Saturday, May 27, 2017

The Commodity Cycle: What It Means for Precious Metals Prices

Published here: http://goldsilverworlds.com/gold-silver-experts/commodity-cycle-means-precious-metals-prices/

The cycle for any commodity follows the same basic pattern…

When prices are low, production falls. As new supplies diminish, the market tightens and prices move higher. The higher prices incentivize producers to invest in production capacity and increase output. Eventually, the market becomes oversupplied, prices fall, and the cycle starts all over again.

Of course, this is a simplified model of what drives commodity cycles. Booms and busts can be amplified and extended by speculators, by unexpected shifts in demand, or even by interventions from central banks and governments.

Regardless of the causes, commodity markets will always be cyclical in nature. Commodities as a group can be pressured upward or downward by extrinsic forces such as monetary inflation or credit contraction.

However, any individual commodity – whether oil, corn, copper, gold, silver, platinum, or palladium – may be in its own particular stage within the commodity cycle at any given time.

As a resource investor, it’s important to have some idea of whether you’re investing in a commodity at a time in the cycle when it’s favorable to do so. Some technical analysts ascribe four-year cycles to some markets, longer duration cycles to others, and shorter-term cycles that operate within longer-term cycles. The reality is that cycles can’t be counted on to run their course within any prescribed time frame.

There are historical patterns and tendencies, to be sure. Gold, for example, tends to be less correlated to swings in the economy than oil and industrial commodities. Gold can remain in a major trend for years or even decades.

Gold prices crashed from $850/oz in 1980 to $300/oz in 1982. It wasn’t until 2002 that gold crossed above the $300 level for the final time. The new gold bull market rose out of a 20-year base and reached a cyclical high of $1,900 in 2011. A four-year downturn followed, and since 2016 a new cyclical upturn appears to be taking shape.

Commodities Are Moving into a Diminishing Supply Phase

Chart reading is always a tenuous undertaking, but when combined with supply and demand fundamentals, it can help investors identify favorable times to be a buyer or seller. Right now, it appears that gold, silver, oil, and other commodities are transitioning one by one into a period in the commodity cycle of diminishing supply.

In the case of crude oil, which is the most economically important and most widely followed commodity, the major storyline in recent months has been a supply glut.

North American shale production has swelled inventories in the U.S. But oil prices have been quietly advancing.

What does the market know that isn’t showing up in all the seemingly bearish headlines for oil? The longer-term supply outlook actually augers for shortfalls… and much higher prices. According to the International Energy Agency (IEA), new oil discoveries in 2016 sunk to their lowest number in decades.

The oil industry slashed spending on developing new supplies in response to low prices. ExxonMobil, for one, cut its capital expenditures by 26% ($10 billion) in 2016.

The IEA warns that in order to offset recent declines and meet rising global demand, the oil industry needs to develop 18 billion new barrels every year between 2017 and 2025. Oil’s recent price range in the mid $40s to mid $50s per barrel doesn’t seem to be incentivizing the necessary new production capacity. Higher prices appear to be in store over the next few years.

Mining Is an Energy-Intensive Business

Higher energy costs would mean higher production costs for the gold and silver mining industry. Mines are already having to process more and more tons of earth to extract ounces of valuable metals.

According to metals analyst Steve St. Angelo, “The global silver mining industry will continue to process more ore to produce the same or less silver in the future. While the cost of energy has declined over the past few years, falling ore grades will continue to put pressure on the silver mining industry going forward.”

Physical precious metals are, in a very real sense, a form of stored energy. Think of all the energy inputs required to move the earth, to separate relatively tiny quantities of precious metals from tons upon tons of rock and dirt, to refine the raw ore into pure gold, silver, platinum, or palladium, and finally to mint the precious metal into bullion products.

All those energy inputs are represented in the value that markets impute to precious metals. Trends in prices will reflect trends in production costs. And production costs will rise as it becomes harder and more energy intensive to mine metals.

A position in physical gold and silver should be viewed as a core long-term holding. However, there are some times in the commodity cycle that are more favorable than others for buying.

There are times when you may even want to sell a portion of your position. Right now, the cycle appears to be in the early stages of turning bullish for commodity prices – making it a favorable time to be taking out long positions in hard assets.

 Stefan Gleason is President of Money Metals Exchange, the national precious metals company named 2015 “Dealer of the Year” in the United States by an independent global ratings group. A graduate of the University of Florida, Gleason is a seasoned business leader, investor, political strategist, and grassroots activist. Gleason has frequently appeared on national television networks such as CNN, FoxNews, and CNBC, and his writings have appeared in hundreds of publications such as the Wall Street Journal, Detroit News, Washington Times, and National Review.

The post The Commodity Cycle: What It Means for Precious Metals Prices appeared first on Gold Silver Worlds.

Who Got Hurt in Gold Today? Covered Call Writers!

Published here: http://www.zerohedge.com/news/2017-05-26/who-got-hurt-gold-today-covered-call-writers

Depicted: Gold covered call writer . Insured for first 30 foot drop of his stock portfolio.

Why Did Gold Rally?

by Vince Lanci and Fay Dress for the Soren k. Group
(On the road)
Originally posted here:
https://www.marketslant.com/article/revenge-gold-who-got-hurt-today

Gold spot is up $12 today after barreling through $1260. Last is $1268 as of this writing.
Aside from the usual culprits, a weak USD and global political uncertainty, today was an example of what happens when expirations and mechanical 'rollovers' are triggered. Mechanics and cash flows are basically event related and automatically done.
But every so often, when large open interest is near, you get a digital reaction to a tiny move. In this case, the options market at expiration can and was a contributor to the rally today. That is not to say the rally is not "real".
In fact quite the opposite. it means that the market is respecting risk more efficiently to the upside now too. Bluntly put: Shorts had to cover in a panic.

Revenge of the Gold Calls:
The catalyst for higher prices today was in part due to surprised people and automated systems with no ability to be discreet. What does that mean?
It means that a market like gold that gets hammered in sell-offs as longs puke simultaneously; now also has the ability to trample people higher. The panic coin now has 2 sides! And as option guys we so love it when the shorts actually have to cover at expiration. The strikes that may have been the drivers were, $1250, $1255 and $1260 on Comex.

To understand why a short option player covers in futures we must first quickly assess what types of players sell calls and why they sell them.

1- Producers who have metal and do not need to buy futures if the call expires in the money.
2- Speculators who do not want to buy futures and so usually cover the options when they go in the money.
3- Covered Call Writers who are long Gold or GLD and were selling programatically to create a dividend.
It is the last category that we feel is the culprit here. Equity investors typically are induced by brokers to sell calls to create dividends for their investments. It is this same behaviour that drives people who are long GLD to sell calls now. And it is done almost automatically.
Sell Call> Call expires worthless> Sell next month's call. Lather rinse repeat. They do this in GLD options. Brokers love it because of commissions. But the retail ( and sometimes institutional) client does not get the active management he should to do this.

Why does this Affect Comex Options?
The guy who buys the GLD Call from the seller is a professional trader. He then sells the Comex's corresponding Call to offset his risk and complete an arbitrage.
We know this because 2 of our writers did/do it. There is a whole list of risks for the arbitrageur to manage tied to different expiration dates and times.

The important thing here is to understand that it is the long GLD investor who likes his "guaranteed" monthly dividend who drives option-based short covering rallies now. And that folks, is a good thing.

We are not just talking retail here. No, this is a strategy universally done by hedge funds as well.
-Long a stock
-Buy a Put for downside insurance
-Sell a Call to offset the Put's cost.
This is commonly called "collaring risk". Selling a Call and buying a Put on a long stock position is called the "collar"

Hedging For Dummies:
The problem when you do that in GLD or in Gold directly is that when Gold goes through your Call, you generally do not want to be short it.
You are long gold as a hedge for the rest of your equity portfolio. So what in heaven's name would make you want to cut your upside potential in it? Who hedge's their hedge? Do you want to give up your insurance (long Gold) at the time when you need it most?
Would you buy fire insurance for a $1mm home only to sell the rights for coverage above $100k damage?
If Gold IS the Put for your equities positions, selling calls against it is uninsuring yourself.

Calls are Undervalued Because of Robotic Behaviour:
Modern portfolio management has opted passive over active management. And they are in some places automatically applying their option strategies to their "safe haven" hedges like gold. It is going to end badly at some point.
Because Gold is for the modern portfolio manager the PUT, or insurance for the rest of their portfolio crashing. Call selling is idiotic in this case. And as traders of volatility, we would say the skew that undervalues calls and overvalues puts in Gold is something to lean into long term.

