Precious Metals

Paul Craig Roberts: Assault On Gold Update

"Who has 16 million ounces of gold? At the beginning gold price that day of about $1,550, that comes to $24,800,000,000. Who has that kind of money? What happens when 500 tons of gold sales are dumped on the market at one time or on one day? Correct, it drives the price down. Investors who want to get out of large positions would spread sales out over time so as not to lower their sales proceeds. The sale took gold down by about $73 per ounce. That means the seller or sellers lost up to $73 dollars 16 million times, or $1,168,000,000. Who can afford to lose that kind of money? Only a central bank that can print it." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingPaul Craig Roberts: Assault On Gold Update

Hedge funds selling gold ‘in a big way’

"Hedge funds and other big speculators in commodities have started selling gold in a big way, trade data showed on Friday, just a month after they had supported the precious metal amid a record tumble in its price. Money managers, including hedge funds, pulled $1.4 billion from the U.S. gold futures market for the week ended May 14 by trimming their net long positions in the metal, according to Reuters calculations of data released by the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC). Open interest, a measure of market liquidity, fell more than 3 percent in the week to May 14 for gold contracts traded by money managers on the COMEX." Continue reading →

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Paul Craig Roberts: Gangster State America

"My explanation that the sudden appearance of an unprecedented 400 ton short sale of gold on the COMEX in April was a manipulation designed to protect the dollar from the Federal Reserve’s quantitative easing policy has found acceptance among gold investors and hedge fund managers. The sale was a naked short. The seller had no gold to sell. COMEX reported having gold only equal to about half of the short sale in its vaults, and not all of that was available for delivery. No one but the Federal Reserve could have placed such an order, and the order came from one of the Fed’s bullion banks, one of the entities 'too big to fail.'" Continue reading →

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From Petrodollar To Petrogold: The US Is Now Trying To Cut Off Iran’s Access To Gold

"The US is moving to broaden its 'blockade' efforts of Iran to the movement of pure gold into the Islamic Republic. The US-led embargo of Iranian crude succeeded in slowing the flow of petrodollars into the nation but as Foreign Affairs committee chairman Edward Cohen remarked, there is 'no question that there is gold going from Turkey to Iran.' While the official line from US elite such as Bernanke remains that 'gold is not money' it appears that increasingly other nations would disagree, as Cohen admitted, 'in large measure what we're seeing is private Iranian citizens buying gold as a protection against the falling value of Iran's currency.'" Continue reading →

Continue ReadingFrom Petrodollar To Petrogold: The US Is Now Trying To Cut Off Iran’s Access To Gold

Gold Demand In One Chart: Physical vs ETF

"China's demand for gold jumped 20% to 294 tonnes in the first quarter of 2013, while global gold demand overall slid 13% thanks to the dramatic rotation of demand from paper to physical. Central banks added 109.2 tonnes of gold to their reserves in Q1 2013, the ninth consecutive quarter of net purchases. But it was the Q1 ETF outflows of 176.9 tonnes, equating to a 7% decline in total gold ETF holdings that obscured the strong rise in investment for gold bars and coins at the retail level. In the face of the huge 'paper' gold ETF outflows, 'physical' gold demand surged to its highest in 18 months." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingGold Demand In One Chart: Physical vs ETF

Gold’s dichotomy: Investment demand plunges, but consumers keep buying

"Today’s gold market is being defined by two trends: aggressive selling by investors in North America through exchange-traded funds, and aggressive buying by consumers in Asia. But for now, the ETF investors are overwhelming everyone else. Gold prices settled below US$1,390 an ounce on Thursday, and after five rough trading days in a row, they are approaching the lows that were reached during last month’s dramatic collapse. Chinese gold imports have been going through the roof. Data released last week showed that China imported 223.5 tonnes (or 7.9 million ounces) from Hong Kong in March, crushing the previous monthly record." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingGold’s dichotomy: Investment demand plunges, but consumers keep buying

WSJ: Five Reasons Why the Gold Bulls Are Right

"1) Sentiment is improving in peripheral Europe: The recent collapse in gold prices was precipitated by news that Cyprus may sell its gold holdings to assist in the recovery from its banking crisis. 2) Equities could tumble: Record strength in stock indices such as the Dow is not supported by macroeconomic fundamentals. 3) India’s monsoon season won’t last forever: Inhabitants of the world’s second most populous country are also the biggest buyers of gold jewellery. 4) The important Indian demand for gold isn’t all about jewellery: In some jurisdictions, notably India, gold counts as part of a bank’s liquidity ratio. 5) Retail investors are still buying." Continue reading →

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Soros Reports Over $239mm In Gold Positions, Buys $25mm In Junior Miner Calls

"While debate continues as to how far gold and gold equities will continue to drop, the Soros Fund is lightening up on physical gold in exchange for gold mining equities and call options on the extremely volatile junior mining stocks. There couldn’t be any stronger indication by the fund as to its beliefs about the timing of this bottom (outside of selling everything and going all-in on call options of course). It remains to be seen whether these positions will end up in the green or not, but with a forty year track record of 20% annual returns, I’ll be betting on the Soros Fund." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingSoros Reports Over $239mm In Gold Positions, Buys $25mm In Junior Miner Calls

Global Central Banks Added To Their Gold Stockpiles In Q1 Even As Prices Tumbled

"Gold prices are down about 12.5% since the start of April. But global central banks have been increasing their reserves of the yellow metal. A new report from the World Gold Council shows that central banks bout 109 tonnes of gold in the first quarter. This was the seventh straight quarter in which they purchased over 100 tonnes of gold. According to the WGC, Russia and South Korea were among the biggest buyers of gold." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingGlobal Central Banks Added To Their Gold Stockpiles In Q1 Even As Prices Tumbled

U.S. Banks Buy Gold Futures in Dramatic Position Change

"Clearly the U.S. banks, presumably including U.S. bullion banks, are not positioning as though they believe there is a great deal more downside left in gold futures. If they did or do believe that gold could probe even lower than the $1,320s, they are not positioning for it in COMEX futures. That does not necessarily mean they are 'right,' but it is a window into how the largest, best funded and presumably the best informed traders of gold futures on the planet - the U.S. banks - are positioning, both for their own book and for their clients." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingU.S. Banks Buy Gold Futures in Dramatic Position Change