Thursday, April 25, 2013
Wednesday, April 24, 2013
U.S. Mint Runs Out of Smallest American Eagle Gold Coin
This story comes to us from Dabarati Roy at Bloomberg
The U.S. Mint ran out of its smallest American Eagle gold coin after demand surged following the biggest drop in futures in three decades.
Sales of the coins weighing a 10th of an ounce were suspended after demand more than doubled in 2013 from a year earlier, the Mint said yesterday in a statement. Total sales of American Eagles in April have almost tripled from a month earlier, according to its website.
“This week has been very busy for us,” Michael Kramer, the president of New York-based MTB Inc., a dealer authorized to purchase coins directly from the Mint. “We do not yet anticipate suspension” of heavier coins, he said. The Mint also sells 22-karat American Eagles of 1 ounce, half an ounce and a quarter of an ounce.
“The 1-ounce gold bullion coins are the most popular,”Michael White, a Mint spokesman, said in the e-mail.
A rush by Indian consumers for bracelets and coins is prompting jewelers to offer premiums on imports as traders and banks run out of stockpiles, a trade group said yesterday. Jewelers in big cities are paying as much as 800 rupees ($14.73) per 10 grams (0.02 pounds) while retailers in some remote areas are paying about 1,200 rupees per 10 grams as a premium, according to Haresh Soni, chairman of the All India Gems & Jewellery Trade Federation.
Volumes of gold products sold jumped 150 percent in Hong Kong and Macau during the April 13 weekend compared with the weekend before, according to Dennis Lau, director of sales operations at Chow Sang Sang Holdings International Ltd. (116), last week. Retail sales tripled across China on April 15-16, the China Gold Association reported.
Japanese consumers are poised to become net buyers of gold for the first time in eight years as the yen’s decline and looming inflation drive them to seek refuge in bullion, according to Standard Bank Plc.
Futures on the Comex in New York climbed 1.1 percent to $1,424.90 an ounce by 5 p.m. in Singapore, about $100 above the $1,321.50 reached on April 16, which was the lowest level in more than two years. Prices have plunged 26 percent from the record $1,923.70 in September 2011.
The U.S. Mint ran out of its smallest American Eagle gold coin after demand surged following the biggest drop in futures in three decades.
Sales of the coins weighing a 10th of an ounce were suspended after demand more than doubled in 2013 from a year earlier, the Mint said yesterday in a statement. Total sales of American Eagles in April have almost tripled from a month earlier, according to its website.
American Eagle Gold Bullion Coins, shown here in 1 oz., 1/2 oz., 1/4 oz., and 1/10 oz. sizes, are some of the world's leading gold bullion investment coins. Photographer: Zack Seckler/Bloomberg
Shoppers from India to China and Japan joined consumers in the U.S. and Australia in the rush to buy jewelry and coins after futures slumped 13 percent in two days through April 15. Indian buyers flocked to stores and banks for ornaments, coins and bars as purchases from the Perth Mint in Australia doubled and retail sales across China tripled.
“The 1-ounce gold bullion coins are the most popular,”Michael White, a Mint spokesman, said in the e-mail.
A rush by Indian consumers for bracelets and coins is prompting jewelers to offer premiums on imports as traders and banks run out of stockpiles, a trade group said yesterday. Jewelers in big cities are paying as much as 800 rupees ($14.73) per 10 grams (0.02 pounds) while retailers in some remote areas are paying about 1,200 rupees per 10 grams as a premium, according to Haresh Soni, chairman of the All India Gems & Jewellery Trade Federation.
Hong Kong, Japan
Overseas purchases may jump 36 percent to 305 metric tons in the three months ending June from 225 tons a year earlier, Mohit Kamboj, president of the Bombay Bullion Association Ltd., said last week. Imports may climb as much as 20 percent this month from year earlier, he said.Volumes of gold products sold jumped 150 percent in Hong Kong and Macau during the April 13 weekend compared with the weekend before, according to Dennis Lau, director of sales operations at Chow Sang Sang Holdings International Ltd. (116), last week. Retail sales tripled across China on April 15-16, the China Gold Association reported.
