The Euro is still getting punished

The Euro is still getting punished even though bond auctions today in Italy went well. This has surprisingly continued the downward spiral of the precious metals. But this is all on the back of very low volumes due to the holiday season. The bleeding seems to have stopped for now and some commodities such as copper are flat. It looks like we may be at the bottom but with no industrial consumers in the market place the bottom will remain weak. We expect an uptick on the return of vacationing consumers and investors next week. Jobless claims reports this morning were worse than expected and maybe that may be the backstop the precious metals needed as the few people in the market seem to be giddy over buying US Dollars.

12/29/2011 10:12		Last		%Change		Low			High
Au- Feb		1,534.50		(1.89)		1,523.90			1,562.80
Pt-April		1,370.00		(1.60)		1,347.60			1,390.00
Pd-Mar		632.70		(2.23)		626.50			641.30
Ag-Mar		26.755		(1.750)		26.145			27.160
EFPs		Au 1/1.50		Pt 2/6		Pd 0/4			Ag -4/2
London		AM		PM		Minor			PGMs
Au		1,537.50		1,531.00		Rh			1400
Pt		1,364.00		1,354.00		Ru			110
Pd		636.00		630.00		Ir			1100
Ag		26.16		DJI		12,227.25			75.84
FX		Last		%Change		Low			High
EUR		1.2915		(0.18)		1.2855			1.2945
JPY		77.75		(0.26)		77.63			77.98
GBP		1.5411		(0.29)		1.5357			1.5476
CHF		0.9427		0.03		0.9410			0.9470
Others		Last		%Change		Low			High
Crude- Jan		99.380		(0.320)		99.100			100.230
Copper-Dec
*THESE PRICES ARE FOR INDICATION ONLY CALL FOR QUOTES
Date	Time		Statistic		For		Actual	Forecast		Expects		Prior	Revised
29-Dec	8:30 AM		Initial Claims		24-Dec		381K	370K		368K		366K	364K
29-Dec	8:30 AM		Continuing Claims		17-Dec		3601K	3625K		3600K		3567K	3546K
29-Dec	9:45 AM		Chicago PMI		Dec		62.5	59		60.1		62.6	-
29-Dec	10:00 AM		Pending Home Sales		Nov		-	1.00%		0.60%		10.40%	-
29-Dec	11:00 AM		Crude Inventories		24-Dec		-	NA		NA		-10.570M	-

Continued concerns with the European economy

We have the continued concerns with the European economy where they continue to kick the can down the road. We have worries from Iran threatening at the Strait of Hormuz and in Iraq possible pending civil war after the withdrawal of US troops. However it is not all doom and gloom as last week’s U.S. economic statistics were much better than expected. But don’t get overly happy either, this morning Sears announced the closing of up to 120 retail store in the Sears and Kmart brand. Not a positive announcement. We also have next week to look forward to. The Mayan prediction of the end of the world in 2012 is sure to come and pass without fanfare. This week we will surely be range bound and though gold is feeling pressure, rumored to be Central bank selling, we do not expect a major move in either direction for gold or the rest of the group. Consumer Confidence came out better than expected this morning a continuation of the positive string of data for the US of late.*London is closed today. There will be no fixes.

12/27/2011 10:15	Last	%Change	Low	High
Au- Feb	1,598.40	(0.47)	1,592.50	1,609.20
Pt-April	1,442.20	0.55	1,425.30	1,443.00
Pd-Mar	660.10	(0.92)	651.65	661.00
Ag-Mar	29.030	(0.180)	28.720	29.220
EFPs	Au 1.20/2	Pt 4/8	Pd 0/4	Ag -3/3
London	AM	PM	Minor	PGMs
Au	-	-	Rh	1400
Pt	-	-	Ru	110
Pd	-	-	Ir	1100
Ag	-	DJI	12,315.42	21.42
FX	Last	%Change	Low	High
EUR	1.3063	0.03	1.3040	1.3083
JPY	77.84	(0.13)	77.76	78.03
GBP	1.5664	0.23	1.5591	1.5701
CHF	0.9345	(0.11)	0.9327	0.9384
Others	Last	%Change	Low	High
Crude- Jan	100.650	0.670	99.670	100.950
Copper-Dec	3.419	(1.290)	3.430	3.399
*THESE PRICES ARE FOR INDICATION ONLY CALL FOR QUOTES

Weak US retail sales numbers yesterday

UK unemployment at 17 ½ year high. Euro Zone troubles still unsolved. Weak US retail sales numbers yesterday. The global economy still looking weak. Then why are precious metals being beat up with Palladium leading today’s collapse with almost an 8% decline? One explanation may be that the demand by Euro Zone officials that Banks shore up their capital base may have many firms deleveraging by liquidity positions to raise their capital base. Even if the banks were not in commodities their customers that they are lending money to most probably have been. This action is part of the trigger that also forces other hands to fold as the market makes new short term lows. Technically the charts also have turned bearish and market sentiment plus media sentiment is throwing in behind this downward move. Meanwhile the Gold and Silver ETF have been holding their ground. The famed Economist speculator Dennis Gartman has been quoted as saying that the bull run for gold is over, of course he is talking his book. That doesn’t mean he isn’t right because he puts his money where his mouth is. Still he will flip his position faster than any US politician on record if the facts change. With the global financial markets in critical condition precious metals will most likely regain some ground in the near future. But for now the bears are in the driver’s seat.

12/14/2011 10:06			Last		%Change			Low			High
Au- Feb			1,606.60		(3.39)			1,605.00			1,645.80
Pt-Jan			1,433.40		(3.94)			1,428.00			1,484.10
Pd-Mar			616.35		(7.19)			606.95			649.50
Ag-Mar			29.220		(6.520)			28.855			31.070
EFPs			Au 2.60/3.20		Pt 1/5			Pd 0/4			Ag 2/8
London			AM		PM			Minor			PGMs
Au			1,635.00		1,603.00			Rh			1450
Pt			1,476.00		1,454.00			Ru			110
Pd			642.00		617.00			Ir			1100
Ag			29.92		DJI			11,887.16			(67.78)
FX			Last		%Change			Low			High
EUR			1.2979		(0.42)			1.2963			1.3064
JPY			78.04		0.06			77.87			78.16
GBP			1.5456		(0.16)			1.5439			1.5532
CHF			0.9492		0.39			0.9422			0.9510
Others			Last		%Change			Low			High
Crude- Jan			96.820		(3.310)			96.510			100.330
Copper-Dec			3.318		(3.350)			3.410			3.316
*THESE PRICES ARE FOR INDICATION ONLY CALL FOR QUOTES
14-Dec	7:00 AM	MBA Mortgage Index		10-Dec		4.10%	NA		NA	12.80%		-
14-Dec	8:30 AM	Export Prices ex-ag.		Nov		-0.10%	NA		NA	-1.50%		-
14-Dec	8:30 AM	Import Prices ex-oil		Nov		-0.20%	NA		NA	-0.20%		-
14-Dec	10:30 AM	Crude Inventories		10-Dec		-	NA		NA	1.336M		-