One Possible Scenario Last Night:
Short covering buy stops that were hit in the $1260 area.
We think a decent contributor is option expiration related to the short covering, as the market closed yesterday with the $1250 calls expiring in the money. Complacent option shorts were woken up to a need to buy ASAP.
Comex- had expected to lose 200,000 contracts of options open interest. But it lost 349,921!
This implies option shorts were covering, and ITM expiration were panicking someone
Open interest in futures 478317,continues to rise with bargain hunters,worriers all asset allocating as price makes news on dollar moves
Political worries,G-7 talks, Greece,N.Korea, Venezuela,Brazil all playing a part.
Rate hike expectations have been priced in
GDP up 1.2,inflationary winds durable good down .07 vs expected down 1.8
So economy in the US ahead of budget talks another step up.
Expect continued upwards pressure after next week perhaps pause when FED meets.
Roll over proceeding June-August gold over 50%done,
More August trading now 340 value,gold-silver 73.05 improved,gold-plat 303.10.
H/T George Gero
More here:
https://www.marketslant.com/user/soren-kgroup

Good Luck

Thursday, May 25, 2017

Should I Invest My Fortune in Gold? Latest Research

Published here: http://www.zerohedge.com/news/2017-05-25/should-i-invest-my-fortune-gold-latest-research

Should I Invest My Fortune in Gold? Latest Research

 PRESENTATION HIGHLIGHTS

- Should I invest my fortune in gold?
- Lessons from gold and silver: Reviewing the research
- What precious metals can tell us about finance?
- What are precious metals and why should we care?
- What size of market and how evolved over time?
- Long and detailed history of gold and silver as money
- What does a tonne of gold look like?

 


- Research on precious metals including volatility and inflation
- Where produced and where demand from and how evolved and who studying precious metals
- Game of Thrones & Scrooge McDuck's gold and the Hyperinflation of Smaug
- Gold and silver manipulation - "Was the fix a fix"?
- Gold a 'permabubble' or in correction?
- Gold costs $1,000/oz to mine so unlikely to fall below that level
- Drivers of retail coin and bar investment
- How does sentiment and mood affect precious metals?
- Why do central banks continue to buy and hold gold?
- Historical studies of precious metals
- How much to hold and when?
- Gold is proven safe haven - rises sharply when uncertainty and in economic crisis
Research says 10% a good allocation; 30% is high
- Silver similar - 1% to 5% and 10% allocation good in crisis
- One of Ireland's great exporting services, small to medium size enterprise (SME) is here in the form of GoldCore and can help
- Do not spend too long staring at and obsessing about gold or might turn into Gollum
- Question and answer session


How the economics of gold and silver can help us understand the challenges facing financial economics and whether we should invest in gold and silver was explored in an inaugural lecture by Professor Brian Lucey, Professor of International Finance and Commodities in Trinity Business School.

In the lecture, entitled Golden Opportunities: What precious metals can tell us about finance, Professor Lucey examined the research space in the financial economics of precious metals.

“Precious metals, and gold in particular, are much more widely traded and invested in than might be thought. Total precious metals trading in 2015 was probably of the order of $30 trillion, nearly two years GDP for the whole of Europe.

Precious metals remain a very significant industrial and retail asset class, as well as financial. In 2016 probably 6,000 tons of precious metal was used in luxury goods, 2,400 tons of which was gold.”

Despite the size of the markets for various precious metals such as gold, silver, platinum and palladium, they remain under-researched and as a result can provide a good starting point for the testing of theoretical propositions.

Precious metals research wordcloud

“All the gold ever mined in history could be compressed into a 20m² cube and if you think of that in a stadium like Wimbledon you could fit it very comfortably. There has been about 180,000 tonnes of gold ever mined out, about $8 trillion worth."

 

“The financial side, in other words the gold put aside for exchanges to back up gold products or to backup exchange traded funds or gold funds, is actually a pretty small amount of the entirety of the demand for gold. The vast majority of the demand for gold is from luxury goods and retail investment, which begs the question why is nobody looking in great detail at this.”

According to Professor Lucey, many of the traditional assumptions around financial economics may not hold when examining precious metal assets and as such many of these assets pose a challenge - being industrial, adornment, monetary, and financial assets all at once - as to how to deploy financial techniques to analyse.

Dr Brian Lucey is Professor of International Finance and Commodities in Trinity Business School, where he has worked since 1992.  Professor Lucey works mainly in the area of the financial economics of precious metals.

'Golden Opportunities: What precious metals can tell us about finance' is a fascinating must watch presentation and can be listened to and watched here

 

News and Commentary

Gold steady as dollar slips on Fed minutes (Reuters.com)

RBC’s Louney Says Gold Exposure Is Key Amid Risky Markets (Bloomberg.com)

London’s gold benchmark hit by volatility after banks exit (Reuters.com)

Fed’s Evans sees serious policy miss on U.S. inflation (Reuters.com)

Gold rises after Fed minutes signal gradual rate hikes (Investing.com)

Lesson from Venice on the free market and free trade (MoneyWeek.com)

From Yukon to Patagonia, Gold Explorers Stir After Sleep (Bloomberg.com)

Introducing Our Doom Index (BonnerAndPartners.com)

The Bubble That Could Break the World (DailyReckoning.com)

Legendary Investor Asher Edelman Says "I Have No Doubt" PPT Behind Market Rally (ZeroHedge.com)

 

7RealRisksBlogBanner

Avoid Digital & ETF Gold – Key Gold Storage Must Haves

 

Gold Prices (LBMA AM)

25 May: USD 1,257.10, GBP 969.48 & EUR 1,119.57 per ounce
24 May: USD 1,251.35, GBP 963.29 & EUR 1,119.58 per ounce
23 May: USD 1,259.90, GBP 969.62 & EUR 1,119.17 per ounce
22 May: USD 1,255.25, GBP 967.17 & EUR 1,123.07 per ounce
19 May: USD 1,251.85, GBP 962.17 & EUR 1,122.03 per ounce
18 May: USD 1,261.35, GBP 968.21 & EUR 1,133.95 per ounce
17 May: USD 1,244.60, GBP 961.70 & EUR 1,122.13 per ounce

Silver Prices (LBMA)

25 May: USD 17.15, GBP 13.23 & EUR 15.29 per ounce
24 May: USD 17.03, GBP 13.14 & EUR 15.22 per ounce
23 May: USD 17.14, GBP 13.22 & EUR 15.25 per ounce
22 May: USD 16.95, GBP 13.04 & EUR 15.10 per ounce
19 May: USD 16.77, GBP 12.90 & EUR 15.02 per ounce
18 May: USD 16.81, GBP 12.90 & EUR 15.10 per ounce
17 May: USD 16.90, GBP 13.03 & EUR 15.22 per ounce

Recent Market Updates

- Gold and Silver Bullion Now Treated As Money In Arizona
- Manchester Attack Sees Asian Stocks Fall, Gold Firm
- James Rickards: Gold’s “Decisive Turn Around” – “Next Stop Is $1,300 Or Higher”
- Gold and Silver Bullion Coins See Sales “Explosion” In UK On “Wave Of Political Turmoil”
- Gold Investment Is the Ultimate Guide for Tech Investors In 500 Words
- Gold Spikes On Heavy Volume On Trump, U.S. Political “Mess”
- Cyber Wars Could Crash Markets and Threat To Humanity – Rickards and Buffett
- Cyber Attacks Show Vulnerability of Digital Systems and Digital Currencies
- History of Gold – Interesting Facts and Changes Over 50 Years
- U.S. Gold Exports To China and India Surge In 2017
- The Dream of the Central Banker
- Silver Investment Case Remains Extremely Compelling
- Gold Coins, Bars In Demand – +9% In Q1, 2017

Access Award Winning Daily and Weekly Updates Here

Trump Turmoil Grows, Prompting Flight to Safety

Published here: http://goldsilverworlds.com/gold-silver-experts/trump-turmoil-grows-prompting-flight-safety/

Donald Trump has been dogged by efforts to undermine his presidency since winning the election in November. Deep State operators and political partisans have been working around the clock to hang a scandal around the president’s neck large enough to ruin him.

If markets are any indication, they got some help last week from former FBI director James Comey. Comey’s leaked memo asserting the president tried to interfere with the investigation of Michael Flynn, the former National Security Advisor, prompted a selloff in stocks and a boost in precious metals.

Drama around former FBI Director Comey may trigger Trump’s impeachment.

