2/14/2024

The Myth of the Unchanging Value of Gold (Mises)
“They use gold as a measuring rod to keep the value of money stable. Why? Because the yellow metal keeps its intrinsic value better than anything on the planet.”

Gold slides below $2,000/oz for first time in two months after US inflation data (Reuters)
Traders bet Fed will not cut rates until June

Tokenization of Gold (Rooba.Finance)
Blockchain technology emerges as a game-changer, simplifying processes, reducing formalities, and ensuring the secure recording of investment data.

2/13/2024

Gold Monthly: Assessing Fed policy and geopolitical risks (ING)
Gold has been trading in a narrow range so far this year amid a lack of clarity surrounding the timing of the US Federal Reserve’s monetary policy easing cycle.

Year of the Dragon: ‘dragon baby’ frenzy to drive up gold jewellery sales by 30%, gold prices to hit record highs, industry players say (SCMP)
“Gold jewellery sales are expected to increase by at least 30 per cent in the Year of the Dragon because of the “dragon baby” rush and gold prices are expected to hit record highs”

Silver Set To Rise To $30 This Year, But Where Is Momentum? (Investing Haven)
A recent research on the physical silver market revealed a growing supply deficit, suggesting a silver price of $30 in 2024.

2/12/2024

Asia Gold India flips to premium, Lunar New Year sparks buying in other hubs (Reuters)
China premiums at $36-$48/oz range this week

BRICS: 159 Countries Eyeing Russia’s New Payment System (Watcher Guru)
“Russia has a System for Transmitting Financial Messages (SPFS), which is an alternative to SWIFT. Similar infrastructure exists in some other countries. We are holding discussions on the interaction of such platforms, but here the interest and technical readiness of our partners are important”

Tech companies axe 34,000 jobs since start of year in pivot to AI (FT)
Microsoft, eBay and PayPal have each cut thousands of jobs since the start of the year

2/092024

Digging into the Future: The Role of Precious Metals and Sustainable Industry Practices (NASDAQ)
Nornickel has engineered a prototype that has created quite a buzz: It’s a catalyst – a substance that can speed up chemical reactions without getting used up. The catalyst is based on palladium.

Palladium price drops below platinum for the first time since 2018 (Reuters)
Palladium demand hugely driven by the auto sector. Auto industry has been replacing palladium with cheaper platinum.

Perth Mint’s gold sales hit nearly four-year low in January, silver sales up (NASDAQ)
Sales of silver products last month stood at 769,326 ounces, their highest level since October 2023, but were still down 38% year-on-year.

2/08/2024

Treasury secretary won’t say whether dept surveils Americans’ purchases: ‘Concerning’ (National Desk)
“Increasingly, we are hearing the federal government is suggesting banks search private financial transactions using highly partisan political terms or check to see if customers made purchases that could be associated with legal sales of firearms or even religious texts,” Rep. Wagner remarked.

Gold sales boom before Spring Festival despite price hike (China Daily)
In the Xi’an Tumen branch of China Minsheng Bank, sales of gold bars increased by 50 percent in January 2024 compared with the monthly average of the second half of 2023.

MAS third-largest buyer of gold globally in 2023 (CNA)
Singapore’s central bank is the third-largest buyer of gold globally last year, adding more than 77 tonnes of the yellow metal to its reserves.

2/07/2024

Silver set for a ‘terrific year’ and could outperform gold to hit a 10-year high (CNBC)
Global silver demand is forecast to reach 1.2 billion ounces in 2024, which would mark the second-highest level on record…

Gold and silver turn defensive on reduced Fed rate-cut optimism (Saxo)
During the past week, the short-term rates market has gone from pricing in more than six 25 basis points US rate cuts this year to less than five.

Correlation Breakdown x 3 in Gold (Bullion Vault)
Over the 20 years to 2023, gold prices rose in 14 Januarys

2/06/2024

Gold still set for all-time highs once this ‘tailwind’ kicks in, analysts say (Market Watch)
Yellow metal pulls back to one-week low as dollar strengthens

13 Reasons Why A Recession Is (Still) Around The Corner (Forbes)
“There’s no way you could read that Beige Book and not come to the conclusion that the economy isn’t already starting a recession”

Chinese investors buy gold as property and stock markets fall (FT)
‘Blistering’ demand from central banks also helps keep yellow metal above $2,000 per troy ounce

2/05/2024

Gold prices to hit $2,200 and a ‘dramatic’ outperformance awaits silver in 2024, says UBS (CNBC)
As interest rates dip, gold becomes more appealing compared to alternative investments like bonds.

A truly disruptive idea’: should we keep gold in the ground? (The Guardian)
There is enough gold in circulation today that we could stop targeted industrial gold mining and it would not affect the supply we need for its practical applications.

FBI warns of in-person precious metals scam (WTXL Tallahassee)
The scammers reportedly pose as U.S. government officials or tech support, claiming a person’s account has been hacked.

2/02/2024

2024 Precious Metals Forecast Survey (LBMA)
Analysts reveal their insights behind their forecasts for highs, lows, and average prices for gold, silver, platinum and palladium.

Gold Outlook to Q4 2024: From one high to the next (Wisdomtree)
Looking at economists’ median expectations for 2024, the first rate cuts are likely to be delivered in Q2 2024 and we could see a total of 100 bps reduction by the year end

China gold purchases soar 30% on economic anxiety (Nikkei)
The People’s Bank of China’s 2023 net purchases totaled 225 tonnes, the highest since 1977..