Japanese consumers are poised to become net buyers of gold for the first time in eight years as the yen’s decline and looming inflation drive them to seek refuge in bullion, according to Standard Bank Plc.
Futures on the Comex in New York climbed 1.1 percent to $1,424.90 an ounce by 5 p.m. in Singapore, about $100 above the $1,321.50 reached on April 16, which was the lowest level in more than two years. Prices have plunged 26 percent from the record $1,923.70 in September 2011.
Monday, April 22, 2013
Gold Buying Surges on Price Correction
This Article comes to us from Economics Fanatic on SeekingAlpha.com
As reported, investors and ornament lovers in India mopped up 10-15 tonnes of gold within three days of decline in the precious metal. Readers might argue that buying gold in India is more an ornament consideration than an investment consideration. However, the buying would not be rampant if a further decline in gold prices was perceived. Further, there has been buying of gold coins and bars, which underscores the point that Indians are increasingly looking at gold as an investment or currency.
In the United States, Zero Hedge reported that the U.S. mint sold 63,500 ounces of gold in a day, which happens to be a record. According to the website -
Therefore, even investors in the U.S. are looking at the current correction as a buying opportunity than considering it to be an end to the bull market for gold. Commodity guru, Jim Rogers also considers the correction healthy and is looking to buy gold on further correction.
The important point I am trying to make through these examples is that the global appetite for gold has not declined after the crash. Instead, investors are taking the correction positively and looking to buy further instead of panic selling. Considering this buying momentum, I don't expect another major downside from these levels. I had written an article, which discussed the probability of a 10-15% correction in gold. For me, that target is achieved and I would consider buying some physical gold at these levels.
I would also like to offer the views of the World Gold Council on the recent decline in gold prices. The comments by the WGC underscore my points stated above. According to the WGC -
Surely, for long-term investors, it is the time to accumulate gold. Of course, gold should be just a part of the portfolio and diversification is needed in order to avoid sharp erosion of capital due to the volatility witnessed. Talking about volatility, the movement in all asset classes subsequent to the crisis has been associated with a large degree of volatility. Therefore, diversification in asset classes and regions globally is essential.
For gold, investors can consider this as one of the best opportunities to buy and hold for long-term. I am not sure about the short-term trend. For the long-term, I can say with a lot of conviction that gold will trend much higher than its previous high.
As reported, investors and ornament lovers in India mopped up 10-15 tonnes of gold within three days of decline in the precious metal. Readers might argue that buying gold in India is more an ornament consideration than an investment consideration. However, the buying would not be rampant if a further decline in gold prices was perceived. Further, there has been buying of gold coins and bars, which underscores the point that Indians are increasingly looking at gold as an investment or currency.
In the United States, Zero Hedge reported that the U.S. mint sold 63,500 ounces of gold in a day, which happens to be a record. According to the website -
According to today's data from the US Mint, a record 63,500 ounces, or a whopping 2 tons, of gold were reported sold on April 17th alone, bringing the total sales for the month to a whopping 147,000 ounces or more than the previous two months combined with just half of the month gone.
Therefore, even investors in the U.S. are looking at the current correction as a buying opportunity than considering it to be an end to the bull market for gold. Commodity guru, Jim Rogers also considers the correction healthy and is looking to buy gold on further correction.
The important point I am trying to make through these examples is that the global appetite for gold has not declined after the crash. Instead, investors are taking the correction positively and looking to buy further instead of panic selling. Considering this buying momentum, I don't expect another major downside from these levels. I had written an article, which discussed the probability of a 10-15% correction in gold. For me, that target is achieved and I would consider buying some physical gold at these levels.
I would also like to offer the views of the World Gold Council on the recent decline in gold prices. The comments by the WGC underscore my points stated above. According to the WGC -
It has become increasingly clear over the course of the past week that the fall in the gold price was triggered by speculative traders operating in the futures markets. Their short-term view of generating a trading profit is in stark contrast to the views of long term investors in gold, as evidenced by the massive wave of physical gold buying that began over the weekend and accelerated following Monday's further decline. The surge in gold purchases is spanning markets from India and China to the US, Japan and Europe. Buyers are viewing this as an opportunity to purchase gold at prices not seen in the past couple of years.