Democratic Congressman Al Green became the first in Congress to actually call for impeaching the president on the House floor. While there have certainly been plenty of people making the suggestion more informally, Trump’s opponents hadn’t gotten a lot of traction.

Now may be the time to start taking the impeachment threat more seriously.

There are signs that even some Republicans could support the effort. Representative Justin Amash from Michigan told reporters on Wednesday that if Comey’s memo is accurate, it provides grounds for impeachment. He trusts the former FBI director more than Trump.

Meanwhile, there is little reason to expect other prominent Republicans who have often voiced opposition to Trump, such as Paul Ryan, Mitch McConnell and John McCain, will fight very hard to protect the president.

To be fair, Trump has done plenty to weaken support amongst his own base. Many perceive him to be filling, not draining, the swamp by appointing a number of bankers and other insiders to key positions. His posture has been much more conciliatory than expected toward Hillary Clinton and other corrupt figures.

The president also appears anxious to compromise on key promises such as avoiding further entanglement in the Middle East, repealing Obamacare, and building a border wall.

PredictIt, a prediction market where participants can effectively wager on political outcomes, shows the odds of Trump being impeached moving significantly higher.

It’s strange that markets, particularly for stocks, continue pricing in the eventual implementation of Trump’s economic agenda. The persistent controversy and the lack of cooperation from Congressional Republicans should have put a dent in investor optimism already.

In any event, traders are suddenly more anxious regarding what comes next. The president may survive this latest assault, but his opposition has proven committed to keep trying. There is a growing chance they will eventually succeed.

The escalating attacks make Trump likely to respond by going after Democrats, ratcheting up the turmoil even further. There is no shortage of fodder. Last week, for example, new evidence emerged that murdered DNC staffer Seth Rich, not the Russians, was behind leaks of DNC emails. The development drove further speculation that high ranking Democrats had Rich murdered for the transgression.

There is also a chance Trump will resort to the favored tactic of governments everywhere for boosting support and deflecting controversy – launch a war.

Trump is not known for any ability to quietly de-escalate. The drama in Washington is likely to keep on rising, and precious metals markets may be starting to reflect that.

Clint Siegner is a Director at Money Metals Exchange, the national precious metals company named 2015 “Dealer of the Year” in the United States by an independent global ratings group. A graduate of Linfield College in Oregon, Siegner puts his experience in business management along with his passion for personal liberty, limited government, and honest money into the development of Money Metals’ brand and reach. This includes writing extensively on the bullion markets and their intersection with policy and world affairs.

 

The post Trump Turmoil Grows, Prompting Flight to Safety appeared first on Gold Silver Worlds.

UPDATE: Arizona Ends Income Taxation on Gold & Silver Coins

Published here: http://goldsilverworlds.com/physical-market/arizona-ends-income-taxation-on-gold-silver-coins/

**For immediate release**

Arizona Ends Income Taxation on Gold & Silver Coins

Arizona Governor Doug Ducey Greenlights House Bill 2014,
Removing Income Tax from Certain Precious Metals at the State Level

 

Phoenix, Arizona (May 23rd, 2017) – Sound money advocates rejoiced today as House Bill 2014 became the law in Arizona. HB 2014, which passed in the Arizona state Senate on May 10th by a margin of 16-13, removes all income taxation of precious metals coins at the state level.

Under House Bill 2014, introduced by Representative Mark Finchem (R-Tucson), Arizona taxpayers will simply back out all “gains” and “losses” on any precious metals that are in legal tender form and reported on their federal tax returns from the calculation of their Arizona adjusted gross income (AGI).

If taxpayers own gold or silver to protect themselves against the devaluation of America’s paper currency, thanks to the inflationary practices of the Federal Reserve, they frequently end up with a “gain” when exchanging those metals back into dollars. However, this is not necessarily a real gain in terms of a gain in actual purchasing power. This “gain” is often a nominal gain because of the slow but steady devaluation of the dollar.  Yet the government nevertheless assesses a tax.

Sound Money Defense League, former presidential candidate Congressman Ron Paul, and Campaign for Liberty helped secure passage of HB 2014 because it begins to dismantle the Federal Reserve’s monopoly on money.

“Arizona is helping lead the way in defending sound money and making it less difficult for citizens to protect themselves from the inflation and financial turmoil that flows from the abusive Federal Reserve System,” said Stefan Gleason, Director of the Sound Money Defense League.

Dr. Ron Paul noted, “HB 2014 is a very important and timely piece of legislation. The Federal Reserve’s failure to reignite the economy with record-low interest rates since the last crash is a sign that we may soon see the dollar’s collapse. It is therefore imperative that the law protect people’s right to use alternatives to what may soon be virtually worthless Federal Reserve Notes.”

A few state legislatures, including Utah and Idaho, have also taken steps toward eliminating income taxation on the monetary metals.  Other states are rolling back sales taxes on gold and silver or setting up precious metals depositories to help citizens save and transact in gold and silver bullion.

Read more about what states can do to promote sound money policies here.

 The Sound Money Defense League is a national grassroots organization opposing federal and state policies that undermine the dollar and steal purchasing power from the American people.

The post UPDATE: Arizona Ends Income Taxation on Gold & Silver Coins appeared first on Gold Silver Worlds.

Wednesday, May 24, 2017

SOMETHING CHANGED IN THE SILVER MARKET IN MAY: Here Are 3 Reasons Why

Published here: http://www.zerohedge.com/news/2017-05-24/something-changed-silver-market-may-here-are-3-reasons-why

SRSocco

By the SRSrocco Report,

Something changed in the silver market in May as U.S. Silver Eagle sales have surged compared to the previous month.  This is quite interesting as precious metals sales and sentiment have declined in the West, especially in the United States, ever since Donald Trump was elected President.

Many precious metals investors thought that if Trump was elected, it would have been very positive for the gold and silver market.  Unfortunately, it seems as if the opposite was (is) the case.  Not only has demand for precious metals declined considerably in 2017 versus last year, so has sales of guns, ammo and survival food-supplies.  I gather many of those who follow the alternative media believe Trump is actually going to make America Great Again.  So, why protect oneself from a collapse?

This is a very bad assumption... as nothing has changed with Trump in the White House.  Furthermore, many analysts are saying that what Trump is doing could actually speed up the collapse of the U.S. economy and financial system.

Regardless, the fundamentals in the U.S. economy continue to disintegrate.  We are seeing economic bubble indicators reach or surpass the what took place in 2007, before the bloodbath took place in the U.S. Housing and Financial Markets.  However, there is one additional negative factor that wasn't a problem in 2007 that is now a BLINKING RED LIGHT.

What is this new lousy fundamental?  It's the U.S. and Global Oil Industry.  Back in 2007, most of the oil and gas companies were making decent cash flow and profits.  Unfortunately, the situation in the Oil Sector is orders of magnitude much worse than what is was in 2007.  Not only are the majority of oil and gas companies losing money, they have been also cutting their oil reserves.

This is extremely bad news which very few Americans are aware.  Thus, we are now facing an extremely negative DOUBLE-EDGE SWORD of bubble economic indicators on top of a disintegrating oil industry.  Which means... the situation today is much worse than what took place back during the 2008 Global meltdown.

U.S. Silver Eagle Sales Surge In May Due To 3 Reasons

U.S. Silver Eagle sales surged 140% in May versus April... and we still have another week remaining in the month.  According to the recent update by the U.S. Mint, Silver Eagle sales reached 2,005,000 so far in May compared to 835,000 in April:

Silver Eagle Sales APR vs MAY

After seeing this spike in Silver Eagle demand, I called up a few of my contacts in the industry and asked if they could shed some light as to why sales jumped in May.  According to several sources, they stated that the huge increase in Silver Eagle sales was due to three reasons:

   1) There was an extremely large purchase by a single wholesaler in the Northeast.
   2) The small retail buyer came in a big way as premiums were lowered the most in seven years
   3) A group of respected technical analysts in the silver market gave a buy signal when silver was trading between $16-$16.25

These three reasons stated by my contacts, are what has likely driven demand for Silver Eagles to the highest level seen so far this year... if we exclude sales in January, which are always elevated as wholesalers are stocking up on the debut of the new coin release.

It seems as if a large buyer in the Northeast believes silver is a good deal at this price.  Furthermore, when the wholesalers lowered the premiums (lowest in seven years), there was an immediate surge in Silver Eagle buying via small retail investors which caused the premium to increase once again.  Also, the silver market underestimates the reaction when certain Technical Analysts put out a BUY SIGNAL.  Many of the folks who follow or subscribe to these analysts, are big investors.  So, when they see a buy signal... they do so in a BIG WAY.

