Analysis Topic: Commodity Markets - Metals, Softs & Oils
The analysis published under this topic are as follows.Thursday, June 30, 2011
Peru Gold / Commodities / Gold and Silver 2011
I have frequently commented that 'country, and in some cases state-specific and province-specific, political and economic risk' profiles are critically important when researching and assessing risk in the context of investing in mining and oil & gas companies - or for that matter, any company irrespective of business sector. I wrote the following in Valuation of Mining Companies (page 13):
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Wednesday, June 29, 2011
Gold and Silver Ownership and Prices Will Not be Affected by Dodd-Frank Legislation / Commodities / Gold and Silver 2011
Gold is trading at $1,507.70/oz, €1,044.69/oz and £941.54/oz.
Gold is higher again today as the Greek debt crisis and continuing strong demand from Asia continues to support prices.
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Wednesday, June 29, 2011
Gold and Silver Rise as Greek Politicians Choose Between Austerity or Dignity / Commodities / Gold and Silver 2011
THE PRICE to buy gold rose to $1510 an ounce Wednesday morning London time – a 0.5% gain on the week – while stocks and commodities also gained and US Treasury bonds fell ahead of the Greek austerity vote.
The price to buy silver climbed too, hitting $34.49 an ounce – also 0.5% up for the week.
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Wednesday, June 29, 2011
Which Index is the Best Gold Stock to Use: the HUI, XAU or the GDX? / Commodities / Gold & Silver Stocks
The number, market cap and currencies of the constituents of the HUI, XAU, GDX, XGD and CDNX indices differ considerably from each other and, as such, each index presents a different picture of what is really happening in the precious metals marketplace. This article analyzes the make-up of each index to reveal the biases of each to arrive at the answer to the question in the title.
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Wednesday, June 29, 2011
Trading Gold and Its Eurozone Crisis Premium / Commodities / Gold and Silver 2011
Recently gold challenged it’s all time highs, being propelled largely by renewed concerns over the Greek debt crisis and the possible ramifications a default could have on global financial markets. Whilst fears of a possible default in Greece are supportive of gold prices in the short term, it is important to understand that such pressures are largely temporary in nature and they do not significantly change the underlying market dynamics in the longer term. We feel the best way to describe this is by way of visualizing that there is a premium built into the gold price that varies with regard to how prevalent fears over the Eurozone crisis are. Just to clarify, we are considering the effect that fluctuations in fears over the Greek situation have on the gold price, not the effect that an actual default would have on the price. When fears escalate, the gold price increases and when fears subside, then so does the gold price. It does not necessarily significantly alter the overall direction of gold prices over the longer term.Read full article... Read full article...
Wednesday, June 29, 2011
The Great Gold Nugget Scam / Commodities / Gold and Silver 2011
Doug Hornig, Casey Research writes: You know an asset class is hot when the scam artists start coming out of the woodwork. Such was the case during the real estate bubble of this century’s first decade, as those selling mortgages packaged them in ever more complex vehicles, many of which are now known to have been utterly fraudulent.
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Wednesday, June 29, 2011
Meeting the Critical Metals Demand / Commodities / Metals & Mining
Is there a clear path to meeting growing global critical metals demand? An important first step, according to Laurentian Bank Securities' Technology and Strategic Metals Analyst Jim Powell, would be to establish supply sources that aren't concentrated in a single country—particularly one that isn't inclined to share its resources with the rest of the world. In this exclusive interview with The Critical Metals Report, Jim points out some potential plays to look for while the landscape is changing.
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Wednesday, June 29, 2011
Which Stocks Will Win Race to Feed a Power-Hungry World? / Commodities / Energy Resources
Uranium and potash prices seem to be inversely correlated lately: As potash prices reach their highest levels, uranium prices have suffered. But Richard (Rick) Mills, host of Ahead of the Herd online and editor of the Ahead of the Herd newsletter, believes the prospects for both industries are bright. In this exclusive interview with The Energy Report, Rick explains why the U.S.' commitment to nuclear power and even biofuels is helping to propel both markets.
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Tuesday, June 28, 2011
Gold, the Internet and Creating Imaginary Money / Commodities / Gold and Silver 2011
One has to love today's technology. Where else can we get so much mail from people whom we do not want to get mail? Never has porn been delivered in such high quality. But, the good news does not stop there. While creating social networks for people with lives in which no one is interested and providing the capability for old people to twitter among themselves, the internet is now providing an important government function, imaginary money.
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Tuesday, June 28, 2011
Gold Rebounds, Dollar Looks Strong Despite Debt Ceiling Deadlock / Commodities / Gold and Silver 2011
U.S. DOLLAR prices for gold bullion rallied Tuesday morning London time, hitting $1503 an ounce – just above last Friday's closing price – as stocks were mixed and commodities and US Treasury bonds gained after President Obama held meetings on the debt ceiling.Read full article... Read full article...
Tuesday, June 28, 2011
Gold Trading at $1500, BOE’s Posen Says Stagflation Unlikely in UK / Commodities / Gold and Silver 2011
Gold is trading at $1,501.60/oz, €1,052.35/oz and £941.09/oz.
