Precious Metals

Russia and China building their gold reserves

"The People’s Bank of China recently let overnight money-market rates soar to over 20%. The message is clear for those prepared to look for it: they are not going to fuel an extended credit bubble. The two countries have learned how damaging a bank-credit-fuelled business cycle can be, and are determined to restrict bank lending. Western commentators find this hard to understand because it does not conform to the way western monetary policy works. It seems that the leaders of both Russia and China are also painfully aware of the importance of currency stability in a way the West is not." Continue reading →

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Shanghai Futures Exchange To Begin Gold/Silver Night Trading

"'The U.S. and Europe still have the pricing power, although prices are usually being affected by a number of factors, such as liquidity and overall economic conditions,' said Yang Maijun, chairman of the Board at the Shanghai Futures Exchange, which is going to start night trading hours for its gold and silver contracts on July 5. 'The purpose of night trading is to help prices [on the Shanghai exchange] better connect with global prices, and to help achieve our goal of internationalizing our contracts,' Mr. Yang told the audience at the Lujiazui Forum, an annual gathering of financial policy makers and executives in Shanghai." Continue reading →

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JPMorgan Comes Out With First “Overweight” Call On Commodities Since September 2010

"Metals prices have reached levels that are demonstrably forcing involuntary production cuts and fresh demand. Against one-sided sentiment and following 15 months of destocking, Chinese buyers are going to realize very soon this is the opportune moment to back up the truck and to restock supply channels where China is import dependent. A surge in Chinese buying of a metal at a lower price has already been observed in gold. We expect renewed vigor in imports of copper and oil. It is quite obvious what the Chinese should do here in physical markets, in pursuit of China’s long-run economic and social self-interest." Continue reading →

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Gold price falls fuel ‘record’ bullion sales at UK’s biggest internet gold dealer

"BullionByPost said its sales hit £87m in the year to April, presenting a rise of 58pc on the previous year. Founder Rob Halliday-Stein said the plunge in the price had increased enthusiasm, describing Friday as a 'record' day with over £1m sales. 'For every seller, there’s a buyer,' he said. 'The sellers tend to be big and fast and the buyers smaller and slower. The reason they are buying has not changed - it is because they are worried about the medium to long term outlook for the economy, and QE.' He set up the internet delivery business in 2008 after he found it difficult to buy physical gold after inheriting money following the death of his mother." Continue reading →

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Bill Bonner: How to Invest Like the Swiss

"You can barely throw a Krugerrand in any direction without hitting a rich banker or his model wife. They stroll along the Limmatquai. They dine at the Kronenhalle. They shop on Bahnhofstrasse. And what do they think of today's markets? 'It's crazy what is happening,' said our friend. 'But crazy things happen. You just have to make sure you're not doing something crazy too.' Only a fool would pretend to know where gold will come to a bottom. Nobody knows. But a lot of people think they know. And when people think they know something that they can't really know, it is an opportunity for those who don't know and who know they don't know. Is that clear?" Continue reading →

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Peter Schiff: The Golden Cycle

"This analysis provides a good representation of the current conventional wisdom. The only twist here is that the article from which this summary is derived appeared in the August 29, 1976 edition of The New York Times. When the gold price approached $100 per ounce, a nearly 50% decline, the obituaries came fast and furious. Everyone assumed that the gold mania would never return. Although the writer of The Times piece did not yet know it, the bottom for gold had been established four days before his article was published. Few realized at the time that the real economic pain of the 1970's had (to paraphrase The Carpenters 1970's hit) 'Only Just Begun'." Continue reading →

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Bill Bonner: How Low Can Gold Go?

"The price can easily step back 50% in a bull market... then continue its upward surge. 'At the moment gold shares are not far off pricing in the end of the world,' says Evy Hambro of Blackrock. End of the world? Not quite. The end of the world can come at any time... and at any gold price. But we doubt that it will come on July 1, with gold at $1,200 an ounce. The feds have created an economy that can't be sustained. Because it requires bigger and bigger inputs of cash and credit. Everyone knows this can't go on forever. That's why the Fed is talking about 'tapering.' But you don't 'taper' a major addiction; you have to hit bottom first." Continue reading →

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New U.S. Sanctions Imposed on Iran to Halt Gold Trading

"The first American sanctions on Iran since a moderate cleric won the presidential election there on June 14 went into effect on Monday, expanding the number of penalized industries and imposing rules that theoretically could halt all gold and currency trade by the country. Bullion dealers in other countries who flout the prohibition risk severe American penalties, including expulsion from the United States precious metals market. Iran has increasingly traded its oil and gas for gold with countries like Turkey because of earlier financial sanctions that have prevented the Iranians from using conventional bank payment methods." Continue reading →

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