Analysis Topic: Commodity Markets - Metals, Softs & Oils

The analysis published under this topic are as follows.

Friday, March 15, 2013

Silver Stalls, Gold Gains as CFTC Clarifies London Price Manipulation Fix "Investigation" / Commodities / Gold and Silver 2013

By: Adrian_Ash

GOLD ticked higher but silver prices stalled Friday morning, as a rise in Asian stock markets failed to carry over into European or pre-opening trade in US equities.

The Euro currency rose sharply through $1.30, knocking the gold price in Euros back below €1220 per ounce, virtually unchanged for the week.

Friday, March 15, 2013

Gold and Silver Price Manipulation At London AM Fix Or New York COMEX? / Commodities / Gold and Silver 2013

By: GoldCore

Today’s AM fix was USD 1,593.25, EUR 1,219.39 and GBP 1,051.23 per ounce.
Yesterday’s AM fix was USD 1585.00, EUR 1225.83 and GBP 1061.05 per ounce.

Gold was marginally higher yesterday and silver marginally lower. Gold rose just 20 cents and closed at $1,588.50/oz. Silver fell 15 cents to close at $28.75/oz.

Silver is trading at $28.80/oz, €22.40/oz and £19.20/oz. Platinum rose to $1,587.25/oz, palladium to $771.00/oz and rhodium stayed at $1,250/oz.

Friday, March 15, 2013

U.S. Government Investigation of Gold Price Manipulation / Commodities / Gold and Silver 2013

By: Midas_Letter

Yesterday, the Commodity Futures Trading Commission, the regulator who ostensibly regulates the banks and major financial institutions who participate in the futures and commodities trading business, announced they were going to examine whether prices are being manipulated in the “world’s largest gold market”, according to a story in the Wall Street Journal.

For long time observers of the gold price and the fundamental and not-so-fundamental influences on its price movements, the announcement might have elicited a gasp of delight in the spirit of “It’s about time!”

Friday, March 15, 2013

Silver Possession Versus Silver Trust – A Safe Alternative to Direct Possession? / Commodities / Gold and Silver 2013

By: Dr_Jeff_Lewis

Value seeking investors are increasingly returning to the precious metals market. Furthermore, many of them will undoubtedly gravitate toward using the more conveniently traded alternatives to self-storing the metals.

The idea of taking physical possession of gold or silver currently seems almost taboo in the mind of the mainstream precious metals investor, although many alternative minded investors tend to see personal physical possession as the only safe option in the event of a financial collapse scenario.

Friday, March 15, 2013

"Fire Ice" Could Supply Japan's Natural Gas Needs for 100 Years / Commodities / Natural Gas

By: Money_Morning

Jeff Uscher writes: Japan just extracted offshore deposits of methane hydrate - sometimes called "fire ice" - and the country may be sitting on enough of it to supply its natural gas needs for a century.

That's the buzz among scientists after the announcement Tuesday that the methane hydrate had been found in the Nankai Trench, a deep-water feature that lies 50 miles south of the Atsumi Peninsula in central Japan.

Friday, March 15, 2013

Spring Rally Directly Ahead for Gold Stocks / Commodities / Gold and Silver 2013

By: Jordan_Roy_Byrne

Last week in regards to Gold we wrote: We have the majority of sentiment indicators showing more pessimism than in 2008, an explosion in negative news coverage and news that major banks have downgraded their outlooks. Without knowing anything else, you’d expect Gold to be down considerably, yet it’s only off about 5% year to date and 10% in the past three and a half months. Most important, Gold hasn’t even broken support!

Thursday, March 14, 2013

Silver: Will Industrial Uses Increase Significantly / Commodities / Gold and Silver 2013

By: Ian_R_Campbell

I have always thought, and continue to think, that silver is a more difficult precious metal to 'figure out' than is gold. This is because:

Thursday, March 14, 2013

Gold "Facing Competition from Stock Market" for Investment Dollars / Commodities / Gold and Silver 2013

By: Ben_Traynor

GOLD dropped below $1580 per ounce Thursday morning, while gold in Sterling and Euros fell back below £1060 and €1225 an ounce respectively, extending losses from a day earlier that following stronger-than-expected US retail sales data.

Like gold, silver drifted lower this morning, dipping below $28.60 an ounce, while other commodities were broadly flat and European stock markets ticked higher.

Thursday, March 14, 2013

The Cold Hard Truth About Solar Energy / Commodities / Solar Energy

By: Money_Morning

Dr. Kent Moors writes: Not long ago, I wrote about the German drive to replace nuclear energy with solar and wind power.

At the time, Berlin was touting this overture as the "next great push" into a new energy age.

Turns out, plans haven't gone as expected.

Thursday, March 14, 2013

How Not To Make Gold Money / Commodities / Gold and Silver 2013

By: Jeff_Berwick

Ed Bugos writes: Can gold be the money of the free market if the violent monopoly of government gets behind the effort? This utterly wrong notion is what Ralph Benko seems to be suggesting in his recent article on NationalInterest.org titled "How to Go Gold".

Basically Benko sees a return to gold through world government initiative and collaboration, starting with the US president. He appears to cite evidence that this is underway, starting with the central bank's buying of gold. Then Benko concludes by citing Lewis Lehrman's 5 steps back to a "classical" gold standard:

Thursday, March 14, 2013

From 401k to Retirement Gold / Commodities / Gold and Silver 2013

By: Adrian_Ash

Miguel Perez-Santalla writes: Just how do you go about putting physical precious metals into your retirement account...?