That being said, I would like to remind those reading this article (that might be new to the precious metals industry) please make sure you understand the difference between "PREMIUM" and "COMMISSION" when you decide to purchase precious metals.  There are a group of very widely advertised precious metals dealers that may have lowered their premium along with the other dealers, but still charge very high commissions for their products or services.

IMPORTANT NOTE:  The PREMIUM is what the dealer pays the wholesaler for the coin or bar.  The COMMISSION is what the dealer charges his client above the premium.  You need to ask what the commission you are being charged as many new investors are being taken advantage of... but don't realize it until later, when it is too late.

While two million Silver Eagle so far in May are less than they were last year (4,498,500), this surge in demand suggests that the hype surrounding a Trump Presidency may be fading... and quickly.  If we take a look at Silver Eagle sales from FEB to MAY, we can clearly see that something has changed recently:

Silver Eagle Sales FEB-MAY

If the strong demand trend continues for the remainder of May, we could see Silver Eagle Sales reach 2.5-2.8 million.  Again, this is lower than what it was last year, but it is a sign that market is starting to SMELL A RAT.  And that RAT is a totally inflated STOCK, BOND & REAL ESTATE MARKET.

In addition, Silver Eagle sales are now out-performing Gold Eagle sales.  For example, in March when U.S. Silver Eagle sales were 1,615,000, Gold Eagle sales were 56,000 oz.  However, Gold Eagle sales in May are only 42,000 oz, while Silver Eagle sales are over 2 million.  Thus, the market is purchasing 48 times more Silver Eagles than Gold currently.

Lastly, for those precious metals investors who are frustrated by the disappointing paper Gold and Silver price performance since 2012, the STOCK, BOND and REAL ESTATE markets have never been in such BUBBLE TERRITORY.   For some odd reason, some precious metals investors tend to overlook the $7 trillion in Central Bank assets purchases from 2011-2016, and the whopping $1 trillion in the first four months of 2017.

It seems as if many Americans are suffering from BRAIN DAMAGE as the MainStream Media continues to put out the most misinformation and propaganda in history.  This causes individuals to lose the ability to think CRITICALLY.  And with that will come a great deal of pain and misfortune when we finally see the collapse value of most STOCK, BOND and REAL ESTATE prices.

Lastly, if you haven't checked out our new PRECIOUS METALS INVESTING section or our new LOWEST COST PRECIOUS METALS STORAGE page, I highly recommend you do.

Check back for new articles and updates at the SRSrocco Report.

Don’t End the Fed, Ignore the Fed: How to Distance Yourself From a Collapse

Published here: http://www.zerohedge.com/news/2017-05-24/don%E2%80%99t-end-fed-ignore-fed-how-distance-yourself-collapse

Via The Daily Bell

I like mom and pop family owned restaurants, and local craft breweries, two businesses that are currently doing great in America.

Giant corporations, on the other hand, are legally bound to the government, which causes most of the corruption in the corporate and government world. They end up taking advantage of people and bludgeoning their competitors using the government.

The United States of America is a giant corporation that is entering its dinosaur phase. Do you remember what happened to the dinosaurs? Their extinction paved the way for mammals to be the top species on earth. And in the same way, the collapse of the American financial system will pave the way for better smaller governments, and governance.

The collapse does not have to be apocalyptic and full of death and destruction. If people start taking action now, they can arrange their local and regional governments, as well as their own independent finances, as a cushion. People are already poised to reject monopolistic corporations (the USA being the largest of these), and currency should reflect these values.

Personally, I am not a big fan of how government operates, which is why I promote governance instead. The difference is that government is monopolizing power by force, while governance is gaining the consent of those governed in a particular group or land area. In currency, many organizations are experimenting with the governance of financial systems.

But I also realize that moving quickly to an entirely new system of governance could cause some major upsets. People might not be ready to adjust that quickly, and the adjust or die philosophy does seem a bit cold for 2017.

That is why adjustment should be gradual while allowing the people that are ready for quicker adjustment the freedom to go their own way. In fact the more people we have who are ready to go out and forge an example of how an area or group of people or internet community can be governed effectively, the more options we will have for solving many societal problems.

But there is one last major ace in the hole that the United States government is holding. That is control over money.

States Governments Can Help

Before anything goes down on the federal level, we need to make sure the states have the ability to cushion a collapse. Money is the main thing that would be an issue if the federal government ceased to exist, especially since a financial collapse is the most imminent threat to America.

Just this week Arizona passed a law officially recognizing gold and silver as legal tender by eliminating the capital gains tax on precious metals. Ron Paul helped campaign to pass the law and said:

By allowing the people of Arizona to use an alternative to Federal Reserve-created fiat currency, HB 2014 will help the people of Arizona survive the next Federal Reserve-created recessions. Passage of this bill will also help make Arizona more attractive to the growing number of people seeking alternatives to fiat money in order to protect themselves, their families, and their business from the effects of Federal Reserve policy. Thus, this bill will help attract new investments and jobs to Arizona.

This is actually better than a state government asserting more control over currency. Instead of trying to push their own fiat currency, or trying to issue their own silver or gold backed currency (which would cause friction with the Fed and Feds), they have simply freed up the market to give more options to residents.

And you don’t need to necessarily carry around a sack of gold to pay your debts. Banks are now theoretically free to hold your gold or silver safely, and issue their own representation of those coins, say on a debit card, which can then be spent, and redeemed in real gold or silver at the bank.

This type of solution is an opt-out style where it requires no action to end the Fed, or friction with the federal authorities. Arizona residents can now protect themselves from financial ruin by holding and using real currency, not fiat dollars.

Berkshares

Shift your attention to New England for another small example of a region setting up a backup plan for economic exchange.

In the Berkshires, a mountainous county in Western Massachusetts, locals have been using what they call Berkshares for over a decade.

The currency is accepted only regionally and is meant to keep wealth in the area. They encourage people to use the currency by making the exchange rate favorable: one Berkshare costs 95 cents effectively giving anyone who uses them a 5% discount on anything they buy.

For a community like the Berkshires, this makes sense. There are plenty of local artisans, farmers markets, and small businesses that foster a sense of cohesion. There is only about $140,000 worth of Berkshares circulating, but the proof of concept is interesting.

It should be noted that Berkshares are still a fiat currency, with the only value being their wide acceptance by businesses of the region, and the fact that local banks convert them back into U.S. dollars if you so choose. I would be interested to see the same concept applied but backed by silver.

Other communities are different and will need different solutions. That is the point, that one size fits all approaches–centralizing government–does not do what is best for people.

Cryptocurrencies

For online commerce and communities, there is much buzz surrounding cryptocurrencies, and enormous potential. However, the actual use of cryptocurrencies as currencies is still relatively minimal. Many people are treating them as investments right now, hoping to grow their worth, and sometimes even trading them back into fiat dollars in order to spend them.

But this is just the very beginning phase where people work out what makes sense and what does not in terms of the underlying governance and technology of the cryptocurrencies. If a particular coin’s value levels off and it becomes widely accepted, this will become a very freeing mode of exchange.

And of course, all these ideas on currency can be melded to form more stable mediums of exchange. There are already gold backed cryptocurrencies coming out; one company is called DinarDirham. A co-founder said:

If you have an asset that follows real-time gold price, which can be redeemed or claimed for physical gold and if you combine the benefits of digital currencies with benefits of gold as a store of value, in a transparent way, you get a match made in heaven. This is a cheap way to store, trade and use gold globally. Our unique and innovative trading technology based on blockchain makes this possible.

This is not to endorse the actual company DinarDirham; four people involved were arrested by the Brunei Commercial Crime Division. It is unclear if this was in response to actual fraud or simply backlash from the government for threatening the status quo.

But other options for gold and silver backed cryptos are emerging, including one called ZenGold with the same idea:

ZenGold aims to create crypto assets that are backed by physical gold in order to enable investors to instantly buy and transfer even a very small fraction of gold anywhere in the world while having pertinent asset information securely stored onto an unalterable Metaverse Blockchain.

As with anything else, especially new technologies, cryptocurrencies should be thoroughly vetted to make sure they are legitimate, and even then there is no guarantee that it is a safe store of value. But with the battle being taken to centralized banks, including the Federal Reserve, on so many fronts, it is a time to be optimistic about the impending collapse of the old world dinosaurs controlling our lives.

Experimentation Phase of Governance

These are all examples of communities experimenting with governance that will provide options for those of us who seek economic freedom, and freedom from centralized banks, and the oppression that comes with them.

