Yesterday saw the gold market act like a see-saw. Gold is essentially range bound

Yesterday saw the gold market act like a see-saw. Gold is essentially range bound at the moment but still with a downward tendency. Platinum continues to look good and may finally be trying to make a stride to the upside. There may be some support coming from a possible mining strikes in Zimbabwe, the world’s third largest producer. Meanwhile silver looks poised to test $17 today on nothing other than good demand possibly a higher US trade deficit is driving more interest for some safe haven buying. Yet without any more relevant news to push the commodities we expect that any rallies will be met with fierce selling ahead of the Fed Rate Decision next week.

Platinum is the leader today but not in a good way.

Platinum is the leader today but not in a good way. The National Union of Mineworkers (NUM) signed a 2- year wage agreement with Impala Platinum Limited (Refineries) ending the threat of strike that was hanging around in the background. That news along with slipping auto sales numbers out of the USA put a damper on the prospect of higher prices for this white metals and selling began. AT first it seemed like the whole group was going to falter. Then the very weak Construction Spending data came out -.7% and the previous month revised downward as well which added concern of continued weakness showing in the US economy. This has supported gold and silver tagged along for an albeit small recovery form the day’s lows. The news today was not good for the platinum group metals. But even worse the fact that it hit during Rosh Hashanah while many of our many colleagues are out celebrating has caused extreme moves during this time of lower liquidity. It seems to this observer that todays move just may be a little overdone.

Heavy gold selling this morning has spread the contagion into the other metals.

Heavy gold selling this morning has spread the contagion into the other metals. Platinum is suffering the most down over 1.6% with silver right on its tail. Meanwhile palladium is behaving like a rock and not moving at all. Market behavior today is very odd as the bond market is higher indicating a belief of lower interest rates to come and Consumer Confidence is reported higher adding pressure to the group. Meanwhile the Case-Schiller Home Price Index was slightly lower than expected and continues to indicate a weak Real Estate market. The gold chart is still holding in bullish territory which may  be a signal that this may be a better deal than Filene’s basement. The drop seems to be losing its momentum in gold meanwhile platinum and silver look to be on weak legs. Might be a good idea to sit back and wait for the volatility to slow.

The Bank of Japan kept its key interest rate at -.1% as expected.

The Bank of Japan kept its key interest rate at -.1% as expected. This leaves the Federal Reserve room if in fact they believe the US economy is strong enough for a rate hike. Recent economic data however would tend to indicate that this afternoon we are unlikely to see any change from the current base. Ahead of the afternoon’s announcement we are seeing steady buying in the precious metals sector. Silver and palladium are making strides to the upside and silver looks like it is getting ready to target its next resistance level to the upside of 20.12 while palladium will need a close above 687 to pave the way back over the 700 level. Platinum is also looking to follow and try to regain a foothold above the 1100 price level. Gold the much more liquid and less volatile of the group will likely continue the party by testing as high as 1367 if it closes above 1334 today. However all this goes out the window if the Fed makes a move at its announcement at 2 PM EST.

The precious metals markets are recovering from Friday’s sell off.

The precious metals markets are recovering from Friday’s sell off. Of the most significant is Palladium which is up over 2.5% and looking very firm though there is no extra-fundamental news . After having hit what a appeared to be a rock bottom price of 650 last week it has turned around and if it closes above 687 today will represent technically a turn around. Gold has been holding above the 100 day moving average of 1306 and may target 1324 in the near future. Of course the market is still waiting for the Fed’s rate decision this Wednesday. But of almost equal importance will be the Bank of Japan’s announcement on Tuesday evening 11PM EST. If BOJ were to lower it may be another signal that the Fed may not be able to move anytime soon.

BULLION COINS VS. COLLECTIBLE COINS

BULLION COINS VS. COLLECTIBLE COINS

 

A bullion coin is a miniature store of wealth whose value is determined by the current price of its precious metals content. A collectible coin is a coin that has additional perceived features above its precious metals content that escapes the notice of others such as: a rare date, mint mark, condition, pedigree or something else that distinguishes it in the mind of the buyer as having extra value. This perceived extra value is known as its numismatic value. While the bullion value of a coin is limited to a small transactional charge above or below the current price of its precious metals content, the numismatic value of a coin is limitless.

