Analysis Topic: Commodity Markets - Metals, Softs & Oils

The analysis published under this topic are as follows.

Thursday, December 06, 2012

Why did Central Banks Stop Selling Gold? / Commodities / Gold and Silver 2012

By: Julian_DW_Phillips

In 2009 the signatories of the Central Bank gold Agreement effectively stopped selling gold. This was just after signing the third Central Bank Gold Agreement which lasts until September 26th 2014. Why?

In 1999, the first of such agreements was signed by the U.K. and was called the Washington Agreement. It received the tacit blessing of the U.S.A. and Japan. This was followed by the signing of the Central Bank Gold Agreement, which ran from 27th September 2004 to the 26th September 2009. Ostensibly to accommodate the I.M.F.'s sale of 403 tonnes of gold on their own books, a third Central Bank Gold Agreement was signed to run from the 27th September 2009 to the 26th September 2014. Apart from the up-to 7 tonnes year of gold sales by Germany's central bank for the minting of gold coins, there have been virtually no sales of gold from the original signatories of their gold. In fact the previously announced sales (going back to the turn of the century) have not been fulfilled completely, even now. Once the I.M.F. completed their sales of gold, the absence of the developed world's central banks from the sale side of gold spoke volumes! How?

Thursday, December 06, 2012

Gold: The Hidden Dangers? / Commodities / Gold and Silver 2012

By: MarketShadows

Courtesy of Dr. Paul Price : Extensive money printing (QE programs) have had many traders stocking up on Gold via ETFs, ETNs, physical coins & bars and through shares of precious metal mining companies. This urge to own hard assets in a soft money environment makes sense on an intuitive basis.

Thursday, December 06, 2012

Investors Ditching Before the Fiscal Cliff / Commodities / Gold and Silver 2012

By: Peter_Schiff

Turn on the TV and this is what you'll hear: The US budget is heading for a fiscal cliff. If a deal isn't reaching in Congress by the end of this year, a combination of automatic tax hikes and budget cuts will sink America into economic depression. There is no escape.

Thursday, December 06, 2012

How Will I Know When To Sell My Gold? / Commodities / Gold and Silver 2013

By: DeviantInvestor

NEVER sell your gold because you want to hold it for the rest of your life and pass it on to your grandchildren.

Or

Sell your gold NOW (big mistake – my opinion) if you believe that gold is in a bubble or never should have been bought (as per “gold-bashers” Warren Buffett and Charlie Munger).

Thursday, December 06, 2012

"Mystery Gold Seller" Spied in Asia / Commodities / Gold and Silver 2012

By: Adrian_Ash

The GOLD PRICE traded in a narrow range around $1691 per ounce Thursday morning in London, rising slightly from yesterday's 1-month low.

Asian and European stock markets also ticked higher, as did US Treasury bonds.

Silver rallied to $32.78 per ounce after losing nearly 3% this week so far, but commodities more broadly slipped again.

Thursday, December 06, 2012

Gold Set to Return to Run of Records in 2013 / Commodities / Gold and Silver 2013

By: GoldCore

Today’s AM fix was USD 1,693.00, EUR 1,295.14, and GBP 1,050.77 per ounce.
Yesterday’s AM fix was USD 1,703.00, EUR 1,300.79, and GBP 1,057.90 per ounce.

Silver is trading at $32.73/oz, €25.15/oz and £20.40/oz. Platinum is trading at $1,586.00/oz, palladium at $680.00/oz and rhodium at $1,045/oz.

Wednesday, December 05, 2012

Pent-Up Potential for Gold and Silver in 2013 / Commodities / Gold and Silver 2013

By: The_Gold_Report

Debt, not the fiscal cliff, is what concerns Jason Hamlin, publisher of the Gold Stock Bull newsletter, and if his prediction of a split in the EU comes to pass, it will bolster the case for gold equities. He shares his preference for royalty streamers and prospect generators in the gold space and explains his attraction to graphite in this Gold Report interview.

TGR: Jason, you recently told your Gold Stock Bull readers that you had sold some equities. What were your reasons for selling?

Wednesday, December 05, 2012

Gold Should Be Nearing A Major Bottom / Commodities / Gold and Silver 2012

By: David_Banister

The recent rally in Gold took the metal from the 1620’s to roughly 1800 per ounce before the ensuing corrective action began. Back around October 20th we warned our readers about a likely “ wave 2” correction in Gold and we had several reasons for that warnings. One of the biggest concerns we had was that the sentiment surveys were running very hot at the time. The percentage of professional advisors polled that were bullish on GOLD was 88%, with 7% neutral and only 7% bearish. Elliott Wave Theory is the foundation of our work, though we are sure to mix in other clues and elements to “fact check” our reads. When you see sentiment readings that high, coupled with a $180 rally leading up to those readings, you can begin to look for clues of a top.

Wednesday, December 05, 2012

Is a Global Gold Supply Crunch Forming? / Commodities / Gold and Silver 2012

By: Jeff_Clark

A number of market analysts and gold-industry insiders are warning about a possible shortage of gold supply. Barrick CEO Jamie Sokalsky recently stated that since gold production is inelastic (i.e., insensitive to price changes) there will be a very limited increase in supply from gold producers, even during sharp increases in the gold price. Rick Rule, a billionaire and avid gold investor, pointed out that while we're seeing spectacular demand, a number of issues will make supply very tight in the future, especially among retailers.

