic recovery beliefs.
At 9:07 a.m. (EDT), the APMEX Precious Metals spot prices were:
- Gold, $1,609.20, Up $14.10.
- Silver, $29.02, Up $0.10.
Gold Advances Above $1,600 for First Time This Month on Cyprus
FRANKFURT (Mar 18) Gold rose above $1,600 an ounce in London for the first
time this month after an unprecedented levy on bank deposits in Cyprus increased
demand for a protection of wealth.
Cypriot President Nicos Anastasiades bowed to demands by euro-area finance
ministers to raise 5.8 billion euros ($7.5 billion) by taking a piece of every
bank account in Cyprus. The country became in June the fifth euro-area nation to
request a rescue. The euro fell to the lowest since December versus the dollar
and global equities declined.
“Gold looks poised to benefit from its safe-haven properties amid renewed
risks coming out of the euro zone,” Joni Teves, an analyst at UBS AG in London,
wrote today in a report. “As people start to worry about the safety of their
deposits, gold would become an attractive alternative and an escalation of these
worries would prompt a return of fear- related physical buying.”
Gold for immediate delivery rose 0.7 percent to $1,603.68 an ounce by 9:49
a.m. in London. Prices reached $1,608.60, the highest since Feb. 27, and added
0.8 percent last week. Futures for April delivery were up 0.6 percent at
$1,602.40 on the Comex in New York. Futures trading volume was 56 percent above
the average in the past 100 days for this time of day.
The Cypriot levy enabled the euro area to lower its bailout of the country to
10 billion euros from an original figure of about 17 billion euros. Anastasiades
will defend his decision to accept the levy at a parliamentary session today.
The vote comes a day later than originally planned as Anastasiades seeks to
secure the majority he needs.
ETP Holdings
While gold had the first back-to-back weekly gain last week since January,
holdings in exchange-traded products fell to 2,469.8 metric tons on March 15,
the lowest since September, data compiled by Bloomberg show. Prices are down 4.3
percent this year after 12 straight annual gains.
“Gold is well-placed to rally,” James Moore, an analyst at FastMarkets Ltd.
in London, said today by phone. “There’s been a lot of liquidation carried out.
It seems to have established a base above $1,565.”
Silver for immediate delivery added 0.1 percent to $28.815 an ounce in
London. Palladium was down 1.5 percent at $764.13 an ounce. Platinum fell 0.8
percent to $1,576.70 an ounce. One ounce of platinum bought as little as 0.9816
ounce of gold today, the least since Jan. 14, data compiled by Bloomberg show
Gold Set for Weekly Gain Amid Signs of Physical Demand, Recovery
LONDON (Mar 15) Gold traded below its highest level this month and it headed for a second weekly gain in London as investors weighed a pickup in physical demand against signs economies are improving.
The metal is heading for the first back-to-back weekly advance since January even as U.S. data showed this week retail sales jumped and jobless claims dropped. Global equities reached the highest since June 2008. Japan’s political parties confirmed Haruhiko Kuroda as the Bank of Japan (8301) governor as well as Kikuo Iwata and Hiroshi Nakaso as deputies, ushering in a leadership that may push for more monetary stimulus within weeks.
“Numbers out of the U.S. have been coming out better and that’s helping equities go higher,” Afshin Nabavi, a senior vice president at bullion refiner MKS (Switzerland) SA in Geneva, said today by phone. “Physical demand still remains strong, from the Far East mainly. There seems to be bargain hunting every time around the $1,570 an ounce area.”
Gold for immediate delivery added 0.2 percent to $1,593.18 an ounce by 9:51 a.m. in London. Prices climbed to this month’s high of $1,599.85 an ounce on March 13 and are up 0.9 percent this week. Futures for April delivery were little changed at $1,591.80 on the Comex in New York.
Futures trading volume was 38 percent below the average in the past 100 days for this time of day. Bullion rallied the past 12 years as nations pledged more stimulus to support economic growth. The metal is down 4.9 percent this year on optimism global economies are strengthening.
