Analysis Topic: Commodity Markets - Metals, Softs & Oils

The analysis published under this topic are as follows.

Thursday, November 15, 2012

Gold and The Cold War / Commodities / Gold and Silver 2012

By: Darryl_R_Schoon

There are now two great nations in the world, which starting from different points, seem to be advancing toward the same goal: the Russians and the Anglo-Americans... Each seems called by some secret design of Providence one day to hold in its hands the destinies of half the world.

           Democracy in America, Alexis de Toqueville, 1835

Thursday, November 15, 2012

Gold Bullion Up, Gold Stocks Get Pummeled / Commodities / Gold and Silver 2012

By: Bob_Kirtley

It’s been another one of those odd ball trading sessions where gold prices managed to finish the day up $2.50 to close at $1727.40/oz, but the gold mining stocks, as evidenced by The AMEX Gold BUGS (Basket of Unhedged Gold Stocks) Index, known as the HUI, fell 21.55 points to 447.96 or a staggering 4.59%.

Thursday, November 15, 2012

What Gold's Relative Strength Means / Commodities / Gold and Silver 2012

By: Jordan_Roy_Byrne

Longtime readers of our editorials know that we are big fans of intermarket analysis as well as ardent believers in the real price of gold (real POG) or relative Gold. No this has nothing to do with the paper market versus the physical market. The real POG is essentially the POG relative to other assets and markets. There are two reasons why we track this. First, Gold priced against the other currencies (specifically the Euro) has been a leading indicator for Gold in US$ terms. Second, Gold's performance against commodities (in general) is a leading indicator for margins of the miners. We discussed this a few weeks ago. Over the weekend, I reviewed Gold's performance in relative terms and it seems to have reasserted its uptrend.

Wednesday, November 14, 2012

How to Speculate in Gold and Silver Stocks Without Gambler's Ruin / Commodities / Gold & Silver Stocks

By: The_Gold_Report

Rodney Stevens, portfolio manager at Wolverton Securities, believes investors speculating in precious metals must be disciplined to avoid gambler's ruin. While "disciplined speculation" may seem like a contradiction, it is key to Stevens' approach. Through both technical analysis and fundamental analysis, and a careful read of intermediate trends, Stevens has developed a concentrated portfolio of precious metal companies held both long and short. In this Gold Report interview, he shares where the sweet spot in the mining space is and advises how to limit portfolio risk.

Wednesday, November 14, 2012

Gold Price Continues to Consolidate / Commodities / Gold and Silver 2012

By: Ben_Traynor

U.S. DOLLAR gold prices drifted lower to $1722 an ounce this morning in London, slightly down from last week's close, while stock markets also fell along with US Treasury bonds as US policymakers continue to discuss how to deal with the so-called fiscal cliff.

"Gold is consolidating last week's strong up leg from $1673 to $1739," says the latest technical analysis from bullion dealer Scotiabank.

Wednesday, November 14, 2012

China Gold Reserves Too Small to Ensure National Economic and Financial Safety / Commodities / Gold and Silver 2012

By: GoldCore

Today’s AM fix was USD 1,724.50, EUR 1,353.08, and GBP 1,085.21 per ounce.
Yesterday’s AM fix was USD 1,724.75, EUR 1,360.86, and GBP 1,091.39 per ounce.

Silver is trading at $32.47/oz, €25.60/oz and £20.54/oz. Platinum is trading at $1,585.00/oz, palladium at $637.00/oz and rhodium at $1,150/oz.

Wednesday, November 14, 2012

America's Rocky Path towards Energy Independence / Commodities / Energy Resources

By: Money_Morning

Dr. Kent Moors writes: You might have seen yesterday's headline in the Wall Street Journal: "U.S. Redraws World Oil Map."

As the article explains, U.S. oil production is now on pace to surpass Saudi Arabia by 2020. This would make the United States world's largest oil producer. We're already the second-largest natural gas producer, according to 2010 EIA estimates.

Wednesday, November 14, 2012

Gold and Silver Coiling For a Major Move - The Next Disaster / Commodities / Gold and Silver 2012

By: Jesse

In discussing the government's lack of reaction in reforming the high frequency trading developments in the market, the CFTC's Bart Chilton remarks in the video below about the unfortunate tendency of regulators not to act until something unfortunate happens as being a:

Wednesday, November 14, 2012

Why Copper Is a Critical Metal / Commodities / Copper

By: Critical_Metals_Repo

Copper is often referred to as "Dr. Copper," the metal with a Ph.D. in economics. Yet most analysts don't view it as a critical metal. In this interview with The Critical Metals Report, Mickey Fulp, author of The Mercenary Geologist, gives his thoughts on why the experts are wrong and why copper should be considered a critical metal.

The Critical Metals Report: In the past, there has been some confusion about the term "critical metals." What do you consider to be critical metals and why?

Tuesday, November 13, 2012

Gold Bullion vs. Gold Stocks – Which is the Better Investment? / Commodities / Gold and Silver 2012

By: Jason_Hamlin

You have probably read in multiple articles that mining stocks offer leverage to the movement of the underlying metal. But this hasn’t been the case over the past several years, which has created some confusion in the precious metals investment community. While the gold price has more than doubled (+110%) in the past five years, the AMEX Gold Bugs Index (HUI) is up only 15% and the Market Vectors Gold Miners ETF (GDX) is up only 7%.