Diversify your wealth, and encourage local and state governments to distance themselves from centralized government.

People need to be able to say, “No thank you, I will take my business elsewhere.” That is the only way to make sure that a sinking ship doesn’t suck everyone down with it. Having control over your financial health and freedom, even in the event of emergencies, is an invaluable lifeboat.

Gold and Silver Bullion Now Treated As Money In Arizona

Published here: http://www.zerohedge.com/news/2017-05-24/gold-and-silver-bullion-now-treated-money-arizona

Gold and Silver Bullion Now Treated As Money In Arizona

by Ron Paul Liberty Report staff

Undermining the Federal Reserve received a major boost yesterday.

Arizona Governor Doug Ducey signed into law a bill that eliminates capital gains taxes on gold and silver, thus allowing Arizona residents to use precious metals as currency instead of Federal Reserve notes.

Currency competition against the monopolist Fed is starting to unfold. Let's hope that other states follow in Arizona's heroic footsteps. There's no reason to wait for another severe financial crisis to act.

?Read Ron Paul's statement via The Campaign For Liberty below:

Campaign for Liberty Chairman Ron Paul and Campaign for Liberty President Norman Singleton issued the following statements regarding the Arizona Legislature's passage -- and Arizona Governor Doug Ducey's signing -- of HB 2014.
?
HB 2014 defines gold, silver, and other precious metals as legal tender and exempts them from capital gains taxes, thus allowing Arizona residents to use precious metals instead of Federal Reserve notes.

Dr. Paul testified before the Arizona Senate Finance Committee in support of the bill in March.

Every supporter of free-markets should cheer Arizona’s passage of HB 2014. There is no more justification for forcing individuals to use government-created money than there is for forcing them to drive government-manufactured cars. In fact, as the Federal Reserve’s 114 years of failure shows, giving monopoly control over our money supply to a secretive central bank is the most dangerous form of government intervention," said Dr. Ron Paul.

"By allowing the people of Arizona to use an alternative to Federal Reserve-created fiat currency, HB 2014 will help the people of Arizona survive the next Federal Reserve-created recessions. Passage of this bill will also help make Arizona more attractive to the growing number of people seeking alternatives to fiat money in order to protect themselves, their families, and their business from the effects of Federal Reserve policy. Thus, this bill will help attract new investments and jobs to Arizona.

"I hope other states follow Arizona’s lead and pass legislation protecting the right of their citizens to choose to use precious metals instead of the Federal Reserve’s consistently depreciating fiat currency," continued Dr. Paul.
?
"Congratulations to Arizona Campaign for Liberty for their successful efforts to pass HB 2014 through the Arizona Legislature and then convincing Governor Ducey to reverse positions and sign the bill into law," said C4L President Norm Singleton. "Campaign for Liberty is planning to work with activists across the country to get more state legislatures to follow Arizona's lead. We will also continue our critical work to change our nation's money monopoly by getting Congress to vote on -- and pass -- Audit the Fed."

Full article courtesy of Ron Paul Liberty Report

News and Commentary

Gold firm as market awaits Fed policy cues (Reuters.com)

U.K.'s May Warns Further Terrorist Attacks Could Be Imminent (Bloomberg.com)

Chinese Stocks Drop With Aussie on Moody’s Cut (Bloomberg.com)

Kashkari adds to dovish caution on rate hikes at Fed (Reuters.com)

New-home sales tumble in April after soaring to 10-year high in March (MarketWatch.com)

The Great Reset: How Should We Then Invest? (MauldinEconomics.com)

Billion-Dollar Gold Dream Lures Mining Maverick Out of Hiatus (Bloomberg.com)

Stop procrastinating and buy bitcoin now (StansBerryChurcHouse.com)

Gold & Silver Now Treated As Money In Arizona (RonPaulLibertyReport.com)

UK Deploys Army As Terror Threat Raised To Critical, May Warns "More Attacks Imminent" (ZeroHedge.com)

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Avoid Digital & ETF Gold – Key Gold Storage Must Haves

Gold Prices (LBMA AM)

24 May: USD 1,251.35, GBP 963.29 & EUR 1,119.58 per ounce
23 May: USD 1,259.90, GBP 969.62 & EUR 1,119.17 per ounce
22 May: USD 1,255.25, GBP 967.17 & EUR 1,123.07 per ounce
19 May: USD 1,251.85, GBP 962.17 & EUR 1,122.03 per ounce
18 May: USD 1,261.35, GBP 968.21 & EUR 1,133.95 per ounce
17 May: USD 1,244.60, GBP 961.70 & EUR 1,122.13 per ounce
16 May: USD 1,234.05, GBP 958.98 & EUR 1,117.93 per ounce

Silver Prices (LBMA)

24 May: USD 17.03, GBP 13.14 & EUR 15.22 per ounce
23 May: USD 17.14, GBP 13.22 & EUR 15.25 per ounce
22 May: USD 16.95, GBP 13.04 & EUR 15.10 per ounce
19 May: USD 16.77, GBP 12.90 & EUR 15.02 per ounce
18 May: USD 16.81, GBP 12.90 & EUR 15.10 per ounce
17 May: USD 16.90, GBP 13.03 & EUR 15.22 per ounce
16 May: USD 16.72, GBP 12.97 & EUR 15.13 per ounce


Recent Market Updates

- Manchester Attack Sees Asian Stocks Fall, Gold Firm
- James Rickards: Gold’s “Decisive Turn Around” – “Next Stop Is $1,300 Or Higher”
- Gold and Silver Bullion Coins See Sales “Explosion” In UK On “Wave Of Political Turmoil”
- Gold Investment Is the Ultimate Guide for Tech Investors In 500 Words
- Gold Spikes On Heavy Volume On Trump, U.S. Political “Mess”
- Cyber Wars Could Crash Markets and Threat To Humanity – Rickards and Buffett
- Cyber Attacks Show Vulnerability of Digital Systems and Digital Currencies
- History of Gold – Interesting Facts and Changes Over 50 Years
- U.S. Gold Exports To China and India Surge In 2017
- The Dream of the Central Banker
- Silver Investment Case Remains Extremely Compelling
- Gold Coins, Bars In Demand – +9% In Q1, 2017
- Irish Property Bubble – 38pc Believe Housing Market Will Crash

Access Award Winning Daily and Weekly Updates Here

Tuesday, May 23, 2017

Silver "Undecided Spreaders" at 4 Year Highs - Time to Buckle Up?

Published here: http://www.zerohedge.com/news/2017-05-23/silver-undecided-spreaders-4-year-highs-time-buckle

via Wall St. Whisperer and Marketslant.com

What’s going on with silver?

If you’ve been bullish silver, you might feel the same angst some investors have felt over the past two months.

But, according to one anonymous analyst from Simple Digressions, it may be time to look at the grey metal again.

“For the last two months the silver market has been sending very mixed signals. Its physical segment is, in my opinion, very strong now but the paper segment is not,” the analyst explained in a Seeking Alpha post Monday.


 “In my opinion, these facts support a bullish thesis on silver prices. If the opposite thesis (bearish) were at play, the strong hands would not have been adding silver in such an aggressive way (it looks like they are in a hurry),” the author added.

According to his/her research, JPMorgan and SLV (or “strong hands”) have been “hoarding” silver since April 2017. “When nearly everybody was furiously selling silver, JPMorgan, and then SLV, were aggressively adding silver bullion to their vaults.”

But, looking closely at the paper markets, there’s another data point that sticks out to our anonymous analyst.

“According to CFTC, the so-called ‘Spreading figures’ are standing at their highest level since the beginning of the current bull market in precious metals (January 2016),” the post said.

What does this mean?

As so perfectly explained by our anonymous source:

“In other words, if a trader holds a long position in silver futures amounting to 10 contracts and, at the same time, he / she holds a short position in silver futures amounting to 10 contracts, such a position is reported as the spreading of 10 contracts.”

Even if the net effect of holding this ‘spread’ is neutral, the trader could choose different expiration dates – AKA managing risk. And, to our anonymous source, this just means one thing:

“[T]he most important thing is that a high spreading position means that a large group of traders is generally very uncertain about the direction the prices of silver are heading for. Hence, offsetting positions in silver futures. Last week the spreading figure was standing at 9.4%, which was the highest reading since the beginning of 2013.

What’s more, total open interest in silver futures is close to its record as well. “It means that the silver paper market is overcrowded in the literal sense.