 

A good example of limitless numismatic value is the 1933 $20 Saint-Gaudens double eagle which, is one of the rarest coins in the world. The coin sold at auction in 2002 for $7.5 million.

The bullion melt value, also known as the intrinsic value is $1,280.84!

2016 1 oz Silver Britannia

2016 1 oz Silver Britannia

The legendary figure of Britannia has symbolized Britain’s strength and integrity on coinage since Roman times. Historically the coin was minted from .958 fine silver, purer than the .925 sterling silver standard for most British coins. Beginning in 2013 the coin is now struck to the same .999 fineness of American silver eagles. Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II is displayed on the obverse along with the monetary denomination.

Specifications

Date: 2016
Metal: Silver
Weight: 1 troy oz.
Purity: .999
Diameter: 38.61 mm
Thickness: 3 mm
Condition: Unc.

Brexit and Stimulus remains in the forefront of investor’s minds.

Brexit and Stimulus remains in the forefront of investor’s minds. This pushed silver to trade above $21 Sunday the first time since 2014. It has since retreated to as low as 19.70 this morning. Gold has been more reasonable and is trading at 1346 not far from its recent highs of 1353. There is no doubt that the weakness of the British Pound contributed significantly. Short term, because of market sentiment against Brexit this should keep the pound weak but I have faith in the UK and believe this is a short term opportunity. Of course economic stimulus is a boom for commodities, platinum and palladium have followed as well with good fundamentals supporting their cause. For today look for downward pressure though I remain bullish for the days ahead.

As the market is learning the global economy is nothing to brag about and this has continued to bolster the precious metals complex.

As the market is learning the global economy is nothing to brag about and this has continued to bolster the precious metals complex. Silver is trading at the highs of May of 2015 and platinum is at the highs of October 2015. Gold which is typically the leader has not even gotten to recent highs of this January. Technically speaking gold should be heading up to the 1308 level.  So look out ahead, this complex has gotten very bullish and is poised to at the least hold recent gains and most likely to try higher. Mario Draghi will be speaking today about the ECB’s  next moves and this should be the biggest influencer of today’s pricing. Existing Home Sales reports were slightly better than expected but this report is not a major indicator. The e days ahead should be interesting as more and more investors seem to be looking at jumping back in the hard assets band wagon.

It seems the continued barrage of tepid financial news...

It seems the continued barrage of tepid financial news with what looks like no possibility of further rate hikes form the Federal Reserve anytime soon has given the hard assets a boost. Both Building Permits and Housing Start were dismal indicators with the previous months being revised downward as well. Gold is certainly a leader but silver has made the largest move to the upside and is currently trading around 17. Platinum also has taken a jump as if on a trampoline and is well above the psychological 1000 mark. I would not be surprised to see attempts to test to the downside but it sure appears that a firm bull market has developed and barring any unforeseen positive economic news we should hold these levels and try higher this week.

The world is constantly changing. Some changes are good some not so good.

The world is constantly changing. Some changes are good some not so good. But the goal should always be to become better people. To discard selfish ways and bring peace into the world. It is avarice for power, wealth and pleasure that is the true destroyer of all that is good and constantly keeps this world in fits of pain and suffering. It is possible to bring pace but until all peoples see each other as a precious gift to the world that should be cared for conflict will always exist. No government can legislate peace, all that have made claim to that power have always oppressed their people with violence, punishment and poverty. It is the hearts of mankind that must change and in our current society that is no easy task but it is not impossible. For gold, its upward trajectory seems to have lost steam and a shout to the upside is looking almost impossible this week, well at least improbable unless some supportive news were to come out. US Stock market strength is keeping any upward moves depressed for gold. The white precious metals are holding much better but still are looking more like they are consolidating and some hoping before the next upward move. For the PGMs the news that China’s car sales were lower than expected is also keeping them from any major spike. This week we should see a lot of choppy trading during the Christian celebration of Holy Week and on Good Friday many markets and countries are closed for the holiday.