2/01/2024

Gold: Can the UAE outshine Switzerland? (Swiss Info)
While Switzerland offers a well-established financial system and an orderly, regulated market, the UAE provides a dynamic and forward-looking environment with a strong emphasis on innovation

Metals Sanctions Are Dividing the Biggest Traders and Banks (Bloomberg)
Russian aluminum now accounts for more than 90% of the live metal inventories for LME

Pundi X and Scoin Collaborate to Integrate Pax Gold (PAXG) from Paxos on XPOS, Facilitating Seamless Purchasing and Transition Between Physical and Digital Gold in the South African market (EQS News)
Users now have the unprecedented ability to effortlessly transition between the digital representation of gold and tangible gold coins on the XPOS platform

1/31/2024

World’s biggest jeweller Pandora stops using mined silver and gold (NASDAQ)
Using recycled, instead of newly mined, metals cuts Pandora’s indirect CO2 emissions by around 58,000 tonnes annually

GLOBAL SILVER DEMAND FORECASTED TO RISE TO 1.2 BILLION OUNCES IN 2024 (Silver Institute)
Global silver demand is expected to rise 1 percent, pushed higher by the continued strength of industrial end-uses and a recovery in jewelry and silverware demand.

Which commodities will see the greatest price increases in 2024? (Mining Technology)
A GlobalData poll found that gold, lithium, and copper are among the commodities set to see the greatest price increases in 2024.

1/30/2024

PRECIOUS-Safe-haven gold gains as Middle East worries mount (NASDAQ)
There is enough instability still in the Middle East to keep investors interested in gold as part of a safe-haven play

Record sales for global jewellery leader (Jeweller Magazine)
“While remaining vigilant in the current context, we enter 2024 with confidence, backed by our highly desirable brands and our agile teams.”
– BERNARD ARNAULT, LVMH

Nebraska Bill Would Eliminate Capital Gains Taxes on the Sale of Gold and Silver, Reject CBDC (Tenth Amendment Center)
Passage into law would relieve some of the tax burdens on investors and eliminate one barrier to using gold and silver in everyday transactions

1/29/2024

China’s cratering markets drive mainstay retail investors away (Reuters)
“The logic is simple: stay away from all yuan assets”

How Digital Gold is democratising investments in precious metals (Financial Express)
Even Gen Z and millennials prefer to invest in Digital Gold since one can acquire smaller quantities from credible platforms such as MMTC-PAMP

BRICS & BITCOIN: THE DUO SET TO DETHRONE THE DOLLAR IN 2024 – MORGAN STANLEY (Cryptopolitan)
BRICS and Bitcoin are projected to harm the US dollar in 2024 as the globe moves away from the dollar

1/26/2024

Gold & Yields: A Correlated Divergence (Hedgeye)
Gold has become a highly liquid financial asset..

Platinum for palladium substitution is embedded into automotive demand and unlikely to reverse swiftly (World Platinum Investment Council)
Platinum for palladium autocatalyst substitution is expected to reach 700 koz in 2024

The Green Spark: A Catalyst Transforming Water Into Energy Wealth (SciTechDaily)
A stable, reactive, and cost-effective ruthenium catalyst for sustainable hydrogen production through proton exchange membrane water electrolysis.

1/25/2024

Americans Have Burned Through Their Savings (Newsweek)
More than a fifth of Americans are without any savings..

BRICS Making Good Progress On Their Golden Path (Forbes)
A more promising development has been the introduction of “gold checking accounts” in Russia%

Silver prices may be down, but they are not out; Bank of America sees potential in 2024 (Kitco)
SA bottoming out of the global economy in the coming months would support the silver market

1/24/2024

UBS sees a 10% spike for gold this year as rate cut speculation swirls (CNBC)
“power of the Fed’s policy pivot should not be underestimated”

Unemployment rises in nearly a third of US states in December (Reuters)
Thirteen states and D.C. have unemployment rates at or above 4%

LBMA Precious Metals Market Volumes, December 2023 and the Year as a Whole, And Their Significance (NASDAQ)
Spot gold volumes were a multiple of 47 times global mine production

1/23/2024

Gold: Will 2024 be a Breakout Year on Rate Cut Hopes? (CME Group)
After decades as net sellers, central banks became net buyers of gold after the financial crisis

Gold slides on trimmed US rate cut bets, rallying equities (Reuters)
Market sees 41.6% chance of a March rate cut

PRECIOUS METALS FORECASTS 2024 : Ross Norman Metals Daily, London (LinkedIn)
GOLD = Average $2166 High $2300 Low $2000

1/22/2024

Moody’s points to further pain after surge in corporate defaults (FT)
“High funding costs, together with tighter financing conditions . . . prompted a rise in corporate defaults during 2023”

Bitcoin Will Never Be ‘Money’ Precisely Because It’s Nothing Like Gold (Forbes)
T”In reality, money is quiet. Or should be. Good money is never talked about, nor are returns written about with glee.”

US Prepares Rule Forcing Banks to Tap Fed Discount Window (Bloomberg)
Michael Hsu says idea is to create a ‘fire drill’ for trouble

1/19/2024

Data dependent precious metals continue their bumpy ride (Saxo)
Silver continues to trade near a ten-month low relative to gold

China’s Gold Market in 2023: Demand improved and premiums rose (World Gold Council)
The Shanghai Gold Benchmark Price PM (SHAUPM) in RMB, surged by 17% in 2023

Gold drifts higher as Middle East tension attracts safe-haven inflows (Reuters)
Atlanta Fed president open to cut U.S. interest rates sooner…

1/18/2024

Gold retreats to over one-month low after data dims rate-cut hopes (Reuters)
Palladium lowest since 2018

Gold Resurgence: Central Banks, Market Turmoil, and the Unfolding Financial Paradigm (Commodity Discovery Fund)
The spotlight now rests on the United States, prompting speculation about potential explicit or implicit gold revaluation in the future.

US banking giants shed over 17,000 employees in turbulent year (Reuters)
Trouble on the street…