Analysis Topic: Commodity Markets - Metals, Softs & Oils

The analysis published under this topic are as follows.

Monday, March 18, 2013

Copper New Move Up In The Making? / Commodities / Copper

By: Michael_Noonan

The last time we analyzed copper, we were buying at $3.75, anticipating an upside rally to the $4 area. Next day, we were stopped out with a few cents loss, and price has dropped recently to as low as the $3.47 area. Based on the speed of the decline and the heaviest volume along the way down, copper should drop even further, or so one might think.

Past history on a chart is important, but the most important part of all is the present tense developing market activity because it is the culmination of all previous efforts. We take another look at what the market is saying about where it may be headed.

Sunday, March 17, 2013

GOLD and SILVER Performance since 2001 - The Best Kept Secret In The Financial World / Commodities / Gold and Silver 2013

By: I_M_Vronsky

First let’s consider the outstanding performance of GOLD & SILVER since 2001. The chart below clearly demonstrates  the outrageously formidable appreciation of gold and silver vis-à-vis other asset classes during the past 12 years (to March 13, 2013). Specifically, here are the total increases in value during the period:

Sunday, March 17, 2013

Why Natural Gas Prices Will Continue to Rise / Commodities / Natural Gas

By: Raul_I_Meijer

Dr. Kent Moors writes: Not long ago, the market was laboring under expectations that the NYMEX futures contract for natural gas would remain at around $3 per 1,000 cubic feet (or million BTUs).

The pundits were proclaiming that a surplus of shale gas, over production, and historic storage surpluses translated into long-term discounts in natural gas prices.

Sunday, March 17, 2013

Finally... An Important Low for Gold Stocks / Commodities / Gold and Silver Stocks 2013

By: DailyWealth

Can the gold sector's "toehold" turn into a "foothold"?

For gold-stock traders, this is an important question...

Over the past few months, a big potential trading idea has shaped up. Gold stocks, which are some of the market's most volatile securities, have become extremely oversold. Sentiment toward the sector is terrible... and gold stocks are incredibly cheap relative to the price of gold.

Sunday, March 17, 2013

Where is the Gold and Silver Rally? What is Missing? / Commodities / Gold and Silver 2013

By: Michael_Noonan

So many headlines are saying "$5,000 Gold, or $10,000 Gold; Silver, The Investment of the Decade," etc, etc, etc. Will that happen? A history of failed fiat currencies says yes. When will it happen? That is the question few articles address because they simply have no clue, beyond their sensationalized headlines.

Who can best answer that question? It is not Who, but What, and that comes from the market itself, ever the most reliable source. The answers may not always satisfy, but the market is never wrong. What can be said with certainty is that before gold and silver, [PMs, Precious Metals], can go up, they first have to stop going down.

Saturday, March 16, 2013

How to Fix the Gold Fix / Commodities / Gold and Silver 2013

By: Adrian_Ash

US regulator the CFTC is anxious about the London gold fix. But what is the fix, and why...?

SO IS the London gold fix a fix? US derivatives-market regulators think it might be.

The CFTC is no doubt absolutely within its rights to question the use of certain prices as reference points (aka "marks") in US transactions. Joining the International Roundtable on Financial Benchmarks three weeks ago, its commissioner Bart Chilton said he also thought many other markets might deserve attention, too. But quite what a Washington commission overseeing the US futures markets might achieve – or hope to – as regards the London Fixings as a process, however, we can't imagine.

Saturday, March 16, 2013

Will Gold Be Dragged Lower by Stocks and Currencies? / Commodities / Gold and Silver 2013

By: P_Radomski_CFA

Recent developments on the currency market may worry some gold and silver investors, as dollar refused to move lower at the cyclical turning point, an issue which we touched upon in our last essay, and euro seems to have broken below its medium-term rising support line. This is so because we're used to strong negative correlation between these precious metals and the USD and the abovementioned situation seemingly suggests a bullish outlook for the U.S. currency (further supported by a negative one for euro). And this is why we invite you to read today's essay portion, as it reveals some interesting facts that shed new light on the outlook for the currency market and its link with precious metals. We'll start with USD's long-term chart (charts courtesy by http://stockcharts.com.)

Friday, March 15, 2013

Gold Stocks Incredibly Cheap, Whilst General Stock Market Making Hyper Top / Commodities / Gold and Silver Stocks 2013

By: Zeal_LLC

Gold miners have to be the most hated sector in the markets these days.  At best they’ve been forgotten as the hyper-complacent general stock markets continue to inexplicably levitate.  At worst they’re utterly despised.  But the breathtaking bearishness choking them has left gold stocks incredibly cheap relative to their profits.  This is a dream come true for battle-hardened contrarians who really want to buy low.

Valuations are the fundamental heart of stock investing, ultimately driving the vast majority of long-term performance.  Investors buy stocks because they want stakes in companies’ future profits streams.  The less they pay for each dollar of future profits, the better their ultimate returns.  Valuations measure how much profits cost today.  The price of future profits is also a direct function of prevailing stock prices.

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.