Tuesday, November 13, 2012

Silver Price Set to Soar by 400% in 3 Years / Commodities / Gold and Silver 2012

By: GoldCore

Today’s AM fix was USD 1,724.75, EUR 1,360.86, and GBP 1,085.23 per ounce.  Yesterday’s AM fix was USD 1,735.75, EUR 1,365.44, and GBP 1,091.39 per ounce.

Silver is trading at $32.63/oz, €25.76/oz and £20.61/oz.  Platinum is trading at $1,591.00/oz, palladium at $614.50/oz and rhodium at $1,085/oz.

Tuesday, November 13, 2012

Gold vs Other Real Assets / Commodities / Gold and Silver 2012

By: Adam_Wadman

Gold has long been seen as “real money.  It is seen as a stable store of value, and today, it is seen a “must have” alternative investment for any diversified portfolio.   Indeed, gold’s popularity is demonstrated by the fact that the SPDR Gold Trust (GLD) has already gathered approximately US$75 billion of assets.

Tuesday, November 13, 2012

The Age of Entitlement and Need to Own Gold / Commodities / Gold and Silver 2012

By: Bob_Kirtley

“Cassius suggests that the people get the government they deserve”.

This can be a good thing, if (and it’s a big “if”) the people do their homework and vote based on facts, not on rumor or innuendo - Shakespeare in Julius Caesar

Tuesday, November 13, 2012

Central Bank Insurance and Agricultural Gold Alchemy / Commodities / Farm Land

By: John_Mauldin

“Without that sense of security which property gives, the land would still be uncultivated.” – Francois Quesnay

“There were at least one million people marching in the streets,” said Alejandro.

“No,” said Juan, “it was not anywhere close to that number. I don’t think there were more than 600,000.”

When I had driven past the center of town earlier that afternoon, around five, there were only a few thousand. “Where’s the rest of the demonstration?” I asked.

Monday, November 12, 2012

Goodbye Biofuels! / Commodities / Bio-Fuels

By: Andrew_McKillop

To be sure, there are biofuels and biofuels. Some, called second-generation non-crop biofuels have "good long-term outlooks", but others are clearly uneconomic and a recipe for bankruptcy for any unwary producer and investor. The first major point is the volume output of "present generation" biofuels makes them a side issue for world energy, for the simple and basic reason they are uneconomic. We can start with the big numbers - for production of "present generation" bioethanol fuels able to subsitute gasoline - dominated by the US and Brazil, noting that world biodiesel production (from vegetable oils and animal fats) is far behind the total for bioethanol.

Monday, November 12, 2012

Gold Importers Digesting Higher Prices with Sentiment Driven by Fiscal Cliff / Commodities / Gold and Silver 2012

By: Ben_Traynor

SPOT MARKET gold prices hovered just below $1738 an ounce Monday morning in London, close to three-week highs, while stocks and commodities were broadly flat and the Euro traded near two-month lows against the Dollar, as the US and Greece both contemplated upcoming fiscal difficulties.

Monday, November 12, 2012

Crude Oil Price Drop Offers Investors a Discount Opportunity / Commodities / Crude Oil

By: Money_Morning

Dr. Kent Moors writes: Markets declined significantly in the wake of last Tuesday's Presidential election. In the two days that followed the S&P shed almost 3.6%.

But now the energy sector in general - and oil in particular - is poised for a major move up.

Monday, November 12, 2012

Where Now for China's Gold Market? / Commodities / Gold and Silver 2012

By: Adrian_Ash

The latest from the London Bullion Market Association conference in Hong Kong...

THE ANNUAL conference of the London Bullion Market Association – the "premier professional forum for the world's bullion market" as Haywood Cheung of the 100-year old Chinese Gold & Silver Exchange put it this morning – is taking place right now in Hong Kong.

Monday, November 12, 2012

Silver Remains Stuck in a Trading Range / Commodities / Gold and Silver 2012

By: Clive_Maund

We exited our short positions in silver for a modest but useful profit when it broke out of its downtrend towards the end of October. It then broke sharply lower on heavy turnover in a move that looks capitulative, but afterwards turned and rose quite sharply over the past week. So the question now is “has it bottomed?” Although the answer to this question is “Yes, it looks like it has”, it also looks like it may back and fill for a little while to complete a base pattern before a sustained advance can get underway. The latest silver COT continues to give grounds for caution and warns that the current turn may be the B-wave trap of a 3-wave A-B-C correction. We are aware of this danger and place stops accordingly to protect us from it.

Monday, November 12, 2012

Weekly Gold Chart Has A Lot To Reveal. Market Activity Rules! / Commodities / Gold and Silver 2012

By: Submissions

Michael Noonan writes: Our sole basis for understanding what little we may know of the market comes directly
from the most reliable source, the market itself. The basis for any market derives from the forces of supply and demand. In futures, battles and results from those two opposing dynamics are to be found in price, volume, and time. Our contention is that the markets have their own degree of logic, and patience in reading charts can be very revealing, ultimately rewarding.