Surely, for long-term investors, it is the time to accumulate gold. Of course, gold should be just a part of the portfolio and diversification is needed in order to avoid sharp erosion of capital due to the volatility witnessed. Talking about volatility, the movement in all asset classes subsequent to the crisis has been associated with a large degree of volatility. Therefore, diversification in asset classes and regions globally is essential.
For gold, investors can consider this as one of the best opportunities to buy and hold for long-term. I am not sure about the short-term trend. For the long-term, I can say with a lot of conviction that gold will trend much higher than its previous high.
Wednesday, April 10, 2013
Something Fishy Is Going On....
We have a most unusual situation on our hands...
Private Investors and Eastern Central Banks are mopping up record amounts of physical gold and silver in the midst of the largest currency war/ monetary collapse in human history and some how the large western banks are dropping their price targets and telling the public that its time to sell; are they lying to you? Lets look at the facts.
- We have such demand for investment grade metal that the US is on target to use all of its domestic mining supply in 2013 just to fill the sales of silver eagles.
- The Eastern Central Banks and lesser developed nations of the world are continuing to move their Currency holdings into physical metals at an alarming rate.
- The Precious Metals bull market has been ongoing for 12 years now, unlike any other bull market in recent history. Sounds more like a manipulated, managed retreat than a function of the free market. Prices seem to be continually chopped way down with enormous sales on off market hours.
- Every major developed nation on the planet is debasing their currency at alarming rates. If you look at the M1 (base money) charts they are beginning to go parabolic which throughout history has always led to huge inflations and currency collapses.
- Germany and other nations are beginning to ask for their physical gold back from the NY Federal Reserve and they have to spread the shipments out over several years. Actually the numbers for annual US gold mining production match almost perfectly with the alotted time frames in which we've agreed to pay back Germany its gold holdings.
- When asset management companies like Sprott run the yearly supply and demand numbers they've found that someone must be dumping large quantities of gold into the market to supply the vast demand, thus keeping the price from rising sharply.
- There have been several long corrections in the 12 year bull market all of which lasted about 18 months. We are now at about the 18 month mark since the high in 2011.
Yesterday, April 9th many techinal analysists concluded that the metals markets had most likely bottomed, meanwhile the gold and silver prices surged even with record short positions from the large banks and hedge funds (who are usually behind the curve). It seemed as though the markets had finally taken control and moved the price in its appropriate direction. Then today, in what seemed like an attempt to curb the run Goldman Sachs, Citigroup, and other large banks all issued statements cutting the price target for gold over the next two years, as well as saying its time to short the metal.
At the same time the FOMC Minutes were released early via email (kind of strange) saying that the Federal Reserve may exit their QE before the years end, and thats not all. Meanwhile the Bank of Cyprus stated that they were going to dump $400 Million of their gold reserves onto the market to raise capital for their bailout. I Think that all of those releases happened rather perfectly the day after Gold and Silver blew the socks off of the Marketplace.
Now delving deeper we see (in the previous article) that there are a mere 632 long silver contracts currently standing (as opposed to 29,580 in February of this year), and a whopping 22,383 short positions up from 2,922 on February 5th. If these markets had continued their run through today the amount of short coverings and new long positions would have propelled the markets possibly beyond the control of the manipulating agencies. That is why such drastic steps were taken on such short notice.
Private Investors and Eastern Central Banks are mopping up record amounts of physical gold and silver in the midst of the largest currency war/ monetary collapse in human history and some how the large western banks are dropping their price targets and telling the public that its time to sell; are they lying to you? Lets look at the facts.
- We have such demand for investment grade metal that the US is on target to use all of its domestic mining supply in 2013 just to fill the sales of silver eagles.
- The Eastern Central Banks and lesser developed nations of the world are continuing to move their Currency holdings into physical metals at an alarming rate.
- The Precious Metals bull market has been ongoing for 12 years now, unlike any other bull market in recent history. Sounds more like a manipulated, managed retreat than a function of the free market. Prices seem to be continually chopped way down with enormous sales on off market hours.
- Every major developed nation on the planet is debasing their currency at alarming rates. If you look at the M1 (base money) charts they are beginning to go parabolic which throughout history has always led to huge inflations and currency collapses.