Barclays Plc cut its 2013 gold forecast yesterday by 7.4 percent to $1,646, citing increasing downside risks to owning gold. While physical demand in India and China, the biggest consumers, responded to lower prices, exchange-traded product sales are the key risk, it said. Gold ETP holdings added 0.2 metric ton to 2,471.1 tons yesterday, the first increase since Feb. 7, data compiled by Bloomberg show. They’re down 161.4 tons from the December record.
Silver for immediate delivery added 0.3 percent to $28.895 an ounce in London. Palladium was up 0.3 percent at $773.13 an ounce. Platinum rose 0.1 percent to $1,591.90 an ounce
March 15, 2013 - 07:06:04 PDT
“The government is not concerned about inflation, even though the CPI is rising and that may be a problem long term.”
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March 15, 2013 - 14:13:15 PDT
With no surprise, one of the powerful factors which will accelerate the U.S.’ loss of influence in the world relates to ...
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by Nicholas Wilsey March 15, 2013
GOLD PRICES END WEEK MOVING UPWARDS
As the week got started there was not much action in the Gold or Silver markets. “It's a real lackluster day,” HSBC Bank USA’s Chief Commodities Analyst James Steel said. “We've had scattered buying in the Precious Metals in general – mostly in Gold – but the gains have run into headwinds with a stronger dollar.” After a flat start to the week, Tuesday saw a rise in Gold due to technical trading and a growing concern over the global economic outlook. “This indicated that the sellers had enough, leading to the bulls coming back into bullion,” said Fawad Razaqzada, technical analyst at GFT Markets. In Europe, the cause for economic alarm seems to be rising. The chief of Germany’s Bundesbank, one of Europe’s largest banks, is concerned that countries are not doing enough to help secure future success in the area. He said, “The crisis that we are facing is a crisis of confidence, and this confidence cannot be gained if we postpone the tackling of the root causes of the crisis.” While he believes the current situation is improving, he is not so convinced about the long term outlook. Analysts continue to say that the high physical demand in Asia is one of the driving forces behind Gold’s price, though it seems the major topic is quantitative easing (QE) around the world. Recent comments from central bank officials have supported ongoing QE in many regions, including the United States and Europe. Roubini Global Economics’ Managing Director of Research Christian Menegatti chimed in, saying, “We are talking about 2014, in terms of winding down quantitative easing. We’ll have to wait much longer for rate hikes… well into 2015 and maybe towards the end of (that year).” The driving force behind Gold being stuck just below $1,600 has been fear that QE could be coming to an end soon, but these views seem to refute that. In a recent CNBC poll, over 70 percent of voters said they were still buying Gold instead of selling it.