Soren K. Group's Vince Lanci had this to add:

Silver had taken a brutal beating while Gold held its own relatively speaking. The gold silver ratio bears this out. We had warned that a failure to pierce $18.54 [Edit: HERE] would result in a $2.00 washout. But frankly it happened faster than we thought. 

Silver had outperformed gold until recently. So why the reversal? Lanci again:

I believe it is very simple. Silver's industrial component dragged it down partially unfairly in sympathy with Iron, copper, and other industrial metals. The base metal collapse in recent weeks that took silver with it was the direct result of China's successful maneuvering to remove froth and de-leverage those markets. Their goal was to purge speculation. They succeeded.

He added that this is consistent with past mini-cycles from China. And, consistent with the anonymous source's info. So who are the physical buyers?

China is always waiting at the bottom to buy after orchestrating the selloff.  Always. A market gets away from the Chinese government buy levels and they "raise margins", or force deleveraging to get the investor class to sell. And once it gets back to their levels, the government starts accumulating more.

Where are prices headed?

Who knows but even if we’re seeing silver back off from the 3-week high it hit yesterday, the metal continues to be in an uptrend.

But the  bottom may be in for a while as long as Iron doesn't get ahead of itself again according to Vince

"This cycle has been going on for 2 years now. China creates  the volatility that taxes traders  and allows "smart money" to accumulate. Remember, unlike the west, China does not view Gold and Silver as a Giffen Good. They buy value. And they are buying now"

July Comex silver settled the day at $17.139 an ounce, down about 0.3% on the day.

Interactive chart HERE

Manchester Attack Sees Asian Stocks Fall, Gold Firm

Published here: http://www.zerohedge.com/news/2017-05-23/manchester-attack-sees-asian-stocks-fall-gold-firm

Manchester Attack Sees Asian Stocks Fall, Gold Firm

The appalling attack in Manchester overnight in which over 22 people have been killed has led to a slight uptick in risk aversion in markets.

Investors are cautious after police said they were treating a bombing at a concert in the Manchester Arena as a “terrorist incident”.

Gold in GBP (24 hours)

Asian stocks  gave up gains after the attacks and European indices had a subdued start.

Gold rose in the aftermath of the attacks to three week highs prior to giving up some of the gains by mid morning trading.

Sterling fell marginally and gold in sterling terms rose as high as £973.55 prior to consolidating near £970. Sterling was down 0.2 percent against the dollar to $1.2978 after falling 0.3 percent on Monday.

If the blast is confirmed as a terrorist incident, it would be the deadliest attack in Britain by militants since four British Muslims killed 52 people in suicide bombings on London's transport system in July 2005.


The attack has come just two-and-a-half weeks before an election that British Prime Minister Theresa May is expected to win easily.

Polls showing that the contest was tightening had added to sterling's woes recently. A terrorist attack will likely benefit the Tory Party and Theresa May as they are perceived to be tougher on terrorism than the Labour Party.

Terrorist events have not impacted markets globally in recent months and years. However, the concern is that with consumers indebted and consumer sentiment vulnerable, a spate of terrorist attacks or worse a terrorist 'spectacular' akin to 'September 11' could badly impact already fragile economies and increasingly frothy financial markets.

The UK's counter-terrorism chief has said that terrorists want to inflict an “enormous and spectacular” terrorist atrocity on the UK.

The uncertain political climate in the UK and the United States is  weighing on the dollar and sterling. Concerns over U.S. political turmoil and the complete mess that is the current U.S. political situation will lead to continuing demand for safe haven gold.

This has led to gold's recent gains and should contribute to gold eking out further gains in the coming weeks.

 

News and Commentary

Gold edges higher in Asia after deadly Manchester concert venue blast (Investing.com)

Gold prices tally highest settlement in 3 weeks (MarketWatch.com)

Gold prices steady despite Manchester blast, US political woes support (Reuters.com)

Trump Concern, Manchester Blast Spur Risk-Off Tone (Bloomberg.co)

Trump trouble and euro surge extend gold’s gains (Reuters.com)

 

 

Market crash that makes 2008 look like a picnic - Paul Interviews Taleb (YouTube.com)

Greek Authorities To Launch Mass Confiscation Of Safe Deposit Boxes In Tax-Evasion Crackdown (zeroHedge.com)

Dungeons of gold: Sex, booze and braais in underground mine cities (TimesLive.co.za)

Gold and silver futures shorts seem washed out (TFMetalsReport.com)

Gold's golden cross: Metal just formed a chart pattern that can signal a breakout (CNBC.com)

 

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Gold Prices (LBMA AM)

23 May: USD 1,259.90, GBP 969.62 & EUR 1,119.17 per ounce
22 May: USD 1,255.25, GBP 967.17 & EUR 1,123.07 per ounce
19 May: USD 1,251.85, GBP 962.17 & EUR 1,122.03 per ounce
18 May: USD 1,261.35, GBP 968.21 & EUR 1,133.95 per ounce
17 May: USD 1,244.60, GBP 961.70 & EUR 1,122.13 per ounce
16 May: USD 1,234.05, GBP 958.98 & EUR 1,117.93 per ounce
15 May: USD 1,231.50, GBP 952.32 & EUR 1,124.61 per ounce

Silver Prices (LBMA)

23 May: USD 17.14, GBP 13.22 & EUR 15.25 per ounce
22 May: USD 16.95, GBP 13.04 & EUR 15.10 per ounce
19 May: USD 16.77, GBP 12.90 & EUR 15.02 per ounce
18 May: USD 16.81, GBP 12.90 & EUR 15.10 per ounce
17 May: USD 16.90, GBP 13.03 & EUR 15.22 per ounce
16 May: USD 16.72, GBP 12.97 & EUR 15.13 per ounce
15 May: USD 16.59, GBP 12.83 & EUR 15.12 per ounce


Recent Market Updates

- James Rickards: Gold’s “Decisive Turn Around” – “Next Stop Is $1,300 Or Higher”
- Gold and Silver Bullion Coins See Sales “Explosion” In UK On “Wave Of Political Turmoil”
- Gold Investment Is the Ultimate Guide for Tech Investors In 500 Words
- Gold Spikes On Heavy Volume On Trump, U.S. Political “Mess”
- Cyber Wars Could Crash Markets and Threat To Humanity – Rickards and Buffett
- Cyber Attacks Show Vulnerability of Digital Systems and Digital Currencies
- History of Gold – Interesting Facts and Changes Over 50 Years
- U.S. Gold Exports To China and India Surge In 2017
- The Dream of the Central Banker
- Silver Investment Case Remains Extremely Compelling
- Gold Coins, Bars In Demand – +9% In Q1, 2017
- Irish Property Bubble – 38pc Believe Housing Market Will Crash
- Silver Bullion On Sale After 10.6% Fall In Two Weeks

Access Award Winning Daily and Weekly Updates Here

Monday, May 22, 2017

Gold Has “Decisive Turn Around” – “Next Stop Is $1,300 Or Higher” - Rickards

Published here: http://www.zerohedge.com/news/2017-05-22/gold-has-%E2%80%9Cdecisive-turn-around%E2%80%9D-%E2%80%93-%E2%80%9Cnext-stop-1300-or-higher%E2%80%9D-rickards

Gold Has “Decisive Turn Around” – “Next Stop Is $1,300 Or Higher”
James Rickards via Daily Reckoning

But the most important development this week may be the one you never heard about on the news or the internet.

On May 10, gold launched a decisive turnaround from its most recent decline.

This kept intact the pattern I’ve been writing about for weeks of “higher highs, and higher lows” as every retreat finds a footing higher than the one before and each new high reaches new, higher ground.

Gold in USD (5 Years)

This pattern began on Dec. 15, 2016, at an interim low of $1,128/oz. Since then gold has hit new highs of:

  • $1,216/oz on Jan. 17
  • $1,256/oz on Feb. 24
  • $1,289/oz on April 18.

Each time gold retreated from those highs, it found a new bottom at a higher price than the time before. The recent low was $1,218/oz on May 10. In this new spike, gold has now rallied to $1,251 as of early Friday.

If this pattern holds, the next stop is $1,300 or higher.

A Fed rate hike on June 14 could be a catalyst for a move even higher, just as the last two rate hikes on Dec. 14, 2016, and March 15, 2017, were turning points for gold.

No market moves up in a straight line, and gold won’t either. But what we’re seeing right now is very encouraging.

While everyone is focused on the Washington circus this week, they’re missing what could be the real news — gold.