- Germany and other nations are beginning to ask for their physical gold back from the NY Federal Reserve and they have to spread the shipments out over several years. Actually the numbers for annual US gold mining production match almost perfectly with the alotted time frames in which we've agreed to pay back Germany its gold holdings.
- When asset management companies like Sprott run the yearly supply and demand numbers they've found that someone must be dumping large quantities of gold into the market to supply the vast demand, thus keeping the price from rising sharply.
- There have been several long corrections in the 12 year bull market all of which lasted about 18 months. We are now at about the 18 month mark since the high in 2011.
Yesterday, April 9th many techinal analysists concluded that the metals markets had most likely bottomed, meanwhile the gold and silver prices surged even with record short positions from the large banks and hedge funds (who are usually behind the curve). It seemed as though the markets had finally taken control and moved the price in its appropriate direction. Then today, in what seemed like an attempt to curb the run Goldman Sachs, Citigroup, and other large banks all issued statements cutting the price target for gold over the next two years, as well as saying its time to short the metal.
At the same time the FOMC Minutes were released early via email (kind of strange) saying that the Federal Reserve may exit their QE before the years end, and thats not all. Meanwhile the Bank of Cyprus stated that they were going to dump $400 Million of their gold reserves onto the market to raise capital for their bailout. I Think that all of those releases happened rather perfectly the day after Gold and Silver blew the socks off of the Marketplace.
Now delving deeper we see (in the previous article) that there are a mere 632 long silver contracts currently standing (as opposed to 29,580 in February of this year), and a whopping 22,383 short positions up from 2,922 on February 5th. If these markets had continued their run through today the amount of short coverings and new long positions would have propelled the markets possibly beyond the control of the manipulating agencies. That is why such drastic steps were taken on such short notice.
Comex Gold Inventories Collapse by Largest Amount Ever on Record
This article comes from Patrick MontesDeOca on SeekingAlpha.com
For the last few months, I have been warning my subscriber base to take a serious look at the reality of the unfolding collapse in the monetary system as we know it. It's happening in front of our eyes and you need to be aware and prepare for what is coming. I've published numerous articles, particularly for the gold and silver markets, on this subject matter.
The past couple of years have been a real test and challenge to my personal convictions and my skills based on the evidence and research I have done. One of the most difficult skills to accomplish in trading is the ability to break away from the herd. It's human nature, and most of us want somebody else to take the responsibility to deal with the challenges and find the solutions to our problems.
In a previous report I commented,
That is exactly what the general consensus seems to have adjusted to. Or, I should say, addicted to - the idea that our government is going to solve our problems and find the solutions through its distribution of wealth template - which has proven to be the formula to destroy the middle class and in doing so the old American Dream. I am not a gloom and doom person or an extremist. But I have been around the block enough times, and as a student of the market for more than 30 years I personally can tell you, I have never seen this set of circumstances come together as they are currently unfolding in the world financial markets.
The Cyprus situation is the canary in the coal mine. The fact is that this action has never been taken by any central bank previously - to essentially steal money from depositors - will have serious socio-economic consequences and sets the stage for the last act of this financial crisis. The collapse of the monetary system (U.S. dollar) as we know it, and the resumption of the long-term secular bull market in gold and silver.
On a recent phone interview, I asked Eric Sprott (Sprott Asset management) if the Cyprus crisis was the "Black Swan" of the eurozone? He said, "This is a Black Swan."
This is a template that is going to be applied on a global basis. The general consensus by the central bank leaders is to unleash the most aggressive monetary policies ever. Which is to print as much fiat currency necessary to band aid the system, with severe long-term inflationary if not hyperinflation consequences globally. .
There has never been a more profound reason to shift back to real money like gold and silver in order to weather the storm or the economic tsunami that's under way. The problem is that it may not be enough of the real thing to go around (Comex Gold Inventories Collapse By Largest Amount Ever On Record).
Over the last 90 days without any announcement, stocks of gold held at Comex warehouses plunged by the largest figure ever on record during a single quarter since record keeping began in 2001 (roughly the beginning of the bull market). See chart below.
Total drainage of physical inventories reached nearly 2 million ounces of gold, which at today's prices represent roughly $3,000,000,000.
