Analysis Topic: Commodity Markets - Metals, Softs & Oils
The analysis published under this topic are as follows.Tuesday, November 13, 2012
The Age of Entitlement and Need to Own Gold / Commodities / Gold and Silver 2012
“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
“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.
Read full article... Read full article...
Monday, November 12, 2012
Goodbye Biofuels! / Commodities / Bio-Fuels
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.
Read full article... Read full article...
Monday, November 12, 2012
Gold Importers Digesting Higher Prices with Sentiment Driven by Fiscal Cliff / Commodities / Gold and Silver 2012
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.
Read full article... Read full article...
Monday, November 12, 2012
Crude Oil Price Drop Offers Investors a Discount Opportunity / Commodities / Crude Oil
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.
Read full article... Read full article...
Monday, November 12, 2012
Where Now for China's Gold Market? / Commodities / Gold and Silver 2012
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.
Read full article... Read full article...
Monday, November 12, 2012
Silver Remains Stuck in a Trading Range / Commodities / Gold and Silver 2012
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.
Read full article... Read full article...
Monday, November 12, 2012
Weekly Gold Chart Has A Lot To Reveal. Market Activity Rules! / Commodities / Gold and Silver 2012
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.
Sunday, November 11, 2012
Most Gold Miners are Sacrificing Profits for Growth / Commodities / Gold & Silver Stocks
Matt Badiali writes: Hardcore gold and gold-stock investors are a unique breed.
They are not like "normal" investors. Most hardcore gold investors see gold (and often silver) as the only real form of money. They expect it to soar when the world falls apart. They fall in love with gold... more so than an investor likes his shares of Google or Microsoft. So when gold and gold stocks fail to live up to bullish expectations, the level of disappointment is very high.
Sunday, November 11, 2012
Gold Cycles Bulllish Gold Price Forecast 2013 / Commodities / Gold and Silver 2013
Financial Tap writes: Gold is off to a flying start in this new Daily Cycle and it’s exactly what we expected and hoped for. If this is the first Daily Cycle, then we should see a consistent and grinding move higher from this point forward. The first Cycle has a habit of relentlessly grinding higher, much to the chagrin of investors who continue to wait for a pullback to buy into this new rally. Investors who missed the ICL will often look at the final ICL price compared to the quick $50 rally of a new cycle and find it difficult to buy. As the Cycle gathers momentum, a sense of panic buying begins to unfold.
Read full article... Read full article...
Sunday, November 11, 2012
War On Coal And Coal's Game Changer / Commodities / Gold and Silver 2012
Murray Energy Corp. and all other US coal producers have been forced to shut mines and fire thousands of workers in 2012 as they cut their output by tens of millions of tons every quarter, in the face of weaker demand and ever-lower prices. Coal used in the US for power stations which are increasingly moving to burning natural gas has reduced US total coal demand by more than 20% in one year. If this trend continues, and Obama further tightens the screw on coal, India will replace the US as the world's second-biggest coal burner, by 2015 or sooner.
Read full article... Read full article...
Friday, November 09, 2012
Global Copper Production Under Stress / Commodities / Copper
Capital inputs account for about half the total costs in mining production - the average for the economy as a whole is 21 per cent. Obviously many of the costs, once incurred, cannot be recovered by sale or transfer of the fixed assets.
Read full article... Read full article...
Friday, November 09, 2012
The Silver Market Basket Case / Commodities / Gold and Silver 2012
Silver bullion investors often feel as if they have become a basket case. As an investment class, they are increasingly growing weary of the suppressive manipulation that characterizes today’s silver market. To the outside observer, the situation in the silver market could seem even more confusing and grotesque.
Read full article... Read full article...
Friday, November 09, 2012
Gold and Silver Futures: Broken Price Discovery / Commodities / Gold and Silver 2012
Most futures traders have learned to accept or pay cash in exchange for rolling their futures contracts out when delivery approaches. Just about everybody now knows that physical delivery cannot actually happen in the silver market.
Read full article... Read full article...
Friday, November 09, 2012
Gold Headed for Weekly Gain Despite Dollar Strength / Commodities / Gold and Silver 2012
SPOT PRICES in the wholesale gold bullion market traded above $1730 an ounce Friday morning in London, having earlier touched a two-week high, while stocks fell and the Dollar and US Treasury bonds gained, with analysts suggesting weak growth and monetary policy are likely to persist.
Read full article... Read full article...
Friday, November 09, 2012
Gold and Silver Seasonal Year End Rally Underway / Commodities / Gold and Silver 2012
Today’s AM fix was USD 1,732.75, EUR 1,362.23, and GBP 1,085.55 per ounce. Yesterday’s AM fix was USD 1,715.00, EUR 1,347.42, and GBP 1,075.84 per ounce.
Silver is trading at $32.19/oz, €25.42/oz and £20.27/oz. Platinum is trading at $1,560.50/oz, palladium at $613.00/oz and rhodium at $1,100/oz.
Read full article... Read full article...
Friday, November 09, 2012
Silver $100, Yes, But When? / Commodities / Gold and Silver 2013
There are many predictions for the price of silver. Some say it will crash to nearly $20, and others proclaim $100 by the end of 2012. The problem is that some predictions are only wishful thinking, others are obvious disinformation designed to scare investors away from silver, and many are not grounded in hard data and clear analysis. Other analysis is excellent, but both the process and analysis are difficult to understand. Is there an objective and rational method to project a future silver price that will make sense to most people?
Read full article... Read full article...
Friday, November 09, 2012
US Shale Gas Won't Even Last Ten Years! / Commodities / Natural Gas
The shale gas "miracle" is overhyped and bound to disappoint. That's what energy expert Bill Powers argues in his upcoming book. But Powers tells The Energy Report that this could be a very good thing for oil and gas companies and their shareholders, and he is placing his bets accordingly.
Read full article... Read full article...
Friday, November 09, 2012
Gold Mining Stocks High-Stakes Speculator? / Commodities / Gold & Silver Stocks
Louis James, Chief Metals & Mining Investment Strategist : I attended this year's New Orleans Investment Conference along with Doug Casey, Marin Katusa, and Casey Research's CEO, Olivier Garret. It was fun to see many old friends among the attendees and other speakers, but the most interesting thing was an experiment I conducted as part of my speech.
Read full article... Read full article...
Thursday, November 08, 2012
Gold Living Up to Safe Haven Reputation / Commodities / Gold and Silver 2012
SPOT MARKET gold prices hovered just below $1720 an ounce Thursday morning in London – 2.4% up on last week's close – while stocks recovered some ground following losses yesterday, and the Dollar ticked higher, as central banks in the UK and Europe left monetary policy unchanged.
Silver prices hovered close to $32 an ounce – 3.4% up on the week so far – while other commodities edged higher. US Treasury bond prices gained while those for UK and German government debt fell.
Read full article... Read full article...