Analysis Topic: Commodity Markets - Metals, Softs & Oils

The analysis published under this topic are as follows.

Wednesday, February 29, 2012

No Easy Fix for Gas Prices / Commodities / Gas - Petrol

By: Peter_Schiff

This month, as unleaded gasoline prices increased for 17 consecutive days (to a national average of $3.647 per gallon - up 11% thus far this year) and West Texas Intermediate crude joined Brent crude in breaking through a $100 per barrel level, energy prices emerged as a full blown political issue. While President Obama conveniently claimed that rising prices were the consequence of an improving economy (they're not, and it isn't) Republican fingers began to point sanctimoniously at current drilling policies. And while none of the accusers had any idea why prices were actually going up, the award for the most dangerous 'solution' must go to Bill O'Reilly at Fox News. The master of the "No Spin Zone" announced that high pump prices could be permanently brought down by a presidential order to restrict exports of refined gasoline. Not only does Mr. O'Reilly's idea demonstrate contempt for the U.S. Constitution but it also displays a thorough lack of economic understanding.

Wednesday, February 29, 2012

More Upside for SLW & GLD / Commodities / Gold and Silver 2012

By: Mike_Paulenoff

condense the price action, the pattern that emerges off of last April's peak at 47.60 argues strongly that a complex intermediate-term correction ended at the Oct 4 low of 25.84, a decline of 46%. That was followed by a powerful new up-leg that within the past week has hurdled key resistance at 37.35/40.

Wednesday, February 29, 2012

Is 2012 the Next 1897? Juniors Prepare for Yukon Gold Rush / Commodities / Gold & Silver Stocks

By: Submissions

Chris Devauld writes: When it comes to gold mining, the Yukon needs little introduction. The westernmost territory’s frigid climate and unforgiving terrain hasn’t deterred prospectors, past and present. The end of the 19^th century saw gold miners rush in on mere rumours of the yellow metal, which eventually lead to the renowned Klondike Gold Rush in 1897. Now, it appears, history is repeating as the high price of gold drives ambitious juniors back into the rush for riches.

Tuesday, February 28, 2012

Silver Hits 5-Month High with Gold "In Consolidation Period" / Commodities / Gold and Silver 2012

By: Ben_Traynor

SPOT MARKET gold prices climbed to $1781 an ounce Tuesday lunchtime in London – 0.3% off last week's high – while stock markets gained along with the Euro, as European leaders postponed a decision on whether to increase the size of the single currency's bailout fund.

Commodities were mixed, while longer-dated UK and German government bonds ticked higher.

Tuesday, February 28, 2012

Small Cap Gold Stocks Successfully Retest 2010 Breakout / Commodities / Gold & Silver Stocks

By: Jordan_Roy_Byrne

When one speaks of gold stocks they should be more specific as the sector is diverse. The term Gold stocks usually refers to the large unhedged producers. Indices such as the HUI or GDX track these stocks and are a proxy for the gold stock universe. However, most companies in the sector are much smaller. We hear the term “juniors” so often and that is what makes it inconsistent. Juniors are typically micro-cap exploration companies. Yet, GDXJ the junior ETF is comprised of companies with market caps in the $500 Million to $1 Billion range. There is nothing junior about that. We notice there is a gap in terms of terminology. If Juniors are sub- $100 Million, and large caps are over $1 Billion, then what do you call those that fit the gap?

Tuesday, February 28, 2012

Gold and Silver Stocks Poised to Recover in 2012 / Commodities / Gold and Silver 2012

By: The_Gold_Report

Opportunities abound across the spectrum of precious metal equities, which remain undervalued as bullion prices continue their upward trends. That's the word according to Charles Oliver and Jamie Horvat, both senior portfolio managers at Sprott Asset Management. In this exclusive interview with The Gold Report, Oliver and Horvat express cautious optimism about the prospects for gold stocks in 2012.

The Gold Report: When we talked in the wake of the debt ceiling crisis last fall, Charles, you expected volatility to be good for gold and forecast a continuing long-term bull market for precious metals. These days, the scary stories pertain to the European Union (EU). Will negative headlines continue to play a role in the price of gold and silver?

Tuesday, February 28, 2012

Will Another Round of LTRO Send Gold and Silver Higher? / Commodities / Gold and Silver 2012

By: Eric_McWhinnie

Last week, gold and silver finished at their highest levels all year. Gold settled at $1,776.40, while silver surged 6.4 percent to close at $35.34. The recent rise in precious metals has been long overdue, but the dollar’s decline against the euro certainly contributed to the move.

Tuesday, February 28, 2012

Natural Gas Bullish Base / Commodities / Natural Gas

By: Mike_Paulenoff

Natural gas could not sustain last week's retest of the prior high at 14.74 in the ProShares Ultra DJ UBS Natural Gas ETF (BOIL) and has looped down towards strong support between 13.00 and 12.50.

Nonetheless, my intermediate-term work argues that all of the action since early January represents a developing, powerful base formation in the aftermath of the vicious multi-year bear market.