Large speculators have the biggest short position on record. Interest by speculators in silver has waned in the past few months, as reflected by Commodity Futures Trading Commission data. In the March 26 weekly commitments of traders report, the most recent data, money managers' net-long position for silver sits at a mere 632 contracts for futures and options combined in the disaggregated report.
This is a dramatic fall from this year's high of 29,580 net-long contracts reached on February 5. Since reaching that high, the net long position for silver speculators fell each week. Meanwhile, the gross short position for speculators has risen to 22,382 as of March 26, from 2,922 as of February 5.
Extreme lows for the managed money net long positions are "usually associated with important bottoms for the price of Silver," said Karl Schott, a bullion specialist with EMA. I urgently recommend you to open your eyes and see that this is a life changing opportunity to accumulate gold and silver at current levels and buy as much as you can, converting fiat currency to old and real money like gold and silver in order to protect and maintain purchasing power. Don't wait, act now before it's too late. This is an explosive set of unusual circumstances for gold and silver markets.
Additional disclosure: The information in the Market
Commentaries was obtained from sources believed to be reliable, but we do not
guarantee its accuracy. Neither the information nor any opinion expressed
therein constitutes a solicitation of the purchase or sale of any futures or
options contracts.
Disclaimer: Trading derivatives, financial instruments and precious metals involves significant risk of loss and is not suitable for everyone. Past performance is not necessarily indicative of future results.
For the last few months, I have been warning my subscriber base to take a serious look at the reality of the unfolding collapse in the monetary system as we know it. It's happening in front of our eyes and you need to be aware and prepare for what is coming. I've published numerous articles, particularly for the gold and silver markets, on this subject matter.
The past couple of years have been a real test and challenge to my personal convictions and my skills based on the evidence and research I have done. One of the most difficult skills to accomplish in trading is the ability to break away from the herd. It's human nature, and most of us want somebody else to take the responsibility to deal with the challenges and find the solutions to our problems.
In a previous report I commented,
U.S. debt continues to increase. In the first two months of the current fiscal year that began on October 1st, the U.S. national debt has grown $320 billion. That is $21 billion more than the same two-month period last year, which illustrates that the growth of the national debt continues to accelerate. The reason of course is the federal government's huge operating deficit, which is not getting any smaller.
That is exactly what the general consensus seems to have adjusted to. Or, I should say, addicted to - the idea that our government is going to solve our problems and find the solutions through its distribution of wealth template - which has proven to be the formula to destroy the middle class and in doing so the old American Dream. I am not a gloom and doom person or an extremist. But I have been around the block enough times, and as a student of the market for more than 30 years I personally can tell you, I have never seen this set of circumstances come together as they are currently unfolding in the world financial markets.
The Cyprus situation is the canary in the coal mine. The fact is that this action has never been taken by any central bank previously - to essentially steal money from depositors - will have serious socio-economic consequences and sets the stage for the last act of this financial crisis. The collapse of the monetary system (U.S. dollar) as we know it, and the resumption of the long-term secular bull market in gold and silver.
On a recent phone interview, I asked Eric Sprott (Sprott Asset management) if the Cyprus crisis was the "Black Swan" of the eurozone? He said, "This is a Black Swan."
This is a template that is going to be applied on a global basis. The general consensus by the central bank leaders is to unleash the most aggressive monetary policies ever. Which is to print as much fiat currency necessary to band aid the system, with severe long-term inflationary if not hyperinflation consequences globally. .
There has never been a more profound reason to shift back to real money like gold and silver in order to weather the storm or the economic tsunami that's under way. The problem is that it may not be enough of the real thing to go around (Comex Gold Inventories Collapse By Largest Amount Ever On Record).
Over the last 90 days without any announcement, stocks of gold held at Comex warehouses plunged by the largest figure ever on record during a single quarter since record keeping began in 2001 (roughly the beginning of the bull market). See chart below.
Total drainage of physical inventories reached nearly 2 million ounces of gold, which at today's prices represent roughly $3,000,000,000.
