4/26/2024

Russian court orders seizure of $440mn from JPMorgan (FT)
The tit-for-tat continues…

Nebraska Ends Income Taxes on Gold and Silver, Declares CBDCs Are Not Lawful Money (Gold Seek)
Meanwhile, Iowa, Georgia, Oklahoma, Missouri, West Virginia, and Kansas are actively considering similar legislation in 2024…

The gold price has peaked as World Bank sees 8% gains this year, with some upside risk (KITCO)
In 2024, demand for silver is expected to increase modestly, driven by its dual appeal as both a financial asset and an industrial commodity.

4/25/2024

Is silver the new gold? (IG)
The gold-silver ratio is predicting substantial growth in silver value

Gold’s Record-Setting Rally May Have Its Roots in Chinese Frenzy (BNN Bloomberg)
“We know from other commodity markets, that from time-to-time, Shanghai traders become the most dominant players. That’s never really been the case in gold, but I think now that this might have changed.”

Speculative froth departing gold as China tightens trading conditions (Metals Daily)
The SHFE further adjusted the daily price limit for gold and silver futures to 8%, while increasing the hedging trading margin requirement to 9% and the speculative trading margin requirement to 10%.

4/24/2024

Chinese speculators super-charge gold rally (FT)
Huge bullish bets on Shanghai exchanges show growing clout of Asian traders in market for precious metal

Why gold weakness might be an opportunity for investors (CNBC)
Nicky Shiels, MKS PAMP SA head of metal strategy, joins ‘Fast Money’ to talk the recent drop in gold prices.

Speculative froth departing gold as China tightens trading conditions (Metals Daily)
The SHFE further adjusted the daily price limit for gold and silver futures to 8%, while increasing the hedging trading margin requirement to 9% and the speculative trading margin requirement to 10%.

4/23/2024

Gold drops more than 2% to one-week low as Middle East worries ebb (CNBC)
“Some risk of an imminent retaliation in the Middle East has been removed, which has attracted some selling activity in gold. But the question is how much scope there is to the downside”

PRECIOUS APPRAISAL (Heraeus)
Yesterday’s bad news is today’s good news for the gold price

Gold Price Suffers Biggest Daily Loss In 2 Years (Forbes)
Gold prices now sit almost 4% below their all-time high of over $2,400 achieved earlier this month

4/22/2024

GOLD – We need to talk about China… (Metals Daily)
Chinese people like to gamble … on stilts, with a very tall hat.

Umicore launches Nexyclus™, a unique guarantee for fully recycled precious metals, including PGMs (Umicore)
Customers can choose between three recycled content offerings and chain of custody certifications.

How Canadian Gun Smugglers Pulled Off the Biggest Gold Heist in Years (WSJ)
A man driving a truck pulled up at Toronto’s airport with fake documents and drove off with $14.5 million in gold bars.

4/19/2024

Gold’s Mystery Buyer … ? (Metals Daily)
I think we may have found our smoking gun..

World Silver Survey 2024 (Silver Institute)
For yet another year and the third in a row now, silver demand massively exceeded supply in 2023

Mystery gold buyer is betting on geopolitical and financial mayhem (WA Today)
“They buy on the London benchmark and they don’t chase the price”

4/18/2024

Hedge funds and commodities traders urged to hold more liquid assets (FT)
Financial Stability Board highlights need for capacity to meet margin calls in case of market shocks.

New York Fed Says Quantitative Tightening Could Stop in 2025 (Bloomberg)
Projections show reserves dropping to around $2.5-$3 trillion.

China’s Punishment for People With Bad Debts: No Fast Trains or Nice Hotels (WSJ)
Beijing’s crackdown on millions of delinquent debtors makes catching up on unpaid bills a slog.

4/17/2024

How are allocators responding to the soaring price of gold? (FT)
Allocations to commodities have suddenly gone up to 0.7%, up from 0.35% late last year…

Gold is sniffing out monetary and geopolitical dystopia (Telegraph UK)
‘Never seen before’ levels of buying could be the makings of a war chest.

Powell Signals Rate-Cut Delay After Run of Inflation Surprises (Bloomberg)
“The recent data have clearly not given us greater confidence and instead indicate that is likely to take longer than expected to achieve that confidence”

4/16/2024

ISRAEL / IRAN & GOLD – MUCH ADO ABOUT NOTHING. (Metals Daily)
Scores of political leaders around the world are joining the chorus urging restraint…

Here’s What Higher for Longer Means for the Stock Market (WSJ)
Stocks are still trading near record levels, but some investors say further gains may be more difficult.

Gold firms despite stronger dollar as geopolitical concerns mount (Reuters)
The market now sees fewer than two 25-basis-point cuts by the year-end.

4/15/2024

New Sanctions on Russia to Drive Even More Metals Sales to China (Bloomberg)
Shanghai becomes the only major bourse to accept Russian metal

China’s gold markets under strain as horde of new buyers hunts for stable investment (SCMP)
Standing out as one of the few bets considered safe in China at present – with stocks, property and banking having lost their lustre in an environment of heightened uncertainty.

Gold Climbs Toward Record After Iran’s Strike Against Israel (Bloomberg)
Bullion has risen almost 20% since the middle of February.