Gold is marginally higher in all currencies and 0.7% higher in sterling after a downward revision of UK GDP from 1.8% to 1.6% growth saw sterling decline. Stagflation appears to be taking hold in the UK with soaring food and energy costs eroding household incomes and economic growth continuing to decline.
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Tuesday, June 28, 2011
Strategic Crude Oil Release Will Not Hurt Clean Energy Progress / Commodities / Crude Oil
The recent release of 60 million barrels of oil (OIL) will artificially lower the price. High oil prices has been the best catalyst for clean energy production and fuel efficient vehicles. Increasing the supply of oil may be pushing down the demand for rare earths(REMX), uranium(URA) and lithium(LIT) only short term. This decline in oil prices should not drastically hurt the development of rare earth assets outside China.
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Tuesday, June 28, 2011
Gold Cash In, Not Out at $1,500 / Commodities / Gold and Silver 2011
Some pundits are yelling for investors to take profits in junior resource stocks now. In this exclusive interview with The Gold Report, Richard (Rick) Mills, host of Ahead of the Herd online and editor of Ahead of the Herd newsletter, explains why $1,500 gold means investors should be cashing in, not cashing out.
The Gold Report: Last week, gold reached above $1,540/ounce (oz.) as fears escalated over Greece defaulting on its sovereign debt, most of which is owed to European banks. One telling figure is that the risk of default is so high that the interest rate on two-year Greek bonds is about 29%. Should we expect a continuing upward trend for gold throughout the rest of the year as Greece's debt story and the fears of contagion play out in Europe?
Monday, June 27, 2011
On Gold Bugs!, Fort Knox Gold Count?,Headlines – Internet as ‘Go To’ Media! / Commodities / Gold and Silver 2011
An article yesterday titled 'Taking Issue with Some Gold Bugs' - reading time 4 minutes - is written by Jordan Roy-Byrne of The Daily Gold blog. In the article, Roy-Byrne, a self-confessed "gold bug both philosophically and in terms of investing" takes exception to a number of 'gold bug' headlines and talking points, being:
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Monday, June 27, 2011
China Winning the Race for Central Asia's Energy Riches / Commodities / Energy Resources
Many western analysts have described the post-Soviet tussle for Caspain and Central Asian energy reserves as the new "Great Game, except this time around, Russia is facing the U.s. rather than the British empire.To a dispassionate outside observer however, what is most striking about the prolonged wrangle between Moscow and Washington for hydrocarbons, military bases and influence is the emergence of an understated sly newcomer who has managed to bag many of the region's assets - China.
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Monday, June 27, 2011
How Does the Eurozone Crisis Boost Gold and Silver? / Commodities / Gold and Silver 2011
Over the last year, perhaps the greatest concern of the developed world markets has been the Eurozone debt crisis and its effect on the euro. It has brought into sharp focus the seriousness of a nation's debt situation. In the last decade, we have blithely accepted that a nation can issue debt and be safe from default. Over this last year, that perception has changed considerably, as nations have been seen to have excessive debt. Nations are not unlike individuals, in that if you have too much debt and not enough cash flow, you will go into liquidation. Likewise, a nation can go bust! Two years ago, the euro was seen as counter to the dollar.
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Monday, June 27, 2011
Gold Mixed as Soros Warns "We are on the Verge of an Economic Collapse" / Commodities / Gold and Silver 2011
Gold is trading at $1,502.40/oz, €1,055.87/oz and £939.18/oz.
Gold is mixed today after last week’s 2.4% fall. The short term trend remains negative but medium and long fundamentals remain supportive as do the very challenging and risky macro, sovereign debt and currency environment. Physical buying remains strong at the $1500 level with premiums for gold bullion bars higher in Singapore and Hong Kong.
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Monday, June 27, 2011
Gold Rebounds after Asia Selloff, Soros Warns "Economic Collapse Will Spread" / Commodities / Gold and Silver 2011
A HEAVY selloff during Asian trading on Monday saw the gold price hit a five-week low of $1492 an ounce – before staging a rally after London opened – while stocks were flat and commodities fell further.The gold price at the London Fix on Monday morning was $1501 an ounce – a 0.9% drop from Friday afternoon.
Monday, June 27, 2011
Towards And End To Crude Oil Price Speculation ? / Commodities / Crude Oil
As of the present we have a menacing but periodic slump in the upsurge of commodity prices, signalled by a slump in oil prices. This of course leads the bigger hedge fund strategists to predict a "V", betting on previous performance and drawing on the now conventional wisdom that oil is a scarce resource.
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Monday, June 27, 2011
How Shale Gas Might Transform the Energy Markets / Commodities / Natural Gas
Marin Katusa, Casey Energy Report writes: In the midst of roller-coaster oil prices and a global reassessment of nuclear power, in early April a key development in the natural gas arena slipped by mostly unnoticed: a report from the U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA) about global shale gas potential.
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