Yesterday’s ISM Manufacturing PMI and Construction Spending sure looked like positive figures

Yesterday’s  ISM Manufacturing PMI and Construction Spending sure looked like positive figures and along with what was considered surprisingly good auto sales gave a boost to the much maligned palladium price. But something is still amiss as the New York ISM reported down and fresh buying continues to flow into the GLD. It appears though that this may be more about Euro Zone weakness than just gold strength as the US Dollar strengthens as well. Technically it’s going to take a jump over 1250 before gold will trend to higher prices and silver will of course follow on that event as well. Palladium today is struggling to hold on and again has come under pressure. The world is always in turmoil and prices will gyrate around the news. Imagine if the news is that more people discarded the Gollum in their hearts. I am sure the economies around the globe would grow much better as liquidity of cash would flow and growth would come back since it is stymied by greed and self-concern of those that restrict capital flows.

Yesterday in Japan a famed Japanese Banker Takeshi Fuiimaki said that current policies will lead to hyperinflation.

Yesterday in Japan a famed Japanese Banker Takeshi Fuiimaki said that current policies will lead to hyperinflation. This certainly has been supporting gold overnight. Meanwhile in the background and apparently starting to get some traction is the Fed’s Kaskari speaking about splitting up the banks to avoid too big to fail, which makes investors wonder about the future. More importantly today was the big decline in Consumer Confidence at 92.2 which is significantly lower than expectations. After the string of poor manufacturing numbers yesterday and the follow through today with a weak Richmond Fed Manufacturing Index the combined news looks supportive of the bull environment we find the market in. Gold may continue to try higher as many are hoping for it to take us out of the doldrums of the current range and break the 1230 but don’t hold your breath. I suggest to keep your eyes open, you never know what may happen next to change the landscape of the current environment.

Stock market and currency turmoil continues to drive safe haven investment

Stock market and currency turmoil continues to drive safe haven investment with a further 250 k oz of gold added to ETF holdings yesterday, bringing the global total to 50.5 mm oz.  Silver and platinum are benefiting from gold’s stellar performance but  the gold silver ratio has moved out to 79 and platinum continues to trade at a $272 discount to gold.   Palladium remains the laggard with only a 1% rally from yesterday’s close.

 

Silver Maple Leaf Reverse Proof coins w/Yin Yang Privy Mark available for Bullion coin markup

2016 Silver Maple Leaf w/Yin Yang Privy Mark – Reverse Proof Bullion Coin

The Royal Canadian Mint has just released a high quality pure silver Reverse Proof coin that is available for a bullion coin premium. This coin  has one of the lowest mintages of any coin in the Maple Leaf series.

 

Four features make this coin attractive to both bullion buyers and collectors: the low price, the high quality Reverse Proof strike, the tiny limited mintage of just 50,000 coins worldwide and the special yin and yang privy mark that appears on the reverse of the coin.

 

Yin and Yang are in Eastern thought the two opposite yet complimentary forces that make up all aspects of life. They represent perfect balance of Light versus, dark versus life, water versus fire etc. The privy mark replaces a mint mark on a coin but it is much larger and much more part of the overall design of the coin. 

I know it is in fashion to trash the financial markets.

I know it is in fashion to trash the financial markets. Today I was hearing people talking about a show called Billions. It appears that traders are once again being portrayed as criminals in suits with a great desire for vice. I know that some of these types of characters do exist but the truth of the matter is it is a very small minority.  Luckily this show is on the cable channel Showtime which everyone knows makes its name by pushing the limits of social acceptance. This gives me hope that viewers don’t swallow this hook line and sinker. Sadly no matter how many times they tell people the stories are fictional the fact that they are “based” on real events leads some to understand that this is the norm in the financial markets. The reality though is that fact is stranger than fiction but maybe does not make for good television. So perception is often mislead by misunderstanding. In just the same way the Chinese government stimulus is expected to support their markets after they came out with the slowest annual growth in 25 years. Their market prices started recovering and has led to the impression that things will get better. The US stock markets starting going higher believing that this means some kind of recovery for the US as well. Gold has lost only very little ground on that news because fact do not bare out that this will definitely translate as people want it to.  The Platinum is up the most on the day but still not in a convincing manner. Until real growth becomes apparent we can expect gold to hold its own and the white precious metals to come under pressure for now.