So I have just left a company where I had accumulated a nice amount of retirement funds in my 401K plan.

Like most people, for me a nice amount is any money that somehow hasn't gone to pay for college tuition. So I found myself for the first time in a long time needing to consider what to do with a small chunk of change.

Thursday, March 14, 2013

Will We See a Silver Price Breakout in 2013? / Commodities / Gold and Silver 2013

By: The_Gold_Report

Silver has been trading sideways so far in 2013, but what will the rest of the year bring? Will 2013 be the year silver prices break out or crash and burn? What is a sustainable silver price for mining companies and where will the metal come from to supply the next generation of industrial and investment demand? Most important, how can investors make money off this volatile sector? These were the burning questions The Gold Report took to analysts, money managers and heads of silver mining companies. The answers may surprise you.

Wednesday, March 13, 2013

How Rockefeller Parlayed Pipelines into Billions / Commodities / Oil Companies

By: Casey_Research

For at least two thousand years, the Chinese of Sichuan, in south-central China, have dug or drilled holes to tap a briny aquifer, the trapped remains of an ancient inland sea. They boiled down the brine to make crystals of sodium chloride – salt – a food preservative and seasoning so critical in the days before refrigeration that whole civilizations flourished or waned based on its commerce.

The story goes that one day a lightning bolt struck one of the wells, sending a pillar of fire tens of meters into the air. Excited locals named the phenomenon "Wells of Fire." They didn't yet realize it, but they had discovered that natural gas is often associated with salt resources.

Wednesday, March 13, 2013

Don’t Believe the Chart: Gold Still Looks Promising / Commodities / Gold and Silver 2013

By: InvestmentContrarian

George Leong writes: While I do like gold, I’m somewhat perplexed over the metal’s near-term stock chart. The chart shows indecision and indicates a potential downside break at $1,550, with gold potentially falling out of its current sideways channel.

And it also appears that the professional money has mixed feelings about gold. Famed investor George Soros cut his gold holdings, but Paulson & Co. made no changes. (Source: Rooney, B., “Soros dumps gold as prices sink,” CNN, February 16, 2013, last accessed March 12, 2013.)

Wednesday, March 13, 2013

Gold Being Strongly Influenced by Technicals / Commodities / Gold and Silver 2013

By: Ben_Traynor

U.S.DOLLAR gold prices ticked higher to $1597 per ounce Wednesday morning, holding gains from a day earlier, as the Dollar fell against the Euro despite warnings from a prominent Eurozone policymaker that the crisis in the region is not over.

Gold in Euros rose to its highest level this month at €1229 an ounce, in contrast with gold in Sterling, which failed to move back above £1070 an ounce as the Pound recovered some ground against the Dollar after hitting a fresh two-and-a-half-year low yesterday.

Wednesday, March 13, 2013

It's Time to "Pull the Trigger" on Gun Stocks / Commodities / Gold and Silver Stocks 2013

By: Money_Morning

Don Miller writes: U.S. gun sales are at an all-time high. Ammo is flying off store shelves as well.

And that bodes well for companies in the firearms industry, putting the three mentioned below on many investors' "stocks to buy" list.

Fact is, demand for guns and ammo over the past few months is breaking all records. Just take a look at statistics compiled by the FBI's National Instant Criminal Background Check System (NICS).

Tuesday, March 12, 2013

Oil Explorers Beware: Hackers Are Eyeing What You Know / Commodities / Oil Companies

By: OilPrice_Com

While most would think that the risks junior oil and gas companies are taking in exploring new frontiers as far away as the remote reaches of Africa are related to government instability and conflict, another risk they face is right at home and lies right beyond their network firewalls.

Tuesday, March 12, 2013

Gold Breaches $1590 after Weidmann Says "Eurozone Crisis Not Over / Commodities / Gold and Silver 2013

By: Ben_Traynor

AFTER trading sideways for several sessions, gold bullion jumped above $1590 an ounce for the first time this month Tuesday morning in London, in what analysts called a "technical" move after gold broke through a key level following remarks from Bundesbank president Jens Weidmann.

"We see support at the bottom of the sideways range at $1561 and resistance at the top at $1586," said yesterday's technical analysis note from Scotiabank.

Tuesday, March 12, 2013

Don't Ignore This Bullish Trend in Gold / Commodities / Gold and Silver 2013

By: Money_Morning

Jeff Uscher writes: Gold prices have been languishing in recent weeks as investors have been drawn into riskier assets such as equities.

New highs in major world stock indices including the Dow Jones Industrials and the Nikkei 225 have investors looking for higher returns.

Tuesday, March 12, 2013

A Beginner's Guide to Buying Physical Silver / Commodities / Gold and Silver 2013

By: Money_Morning

William Patalon III writes: We get deluged with questions here at Private Briefing. And it's no surprise to me that the bulk of them are excellent queries. We answer them in different ways ... some by writing back to the subscriber ... and some as secondary topics in the daily column.

Many of your questions - like the dozens of requests we recently received about graphene - lead to actual recommendations or even special reports. Other queries will form the basis of "roundup-style" Q&As with our band of experts.