MORE MIXED U.S. ECONOMIC REPORTS RELEASED
February’s retail sales report showed the biggest jump in five months. “The retail number was nice and that’s helping lessen concern that high gas prices and taxes would combine to slow down consumer spending,” Erick Maronak, chief investment officer at Victory Capital Management Inc., said. As equities markets have rallied and Precious Metals have inversely fallen, many experts are touting this as an excellent time to buy Gold and Silver. One of Gold’s broader appeals is its inverse correlation to the U.S. dollar, making it an ideal safety net for investors. The dollar is currently near seven month highs against the basket of global currencies. Bullish retail sales spurred hope that the domestic economy could weather the government tax hikes and spending cuts. SP Angel analyst John Meyer said, “Current dollar strength is reflective of a better economic environment in the United States and Gold is likely to keep coming off as investors move to risk-on strategy and away from securities assets.” The U.S. stock market continued to rise Thursday after reports that jobless claims fell by 10,000. In a separate report, producer prices rose by 0.7 percent in February. Both reports are signs of a sustained economic recovery. In addition, the job market’s continued growth is beginning to push wages up. Higher wages means higher domestic demand for goods and services. Additionally, a government report showed that January’s layoffs were the fewest since 2000. The recovery in the labor market could intensify the debate that the Federal Reserve could alter their course of monetary easing. On the other side of the coin there were two separate reports released Friday that added to the speculation of continued monetary easing in the U.S. According to the U.S. Department of Labor, February’s increase in gasoline prices was an unexpected primary contributor to the 0.7 percent increase in the consumer price index (CPI), accounting for about three quarters of the increase. The Department of Labor is reporting that excluding the spike in gasoline, the CPI rose only 0.2 percent, a figure well within expectations. The government reported that inflation-adjusted hourly earnings for all employees fell 0.6 percent in February, though the real average hourly earnings increased 0.1 percent for the full 12 months ending in February. As an added blow to the increased CPI, a separate report from Thomson Reuters/University of Michigan shows that consumer sentiment dropped to 71.8 from 77.6, though it was expected to rise to 78. Across the board spending cuts and government policies were cited as influential in the downgrade. Thirty four percent of respondents, beating the previous record of 31 percent, indicated unfavorable references. In addition, 30 percent of consumers expect economic growth to continue worsening in the next year. So far this year has been filled with a mix of both positive and negative economic indicators around the globe. Those indicators have left investors searching for direction without much success.
At 5:00 pm (EDT), the APMEX precious metals spot prices were:
- Gold, $1593.30, Up $0.10.
- Silver, $28.82, Down $0.06.
![[Most Recent Quotes from www.kitco.com]](http://www.kitconet.com/charts/metals/gold/t24_au_en_usoz_2.gif)
By Ryan SchwimmerMarch 15, 2013CONSUMER PRICES RISE MOST SINCE JUNE 2009Precious Metals prices remained steady after the release of the Consumer Price Index (CPI), which is a key inflation gauge. The CPI showed consumer prices rose 0.7 percent in February, the largest gain since June 2009. The main factor in the increase was gasoline prices, which also experienced the largest jump since June 2009. Gold and Palladium are mostly flat to start the day, while Silver and Platinum are up slightly.
Gold is headed for a second straight week of gains thanks to the likelihood of continuing quantitative easing around the world. Standard Chartered analyst Dan Smith said, “I think there is a feeling that the risk appetite is gone too far and I wouldn't be surprised to see equities pulling back and Gold coming back into favor a bit in coming days. Obviously, the euro strength is helping Gold prices to hold above $1,590 and it seems to me that there is more upside risk than downside risk for the time being.”
At 9 a.m. (EDT), the APMEX Precious Metals spot prices were:
- Gold, $1,595.20, Up $2.50.
- Silver, $28.94, Up $0.07.
Gold Dips Find Demand
Daily Bars
Chart Prepared by Jamie Saettele, CMT using Marketscope 2.0
Commodity Analysis: No change: “Post NFP action is bullish. After the release, gold took out the previous 5 days’ lows, reversed, and closed near the high of the day and range. The near term action supports the previously presented bullish evidence. Given sentiment as indicated by COT and the retracement of the rally from the 2/21 low stopping at the high volume day close (2/20 close in futures), a bullish bias is warranted against the 2/21 low. The counter to this is that a drop below 1555 could complete 5 waves down from 1697 and give way to a more persistent advance.”
Commodity Trading Strategy: Long against 1555, target 1650
LEVELS: 1500 1523 1555 1620 1639 1652
ARTICLE
Gold prices rose above the flatline Thursday afternoon as more pressure mounted against the U.S. dollar.
3/14/13 12:26PM
ARTICLE
A close above $1,600 an ounce is needed by gold bulls to keep momentum going.
3/14/13 4:12PM
Precious Metals: News And Analysis
VIDEO
Global central banks are diversifying their reserve portfolios by rebalancing from the dollar and the euro. The World Gold Council's Ashish Bhatia tells TheStreet's Joe Deaux that they're looking to gold as an answer.