'The Perils of Complacency' is James Rickards latest piece for the Daily Reckoning. Full article can be read here

 

News and Commentary

Gold heads for biggest gain in 5 weeks (News.com)

Gold holds gains as Trump concerns support (Reuters.com)

Russia probe reaches current White House official (WashingtonPost.com)

Paulson holds SPDR Gold holdings steady as bullion rallies (Reuters.com)

New platinum bullion coins unveiled during London Platinum Week} (CoinUpdate.com)

Gold in USD (5 Years)

Most important development this week not on the news or the internet - Rickards (DailyReckoning.com)

Get Ready for Quantitative Tightening , Then QE4 - Rickards (DailyReckoning.com)

How China plans to send the price of gold soaring (KingWorldNews.com)

Venezuela: Forty Years of Economic Decline (Mises.org)

Do this one simple thing to get richer every day (StansBerryChurcHouse.com)

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Avoid Digital & ETF Gold – Key Gold Storage Must Haves

Gold Prices (LBMA AM)

22 May: USD 1,255.25, GBP 967.17 & EUR 1,123.07 per ounce
19 May: USD 1,251.85, GBP 962.17 & EUR 1,122.03 per ounce
18 May: USD 1,261.35, GBP 968.21 & EUR 1,133.95 per ounce
17 May: USD 1,244.60, GBP 961.70 & EUR 1,122.13 per ounce
16 May: USD 1,234.05, GBP 958.98 & EUR 1,117.93 per ounce
15 May: USD 1,231.50, GBP 952.32 & EUR 1,124.61 per ounce
12 May: USD 1,227.90, GBP 955.06 & EUR 1,129.55 per ounce

Silver Prices (LBMA)

22 May: USD 16.95, GBP 13.04 & EUR 15.10 per ounce
19 May: USD 16.77, GBP 12.90 & EUR 15.02 per ounce
18 May: USD 16.81, GBP 12.90 & EUR 15.10 per ounce
17 May: USD 16.90, GBP 13.03 & EUR 15.22 per ounce
16 May: USD 16.72, GBP 12.97 & EUR 15.13 per ounce
15 May: USD 16.59, GBP 12.83 & EUR 15.12 per ounce
12 May: USD 16.30, GBP 12.68 & EUR 14.99 per ounce


Recent Market Updates

- Gold and Silver Bullion Coins See Sales “Explosion” In UK On “Wave Of Political Turmoil”
- Gold Investment Is the Ultimate Guide for Tech Investors In 500 Words
- Gold Spikes On Heavy Volume On Trump, U.S. Political “Mess”
- Cyber Wars Could Crash Markets and Threat To Humanity – Rickards and Buffett
- Cyber Attacks Show Vulnerability of Digital Systems and Digital Currencies
- History of Gold – Interesting Facts and Changes Over 50 Years
- U.S. Gold Exports To China and India Surge In 2017
- The Dream of the Central Banker
- Silver Investment Case Remains Extremely Compelling
- Gold Coins, Bars In Demand – +9% In Q1, 2017
- Irish Property Bubble – 38pc Believe Housing Market Will Crash
- Silver Bullion On Sale After 10.6% Fall In Two Weeks
- London Property Bubble Vulnerable To Crash

Access Award Winning Daily and Weekly Updates Here

Gnome Underpants Gold Model, Report 21 May, 2017

Published here: http://www.zerohedge.com/news/2017-05-22/gnome-underpants-gold-model-report-21-may-2017

There is a often-promoted plan to grow your wealth. Here’s the background. The dollar is going to be worthless. Soon! The reason is because [their peeps in high places tell them / the Chinese / end of the petrodollar / historical fiat currencies / Rothschild Jekyll Island Master Plan Private Fed / Fed printing] will cause the dollar to collapse and gold will rocket to $50,000. In fact, it’s a miracle that the price is a mere $1,253 and it hasn’t already. It will, once people discover this One Weird Secret that They Don’t Want You to Know that we have been reiterating every day for decades.

(By the way, Monetary Metals is about to publish the data to finally shine the full sunlight of disinfectant on this—stay tuned)

The plan has three phases.

Phase 1: You gotta buy gold. Now. In fact, call 1-800-BUY-GOLD now! That number, again, is one eight hundred bee yoo wye gee oh ell dee.

Phase 2: Price goes up

Phase 3: Profit!

This is a bit reminiscent of the underpants business model on South Park. South Park of course showed phase 2 as “???” but the analogy holds.

Pay particular attention to the context switch. The story switches midway from the-dollar-will-collapse to gold-will-go-up.

In fact, these are the same thing. It is important to realize because a higher price of gold does not make you richer. Sure, you have more dollars but each of them is worth proportionally less. And why would you want to exchange your gold for collapsing Rothschild private bank petrodollar printing press Monopoly money? On top of this, the tax man will take a big chunk of any price appreciation. So, if you sell you have less wealth.

Aside from being wrong as a matter of fact, it is an example of dollar thinking. It comes from the belief that gold is to be sold. That is not historically how people thought about it. Gold is money and those who have it should seek to earn a return on it, not sell it.

This week, the prices of the metals went up. Perhaps that rubber stopper under the silver elevator is durable.

However, as always we are interested in the supply and demand fundamental of the metals. We will show graphs, but first, the price and ratio charts.

The Prices of Gold and Silver
The Prices of Gold and Silver

Next, this is a graph of the gold price measured in silver, otherwise known as the gold to silver ratio. It moved lower this week.

The Ratio of the Gold Price to the Silver Price
The Ratio of the Gold Price to the Silver Price

For each metal, we will look at a graph of the basis and cobasis overlaid with the price of the dollar in terms of the respective metal. It will make it easier to provide brief commentary. The dollar will be represented in green, the basis in blue and cobasis in red.

Here is the gold graph.

The Gold Basis and Cobasis and the Dollar Price
The Gold Basis and Cobasis and the Dollar Price

We changed to the August contract.

August is far from expiration, and we see no sign of temporary backwardation (another phenomenon that disproves the naked short manipulation theory). And we see something clear and revealing. There is a steadily rising scarcity (i.e. the cobasis, the red line) and falling abundance (the basis, the blue line). The trend has been ongoing for many months, with not a lot of jitter. The scarcity of gold, as indicated by the August gold spreads, has been on the rise.

For somewhat less time, the price of gold has been rising.

Our calculated fundamental closed the week up another $21, to $1,275. That’s hardly “call 1-800-BUY-GOLD now before it hits $10,000” territory, but noteworthy nonetheless.

Now let’s look at silver.

The Silver Basis and Cobasis and the Dollar Price
The Silver Basis and Cobasis and the Dollar Price

Last week, we said that “silver does not yet show any backwardation, though it’s close at -0.03%.” This week, it’s +0.1%. However, this is definitely temporary backwardation. The near contract in silver tends to fall earlier than the near contract in gold.

Obviously, past a certain date, speculators looking to bet on silver would not buy the July contract but instead the September. Everyone may have his own boundary, in part depending on how long they want to hold the position. But clearly, for the marginal silver speculator, we are past that point in the July contract.

So there is an imbalance, less and less buying. The selling (to roll July) may not be urgent yet, but silver is less liquid than gold. So a small imbalance will show up as a change in basis.

Our calculated fundamental price of silver was down a few pennies.

We will end on an amusing note. The previous week, we said:

"We saw a technical analysis trader write a note this weekend. He said he plans to short silver on Monday. When the technicals and then fundamentals align, that can make for an interesting week."

Assuming he shorted it early on Monday morning, he might have top-ticked it at $16.40. On Tuesday, he could have closed at $16.05, for a gain of 2.1%. There has to be an easier way to earn a few bucks (and we never recommend naked-shorting gold or silver).

Well, as of Friday silver is $16.84. Depending on how much leverage he used, that could be a big owwie.

Keith will be speaking at the Mining Investment Europe event in Frankfurt in mid-June. He will be in London the week of June 19, and in New York the week of June 26. If you’re interested in attending a Monetary Metals seminar on GOFO and transparency in the gold market in either city, or to meet with Keith to discuss gold investment, please click here.

© 2017 Monetary Metals

Saturday, May 20, 2017

How Will The 'GREAT DEFLATION' Impact Gold & The Dollar?

Published here: http://www.zerohedge.com/news/2017-05-20/how-will-great-deflation-impact-gold-dollar

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By the SRSrocco Report,

The coming GREAT DEFLATION will impact the value of Gold and the Dollar much differently than what most analysts are forecasting.  Unfortunately, most analysts do not understand the true underlying value of gold or the U.S. Dollar, because they base their forecasts on information that is inaccurate, flawed or imprecise.