Tuesday, February 28, 2012

Gold and Silver Market Update / Commodities / Gold and Silver 2012

By: Peter_Degraaf

In 1980 gold topped out at $850.00. That bull market produced an increase of +2,276% from start to finish. The current rally in gold began in 2002 at $260.00 and has thus far risen +582%. By comparison this current bull market has the potential to rise much further.

Tuesday, February 28, 2012

Is Uranium Miners Stock Price Rise Forecasting a Near Term Supply Shortfall? / Commodities / Uranium

By: Jeb_Handwerger

We have constantly advocated investments in uranium mining(URA), particularly in friendly jurisdictions such as North America. This support of the nuclear sector (NLR) has often been in the face of formidable attacks by naysayers, using every weapon in their arsenal to denigrate proponents of atomic energy. No other sector in recent memory has had to withstand such a barrage.

Monday, February 27, 2012

Investing In Silver: How to Buy Silver Coins and Bars / Commodities / Gold and Silver 2012

By: Money_Morning

Larry D. Spears writes: For investors who want to capture the coming move in silver, buying silver bars or coins is still one of the best options.

Here's why...

Like gold, investing in silver is a great hedge against inflation and financial turmoil alike. It's why demand for silver is increasing at an astonishing rate.

Monday, February 27, 2012

Dollar, Gold and Gasoline: Much Ado About Nothing / Commodities / Commodities Trading

By: EconMatters

U.S. regular gasoline price has spiked almost 4% in one week to $3.688 a gallon as of Feb. 26, the highest level since last September, with residents in three states--Alaska, Hawaii, California-- are already seeing above $4 at the pump, based on AAA's Daily Fuel Gauge Report.

Monday, February 27, 2012

Will Gold Miners Finally Get Some Respect? / Commodities / Gold & Silver Stocks

By: Eric_McWhinnie

It has been a long and hard road for gold miners. Despite another record performance for gold last year, miner stocks lagged the physical precious metal. Gold prices finished 2011 at $1,566.80 per ounce, representing a 9.3 percent annual increase. However, the Market Vectors Gold Miners Index fell 16.3 percent, and the Junior Gold Miners Index plummeted 38 percent. Although miners have underperformed bullion, recent earnings may finally cause a shift in sentiment and share prices.

Sunday, February 26, 2012

Is Crude Oil About to Crash the Markets? / Commodities / Crude Oil

By: WavePatternTraders

Do I or Don't I?

I decided not to bother, what you ask? writing more of the same about the US stock markets, It don't need a genius to write that the US stock markets are in a coma and stuck in the ICU room waiting to come back into the real world. Although nothing has really changed from the current ideas I am reluctant to post more of the same stuff when nothing really has happened.

Saturday, February 25, 2012

Gold, Silver Juniors Should Shine in 2012 / Commodities / Gold & Silver Stocks

By: The_Gold_Report

After a tough 2011, Mark Raguz and his colleagues at Pinetree Capital are looking at the junior resource sector with renewed optimism. In this exclusive Gold Report interview, he names some of the plays that are fueling that sentiment, from gold names in Northern Ontario to silver names in Mexico.

The Gold Report: Mark, what do you think will determine Pinetree Capital Ltd.'s (PNP:TSX) success in 2012, especially regarding the junior resource sector?

Saturday, February 25, 2012

Rare Earths Investing Update / Commodities / Metals & Mining

By: Jeff_Clark

By Jeff Clark, Casey Research We've received a number of inquiries from Casey Research subscribers about our opinion on the current rare earth metals market. We have covered this topic previously, but this article, we'll take a fresh look.

As a matter of a recap, rare earth elements (or REEs) is a generic name for 17 metals widely used mostly in high-technology devices, such as mobile phones, laptops, flat screen televisions, hybrid car batteries, lasers, optics, and military equipment. New uses for these metals are being constantly found, but more on that later.

Saturday, February 25, 2012

Metals and Mining Paradigm Shift, Exiting Easy And Cheap / Commodities / Metals & Mining

By: Richard_Mills

The massive growth of global prosperity over the last five centuries has been driven by easy and cheap access to critical materials:

• Food
• Fibre
• Energy
• Minerals

However since October 2001 the CRB BLS Spot Index has reached record levels.

Friday, February 24, 2012

Inflation Means Less Cluck for Your Buck / Commodities / Agricultural Commodities

By: Ned_W_Schmidt

An important trend for many years has been the rising preference of consumers for chicken. Apparently those boneless, skinless, tasteless, chicken breasts are quite popular. In the U.S., production of broilers, table chicken, exceeds by ~50% the production of either pork or beef, when measured by weight. And those "clucks" are now costing more bucks.

Friday, February 24, 2012

Silver Price Could Challenge $50 / Commodities / Gold and Silver 2012

By: Hubert_Moolman

Silver is currently trading at key resistance levels. See below, a six-year silver chart (all charts generated at fxstreet.com):

Friday, February 24, 2012

Silver & Gold Looking at Gains on Week Despite Dull Markets / Commodities / Gold and Silver 2012

By: Ben_Traynor

U.S. DOLLAR gold bullion prices held steady around $1780 an ounce Friday morning London time, having fallen slightly from yesterday's 3-month high.

Silver bullion meantime hit its highest level since September, rising to $35.74 per ounce just after London opened.