Large speculators have the biggest short position on record. Interest by speculators in silver has waned in the past few months, as reflected by Commodity Futures Trading Commission data. In the March 26 weekly commitments of traders report, the most recent data, money managers' net-long position for silver sits at a mere 632 contracts for futures and options combined in the disaggregated report.
This is a dramatic fall from this year's high of 29,580 net-long contracts reached on February 5. Since reaching that high, the net long position for silver speculators fell each week. Meanwhile, the gross short position for speculators has risen to 22,382 as of March 26, from 2,922 as of February 5.
Extreme lows for the managed money net long positions are "usually associated with important bottoms for the price of Silver," said Karl Schott, a bullion specialist with EMA. I urgently recommend you to open your eyes and see that this is a life changing opportunity to accumulate gold and silver at current levels and buy as much as you can, converting fiat currency to old and real money like gold and silver in order to protect and maintain purchasing power. Don't wait, act now before it's too late. This is an explosive set of unusual circumstances for gold and silver markets.
Disclaimer: Trading derivatives, financial instruments and precious metals involves significant risk of loss and is not suitable for everyone. Past performance is not necessarily indicative of future results.
Sunday, April 7, 2013
U.S. Mint Sales For March
This article comes from Hebba Investments on SeekingAlpha.com
US Mint Sales For March: US on pace to use all domestic mine production for Silver Eagles
Pay Attention GLD, PHYS, PSLV, and SLV investors - the U.S. Mint's full March sales numbers show the strongest March in terms of silver eagles sold. We will go inside the numbers to show this to investors, but the dichotomy between the silver price and silver sold seems to continue, with strong physical investment demand being opposed by relentless paper sales.
Analyzing the U.S. Mint Sales Numbers
When analyzing sales numbers it is important that investors go past the headlines and dig deep into the true nature of the sales. For brevity we are only showing the last few years of sales, but for doing comparisons we have used data from the beginning of the current bull market in 2001.
To start, let's take a look at the U.S. Mint sales numbers for silver and gold for March and compare them to the same month in previous years. We are doing a year-over-year comparison because coin sales are very seasonal in nature; to get a fair read we have to compare March to March.
(Click to enlarge)
The first thing that stands out about the numbers is that silver eagle sales continue to be very strong with 3,356,500 ounces sold in March. This was the second largest amount ever sold in March, and the only March that surpassed this number was in 2010 - when silver prices were 40% lower. The year-to-date numbers continue to impress with 14 million silver ounces sold through March - which is 15% higher than the second highest month (March 2011). As a reminder, 2011 was the strongest year for silver eagle sales (and for the silver price) with 39 million silver eagles selling in 2011, and if we continue matching this sales pace, 2013 will be 15% higher than 2011 and reach 45 million silver eagles sold.
Continue Reading....
US Mint Sales For March: US on pace to use all domestic mine production for Silver Eagles
Pay Attention GLD, PHYS, PSLV, and SLV investors - the U.S. Mint's full March sales numbers show the strongest March in terms of silver eagles sold. We will go inside the numbers to show this to investors, but the dichotomy between the silver price and silver sold seems to continue, with strong physical investment demand being opposed by relentless paper sales.
Analyzing the U.S. Mint Sales Numbers
When analyzing sales numbers it is important that investors go past the headlines and dig deep into the true nature of the sales. For brevity we are only showing the last few years of sales, but for doing comparisons we have used data from the beginning of the current bull market in 2001.
To start, let's take a look at the U.S. Mint sales numbers for silver and gold for March and compare them to the same month in previous years. We are doing a year-over-year comparison because coin sales are very seasonal in nature; to get a fair read we have to compare March to March.
(Click to enlarge)
The first thing that stands out about the numbers is that silver eagle sales continue to be very strong with 3,356,500 ounces sold in March. This was the second largest amount ever sold in March, and the only March that surpassed this number was in 2010 - when silver prices were 40% lower. The year-to-date numbers continue to impress with 14 million silver ounces sold through March - which is 15% higher than the second highest month (March 2011). As a reminder, 2011 was the strongest year for silver eagle sales (and for the silver price) with 39 million silver eagles selling in 2011, and if we continue matching this sales pace, 2013 will be 15% higher than 2011 and reach 45 million silver eagles sold.
Continue Reading....
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