This is due to two faulty theories:

monetary science
supply-demand market forces

While some aspects of monetary science and supply and demand forces do impact the prices of goods and services (on a short-term basis), the most important factor, ENERGY, is totally overlooked.  You will never hear Peter Schiff include energy when he talks about the Federal Reserve, Commercial Banks, money printing or debt.  Schiff, like most analysts, is stuck on studying superficial monetary data that does not get to the ROOT OF THE PROBLEM.

Furthermore, the majority of folks who believe in the Austrian School of economics, also fail to incorporate ENERGY into their analysis.  For some strange reason, most analysts believe the world is run by the ENERGY TOOTH FAIRY (term by Louis Arnoux).  Without cheap and abundant energy, monetary science and supply-demand forces are worthless.

That being said, as the debate on whether the world will experience, inflation, hyperinflation or deflation will continue to go on and on, I guarantee we are going to experience the MOTHER of all DEFLATIONS.  Again, this will be due to the disintegrating energy sector and its inability to provide sufficent profitable net energy to the market.

The falling net energy and declining EROI - Energy Returned On Investment, are totally gutting the entire market.  This can be seen quite clearly as the U.S. added $4 of debt for each $1 of GDP growth in 2016.  According to the Zerohedge article, It Took $4 In New Debt To Create $1 In GDP:

As a reminder, according to the latest BEA revision, nominal 2016 GDP was $18.86 trillion, an increase of $632 billion from 2015; the question is how much credit had to be created to generate this growth. Well, according to the Z.1, total credit rose to a new record high $66.1 trillion. This was an increase of $2.511 trillion in the past year. It means that in 2016, it "cost" $4 in new debt to generate just $1 in new economic growth!

Debt to GDP Growth

As we can see, adding $4 of debt to create $1 of artificially inflated GDP is not a long-term sustainable business model.  I get a laugh hearing "Conspiracy Theorists" explain how the ELITE have been planning this take-over all along and have the markets totally under control.  While conspiracies do indeed take place, the ELITE have been SHOOTING FROM THE HIP and WINGING IT just to keep the entire market from imploding.

For those who believe that the elite want to crush the market to buy assets for pennies on the Dollar, I am here to tell you...  it CHAIN'T gonna happen.  When the Ancient Roman Metropolis collapsed from a population of one million people down to 12,000, I can assure you, the majority of the ELITE were wiped out.... KAPUT.

Real Estate values and revenue streams in Ancient Rome evaporated into thin air.  There was no "RECOVERY" or "PLAN B."  Death had come to the once great Roman Empire... for good.

Regardless, the coming GREAT DEFLATION will destroy the value of most assets shown in the chart below:

Global Asset Universe

Of the $369 trillion in global asset values (2015), gold and silver accounted for $3.1 trillion or 0.8%.  That's correct, not even 1% of total global assets.  Savills Research, who put together the data shown in the chart above, recently published figures on Global Real Estate Investment:

Real Estate Market

Now, this chart does not represent total Real Estate values, but rather shows how much money is being invested in the Global Real Estate Market (minus China).  Interestingly, global real estate investment has never regained its previous peak set back in 2008.  Furthermore, the data shows that global real estate investment has rolled over and declined since the first quarter of 2016.  This is not a good sign.

This means, deflationary forces may already be taking place in the global real estate market.

How The 'GREAT DEFLATION' Will Impact Gold & The Dollar

To understand how the coming GREAT DEFLATION will impact gold and the U.S. Dollar, we must throw out the window all preconceived notions about economics and money.  Any individual who continues to believe in the standard orthodox economic theory, you might as well also accept that the EARTH IS FLAT and infite GROWTH on a finite planet is possible.

Unfortunately, the U.S. educational system and alternative media continue to misinform the public about the role of MONEY.  So, the blind continue to lead the blind as Rome burns... so to speak.

The GREAT DEFLATION is coming due to the disintegration of the U.S. and global oil industry.  As I mentioned in a precious article, the top three U.S. oil companies slashed their Q1 2017 capital expenditures (CAPEX) by 40%, versus the same period last year.  Furthermore, the world only found 2.4 billion barrels of new oil in 2016 while it consumed 25 billion barrels:

Global Oil Discoveries 2016

I hate to be a broken record, but precious metals investors better WAKE UP.  How many new barrels of oil do you think the global oil industry will find in 2017 as they continue to slash their CAPEX spending even greater than last year??

Regardless, the Fed and Central Banks are propping up the market with more money printing and asset purchases than ever.  This will not solve our financial and economic problems, however it is a last ditch effort to postpone the inevitable.

To truly understand what will happen with the value of Gold and the U.S. Dollar, we have to grasp the data shown in the chart below:

Gold Cost vs $100 Bill Cost

To produce an ounce of gold in 2016 (top two gold miners - Barrick & Newmont), it took $1,113.  Thus, the top two gold miner's total production cost was 89% of the gold market price ($1,251).  This is why gold stores wealth.  Stored wealth has always been "STORED ECONOMIC ENERGY."  Gold has been the King Monetary Metal because of its rarity in the earth's crust and its ability not to corrode or tarnish like many other metals.

On the other hand, the U.S. Treasury Department of Engraving and Printing produced a new $100 bill for a mere 13.4 cents.  Thus, the U.S. Treasury's $100 bill cost of production was 0.13% of its face value, versus 89% for an ounce of gold.

The production cost figures for the U.S. Federal Reserve Notes came from the U.S. Treasury Department of Engraving and Printing, shown in the table below:

Fed Reserve Note Costs

It cost the U.S. Treasury $134.14 per thousand of $100 bill's printed.  While the U.S. Treasury spent more money to produce the lower denomination bills versus their total face value, 71% of the $213 billion of Federal Reserves Notes printed in 2016 were $100 bills.

If we are able to understand the information presented above and are able to do some "CRITICAL THINKING", then it is easy to understand that the U.S. Dollar will suffer signficantlyu during the GREAT DEFLATION..... not gold.

We also must remember, a "NOTE", as in the "Federal Reserve Note", means an "OBLIGATION" or "DEBT."  Money is not supposed to be an obligation or debt.  Money is supposed to be a store of value and medium of exchange.

Thus, when the GREAT DEFLATION arrives, the value of the U.S. Dollar has a much farther way to fall versus gold.  Why?  Because the value of most things, always reverts back to their COST OF PRODUCTION.  The innate value of a $100 bill is a mere 13.4 cents.... so, its value still has room to fall 99%+.

Again... the innate value of most things are based upon their cost of production, not supply and demand.  What's the use of being in the business of producing goods at a loss????

Here is one last example.  In 2016, total global gold mine supply was worth $103.6 billion.  This figure was based on the of 3,222 metric tons of gold mine supply (GFMS 2017 World Gold Survey), multiplied by the average spot price of $1,251.  The estimated cost to produce this gold was $92.2 billion:

Gold value vs $100 Bill

Here we can see that the gold market price, was based on its cost of production.  On the other hand, the U.S. Treasury was able to print $151.7 billion in $100 bills for the total cost of $235 million ($0.235 billion).  Which means, the U.S. Treasury's production cost was only 0.13% for the $151.7 billion of new currency (fake money) it issued last year.

People need to realize the U.S. Dollar's value is backed by U.S. debt, which is being propped up by burning energy.  Thus, ENERGY = MONEY.  The huge increase in U.S. and Global Debt means the quality of energy that runs everything is rapidly declining.  Which means, the more debt that is added, the lower interest rates have to go.  It is a one way street.

Analysts who think interest rates need to normalize to a much higher level, have no idea about ENERGY.... ZIP, NADDA, ZILCH.  They look at the markets as if the ENERGY TOOTH FAIRIES run everything.  There are only a small handful of analysts who understand the energy dynamics.  The rest are the blind leading the blind.

The coming GREAT DEFLATION will destroy the value of most STOCKS, BONDS, REAL ESTATE and PAPER CURRENCIES.  The reason Real Estate prices will plummet below their cost of production is due to their 20-30 year financing and their inability to function during the disintegrating energy environment.  The same will be for automobiles and many other assets and items.

Investors need to understand how ENERGY and the FALLING EROI- Energy Returned On Investment, will impact the value of most assets going forward.  Most assets will collapse in value, while a few will hold or gain in value.  Gold and silver will be two of the few that will hold or gain in value during the GREAT DEFLATION.

Lastly, if you haven't checked out our new PRECIOUS METALS INVESTING section or our new LOWEST COST PRECIOUS METALS STORAGE page, I highly recommend you do.

Check back for new articles and updates at the SRSrocco Report.