Michael Ballanger looks at the recent rise in the gold price in light of what is happening in the broader markets and geopolitical activity.Before I expand upon the events of the past week that caught my increasingly illusory attention span, I wish to impart upon my readers one of the many chasms that separate the generational narratives these days. When I first entered the Hallowed Halls of Bay S...Read More
Supply shortages…That’s what is fueling the market right now. Oil companies are making out like bandits…Natural gas prices are skyrocketing…And commodities like lithium, cobalt, and aluminum have soared to newheights.But it’s not all sunshine and roses for some industries. The auto industry has seen its production plummet due to the globalsemiconductor shortage&hel...Read More
Gold continues to benefit from themarket turmoil and has apparently forgotten about medium-term problems.Meanwhile, the rising USD and a hawkish Fed await confrontation.With financial markets whipsawing afterevery Russia-Ukraine headline, volatility has risen materially in recent days.With whispers of a Russian invasion on Feb. 16 (which I doubt will berealized), the game of hot potato has uplifte...Read More
Every few years or so, the investing universe gets word about alooming shortage of a certain--usually niche--commodity. Soon thereafter,dozens or even hundreds of natural resource companies, both large and small,quickly “pivot” to said commodity and the next thing you know a commoditybubble ensues before, eventually, bursting.This script has played out numerous times with commodities i...Read More
A dramatic – and potentially lucrative – scenario may now be unfoldingin the markets for one of the most overlooked natural resources on the planet. This essential commodity – helium – is used to drive innovation formany of the world’s biggest tech companies...and it is needed to helpmanufacture everything from medical equipment to computer chips.Yet despite its criti...Read More
In line with bearish bets, miners havethrown a match. Gold, however, doesn’t want to leave the ring without a fight.How long will it stay high?While gold remains relatively firmdespite stock market turbulence, rising real yields, and bearish technicalindicators, even a confluence of headwinds hasn’t been able to knock the yellowmetal off its lofty perch. However, mining stocks haven&rs...Read More
Beware, the Fed’s tightening of monetary policy could lift real interest rates! For gold, this poses a risk of prices wildly rolling down.The first FOMC meeting in 2022 is behind us. What can we expect from the US central bank this year and how will it affect the price of gold? Well, this year’s episode of Fed Street will be sponsored by the letter “T”, which stands for &l...Read More
Technical Analyst Clive Maund examines the charts for the Market Vectors Gold Miners ETF, code GDX, and sees good cause to be positive about gold's future outlook.In this update we are going to do something that we haven’t done for a while, which is to examine the charts for the Market Vectors Gold Miners ETF, code GDX, in an effort to figure out where it is in its cycle, and as we will see...Read More
As the gold “community” rationalizes gold’s currently low standing…As unpopular it may be, I cannot alter the truth as I see it. Marketing is fine, but never at the expense of truth, as with much financial media/analysis (with little disclaimers tucked in below the fold).In my opinion, a sizeable component of the gold ‘market’ is actually marketing; to the fear...Read More
The US Federal Reserve, whose job is to keep unemployment in check and inflation in the “Goldilocks” zone of 2%, is telegraphing three interest rate increases of 0.25% each (1% at the high end of the range) this year.Bloomberg believes the Fed might be more aggressive: “Our baseline is for the Fed to hike five times, each 25 basis points, this year, and balance-sheet runoff to be...Read More
Gold’s fate in 2021 will be determined mainly by inflation and the Fed’s reaction to it.In the epic struggle between chaos and order, chaos has an easier task, as there is usually only one proper method to do a job – the job that you can screw up in many ways. Thus, although economists see a strong economic expansion with cooling prices and normalization in monetary policies in 2...Read More
The FOMC set the stage for a March interest rate hike, which was an aggressive signal. Gold got it and fell – but hasn't capitulated yet.The Battlecruiser Hawk is moving full steam ahead! The FOMC issued yesterday (January 26, 2022) its newest statement on monetary policy in which it strengthened its hawkish stance. First of all, the Fed admitted that it would start hiking interest rates &ld...Read More
You don't have to be a fortune tellerto predict some of the precious metals’ behavior in the market. Any incomingsigns take the shape of a bear.What a signal-rich week that was! Atleast if you’re interested in forecastinggold and predictingsilver prices.The USD Index rallied, but that was theleast interesting of the important developments, as it had already reversedduring the preceding...Read More
My outlook for the gold market in 2022 suffers from manic depression: I see first a period of despair and an elevated mood later.So, 2021 is over! 2022 will be better, right? Yeah, for sure! Just relax, what bad could happen? Seriously, what can we expect from this year? I see a few key trends that are going to shape 2022, and their names are: Death, Famine, Pestilence, and War. Oh, sorry, the wro...Read More
Gold’s ‘real’ price indicates a fine ‘risk vs. reward’[edit] Since this article will be distributed to a wider viewership than nftrh.com, where regular readers know I take pains not to hype this most precious ‘value’ asset, take note that a positive risk vs. reward does not mean run out and go whole hog gold stock bull right this minute. Risk vs. reward is...Read More
The precious metals still dopirouettes on the trading floor, but they can stumble in their choreography.The bears are just waiting for it.With the GDX ETF soaring on significantvolume on Jan. 19, the senior miners had a renewed pep in their step. Withgold, silver, and mining stocks all dancing to the same beat, the preciousmetals garnered all of the bullish attention. However, with the trio known...Read More
Crude oil prices closed yesterday neartheir 7-year highs. What do you think are the main price drivers prevailing forthis surge on crude oil prices?GeopoliticalSituation Crude oil prices closed yesterday neartheir 7-year highs, as an attack on an oil site in Abu Dhabi further strainedan already tense market. The concern about the deterioration of the situationbetween Ukraine and Russia, which has...Read More
While the USD show is gainingapplause, silver has decided to present its repertoire too. Was its rally justa magic trick or a good omen for gold?Bondyields soared once again, just as I’ve beenexpecting them to for many months now. The reaction in some markets was asexpected (the USD Index soared), but in some, it was perplexing. Gold movedlower a little, miners declined a bit more, and silve...Read More
In a crisis of this magnitude, remember not to measure your wealth, your gold and your silver in... by Egon von Greyerz of Gold SwitzerlandWhen the sh-t hits the global fan, it often does it at the optimal time for the maximum amount of damage and with the worst kind of sh-t to soil the world.For years I have been clear that the world is reaching the end of an economic, financial and monetary era...Read More
Dramatic consequences of a silver scarcity?by Samuel Briggs via KinesisIn this week's Live from the Vault, Andrew Maguire is joined by Dr Stephen Leeb, a renowned American economist and a financial author to contemplate the impending commodities shortage and the dramatic consequences of a silver scarcity for the developing countries.The precious metals experts discuss how China's growing prosperit...Read More