Wednesday, December 05, 2012

Why Gold Will Be the Super Commodity / Commodities / Gold and Silver 2012

By: InvestmentContrarian

George Leong writes: I’m tired of reading and talking about the so-called “fiscal cliff,” but it could spell dire consequences for the economy if it is allowed to go through (and even if not). The reality is that America needs to stop printing money with no regard for the massive national debt load. Allowing the debt to continue to rise will punish the country’s future generations.

Wednesday, December 05, 2012

Are the Russians on the Verge of a Major Arctic Oil Coup? / Commodities / Crude Oil

By: Money_Morning

Dr. Kent Moors writes: As I move into the main meetings here in Moscow, something unexpected has joined the conversations on oil prices, European pipeline prospects, liquefied natural gas (LNG) trading scenarios, and the prospects of unconventional shale.

That something is venture capital funding.

The Kremlin has developed several venture capital funds with potential state-supported investments amounting to at least $12 billion.

Wednesday, December 05, 2012

Gold Is A Physical Safe Asset Says Central Bank of Korea / Commodities / Gold and Silver 2012

By: GoldCore

Today’s AM fix was USD 1,703.00, EUR 1,300.79, and GBP 1,057.90 per ounce.
Yesterday’s AM fix was USD 1,706.75, EUR 1,305.35, and GBP 1,058.65 per ounce.

Silver is trading at $33.15/oz, €25.46/oz and £20.67/oz. Platinum is trading at $1,597.00/oz, palladium at $681.00/oz and rhodium at $1,075/oz.

Wednesday, December 05, 2012

Weakness in Gold "Being Caused by Futures Market" / Commodities / Gold and Silver 2012

By: Ben_Traynor

THE WHOLESALE MARKET gold price traded just above $1700 an ounce during Wednesday morning in London, having risen back above that level in the earlier Asian session, though they remained near one-month lows.

Silver hovered just above $33 an ounce this morning, down 1.3% on the week, while stocks and commodities edged higher.

Wednesday, December 05, 2012

Jumpstarting The Flight From Oil: Gas To Liquids / Commodities / Natural Gas

By: Andrew_McKillop

GAS - GAS - GAS
The world was supposed to be at the brink of the "Gas Cliff" as recently as 2006. Writers working that doomster theme, such as Julien Darley and Michael Ruppert, even Naom Chomsky roared that conventional natural gas resources were depleting fast, especially in the US, and gas prices could only explode. Aided by events such as hurricane Katrina and by excited Nymex traders, US gas futures were able to top $15 per million BTU several times in 2005 and 2006. Today in early December 2012 Nymex gas futures struggle to beat $3.75 per million BTU.

Tuesday, December 04, 2012

Central Banks Hedge Their Bets With Gold / Commodities / Gold and Silver 2013

By: John_Browne

Gold appears to be headed for an impressive price appreciation for the second half of 2012. Since the beginning of July, gold is up almost 10 over the same time frame. What is noteworthy here is that in recent months, fears of a worldwide recession have increased markedly. It used to be considered axiomatic that recession created adverse conditions for commodities (a reality that has helped push down the price of crude oil thus far in 2012). How then can we understand the movement in gold?

Tuesday, December 04, 2012

What Happens to Gold If the U.S. Dollar Collapses? / Commodities / Gold and Silver 2012

By: P_Radomski_CFA

Today’s essay is the first one in our two-part commentary on U.S. debt and the dollar collapse.

On numerous occasions we have gone back in our commentaries to the year 1971 and U.S. President Richard Nixon’s decision to cut off the ties between the greenback and gold. Today, we revisit the topic once more and check what kind of implications it has for the price of the yellow metal.

Tuesday, December 04, 2012

Weakness in Gold Price "Non-Sustainable", Central Banks "Happy to Buy on Dips" / Commodities / Gold and Silver 2012

By: Ben_Traynor

SPOT MARKET prices to buy gold rose back above $1705 an ounce during Tuesday morning's London session, though it remained below where it started the week following falls overnight, while stock markets also edged higher along with the Euro after European leaders welcomed progress on Greece's debt buyback program.

Tuesday, December 04, 2012

Buffett’s Gen Re Sees “Tendency To Higher Gold Prices” / Commodities / Gold and Silver 2012

By: GoldCore

Today’s AM fix was USD 1,706.75, EUR 1,305.35, and GBP 1,058.65 per ounce.
Yesterday’s AM fix was USD 1,718.00, EUR 1,317.59, and GBP 1,069.67 per ounce.

Silver is trading at $33.55/oz, €25.60/oz and £20.77/oz. Platinum is trading at $1,598.50/oz, palladium at $685.10/oz and rhodium at $1,075/oz.

Tuesday, December 04, 2012

More Signs of Silver Bullion Shortage / Commodities / Gold and Silver 2012

By: GoldSilverWorlds

“This is the definition of a silver shortage – nothing to do with the physical amount of the substance being in deficit, but people’s psychological intention not to sell. The extent to which a shortage is developing is witnessed by the extent of backwardation.”

Monday, December 03, 2012

The Significant Impact of U.S. Crude Oil Production / Commodities / Crude Oil

By: Frank_Holmes

The Eagle Ford shale formation lies south of our headquarters in San Antonio, Texas, giving the U.S. Global investment team a firsthand, tacit perspective on the oil and gas industry's growing natural resources phenomenon. We've witnessed how the oil activity is boosting the local economy with solid-paying jobs, a healthy housing market and strong consumer sentiment, as oil giants such as Schlumberger and Halliburton take a bigger stake in the area.