Stock Market News & Stocks to Watch from StraightStocks » John Reade

Gold Steadies as Euro Trims Losses vs Dollar

Contrarian Profits — Mon, 28 Sep 2009 16:00:26 +0000

pGold was steady on Monday after briefly falling below $990 an ounce, as the euro trimmed some losses versus the dollar, but bullion looked vulnerable to a long liquidation after it failed to stay above $1,000 an ounce./p pPhysical demand was also supportive for the precious metal, traders said, who saw the jewellery demand picking as as the festive period in India, one of the top gold consumers of the world, approches./p pSpot gold was at $991 an ounce by 1121 GMT, slightly up from $990.95 an ounce late in New York on Friday, when gold hit a two-week low of $984.70 an ounce./p p#8220;The stronger dollar is the reason which pushed gold below the $1,000 an ounce level,#8221; said Eugen Weinberg, Commerzbank analyst#8230;/p

Gold Hits 3-wk High as Soft Dollar Supports

Contrarian Profits — Fri, 28 Aug 2009 15:00:24 +0000

pGold hit a three-week high above $960 an ounce on Friday as buying linked to the weaker dollar pushed the metal through technical resistance, before paring gains after U.S. consumer sentiment data pressured the euro./p pSpot gold hit a high of $961.00 an ounce, its firmest level since Aug. 7, and was bid at $955.10 an ounce at 1434 GMT, against $946.75 an ounce late in New York on Thursday./p pPrices rose after heavy selling of the dollar late on Thursday, particularly against the Swiss franc, knocking the U.S. currency to multi-week lows versus the euro./p p#8220;In the near term is it still predominantly the currency that is in the driving seat,#8221; said Saxo Bank senior manager Ole Hansen./p p#8220;That has managed to tip (gold)#8230;/p

Gold Slips, Platinum Dips as Dollar Firms

Contrarian Profits — Wed, 08 Jul 2009 17:30:00 +0000

pGold fell in Europe on Wednesday and platinum dropped below $1,100 an ounce for the first time since May 18 as the dollar firmed against the euro, making precious metals more expensive for holders of other currencies./p pHard commodities weakened across the board, hit by global economic concerns and worries a potential clampdown on speculation in U.S. energy and commodity trading could hurt buying of the asset class./p pSpot gold slipped to a low of $915.20 an ounce and was bid at $918.00 an ounce at 1414 GMT, against $923.30 an ounce late in New York on Tuesday. Meanwhile platinum was at $1,109 an ounce from $1,132, having touched a low of $1,099./p pThe dollar climbed broadly as growing risk aversion prompted buying of the#8230;/p

Base Metals Mixed

Doug Casey — Tue, 30 Jun 2009 19:19:49 +0000

pThe base metals were mixed on Monday. Copper held in positive territory during the pre-dawn hours, then tacked on some more gains to mid-morning in New York, before easing through the rest of the day to finish at $2.3086/lb., up 3 2/3 cents from Friday. /p pNickel was well up at mid-morning but sold off sharply from there, just pulling up out of the red late to close at $7.1002/lb., up a half-cent. Zinc declined in the pre-dawn hours, rose in early New York trading, but fell off after mid-morning to end at $0.6935/lb., down a penny. Aluminum was modestly lower, dropping less than a half-cent, to $0.7267/lb., while lead eked out a gain of less than a third of a#8230;/p

Gold Running in Place

Doug Casey — Tue, 30 Jun 2009 19:11:12 +0000

p class="maintextDRP"Gold had a very inconclusive day on Monday, rising from the far East to a peak of $942 in early New York trading, then plunging back to $934 at mid-morning, before moving in fits and starts through the rest of the day, to finish at $937.30/oz., down $1.70. Overnight, gold is trending higher. /p p class="maintextDRP"Platinum peaked at $1195 in Hong Kong, but traded rangebound between $1180 and $1190 for the bulk of the day, ending at $1183/oz., down $14. Overnight, platinum is pushing higher./p pSilver hit its high for the day, $14.10, early on, then declined straight through with only a few temporary blips up, and closed at its intraday low of $13.84/oz., down 23 cents. Overnight, silver is sharply higher. (a class="textBold" href="javascript:openCharts();"Click#8230;/a/p

Precious Metals Go Soft

Doug Casey — Wed, 24 Jun 2009 18:30:53 +0000

pGold fell below $915 at the mid-point of Hong Kong trading on Tuesday, but that proved to be the low for the day, as the metal rallied from there to the New York open, went flat until mid-morning, when it sold off again, but then pushed higher to the end of the Comex before leveling off through the Globex to finish at $925.80/oz., up $3.20. Overnight, gold has been pushing higher. br / Platinum followed up Monday’s beating with a dead flat day, as it never strayed from the $1150-1170 range and ended in the middle at $1159/oz., down a buck. Overnight, platinum is trending higher./p pSilver traced out almost exactly the same path as gold, closing at $13.81/oz., up 11 cents. Overnight,#8230;/p

Natural Resources, Energy and Precious Metals Update

Bullish Bankers — Wed, 24 Jun 2009 16:00:56 +0000

Many investors are somewhat dazed and befuddled as they watch what used to be called “The Natural Resources Sector” bounce up and down as the summer season commences. With the dollar up again, commodities including the precious metals and oil were off sharply yesterday. All in all, it was just a broadly negative day. Little [...]

Precious Metals Soar

Doug Casey — Mon, 01 Jun 2009 18:22:04 +0000

p class="maintextDRP"Gold closed the month of May in resoundingly positive fashion yesterday, rising steadily from the far East to late morning in New York, then leveling off and holding its gains through the rest of the day to finish at $979.60/oz., up $20.60. For the week, gold was up 2.4%. /p pPlatinum was also strong, peaking late in Comex trading, then easing off a little on the Globex to end at $1188, up $49. For the week, platinum added 3%./p pAnd silver completed the trifecta, posting a stellar day in which it moved relentlessly higher with few retracements, and closed at $15.79, up 64 cents. For the week, silver gained a robust 7%. (a class="textBold" href="javascript:openCharts();"Click here for charts/a)/p pMonth’s end yielded a second gangbuster day#8230;/p

Gold, Silver Stumble

Doug Casey — Tue, 19 May 2009 18:41:55 +0000

pGold was essentially unchanged to mid-morning in New York on Monday, at which point it tumbled more than $11, moved slightly higher into the late Globex, and finally fell again to finish at $917.40/oz., down $13.50. Overnight, gold has edged higher. br / Platinum was flat until the second hour in New York, but then took off in the opposite direction from gold, shooting higher straight through the Comex before leveling off on the Globex to end near its intraday high at $1129, up $28. Overnight, platinum is trending higher./p pSilver peaked at $14.05 at the London open, moved jaggedly lower from there to mid-morning in New York, rallied back to the late Globex but eased at day’s end to close at $13.76,#8230;/p

Precious Metals All Bust Higher

Doug Casey — Tue, 05 May 2009 18:53:27 +0000

p class="maintextDRP"Gold pushed slightly higher in Hong Kong on Monday, but there was little further action until early in the second hour of New York trading, when the metal suddenly went vertical, busting through the $900 barrier, adding $15 in less than a half-hour and topping out at $907, but that was it for the day, as it eased through the rest of the Comex and the Globex, to finish at $903.20/oz., up $17.40. Overnight, gold is slightly lower. /p pPlatinum got the same morning ignition, but it rode the updraught all the way through the day, barely coming off its intraday highs late in the Globex to end at $1118, up $29. Overnight, platinum is trending higher./p pSilver blasted off at the#8230;/p

Precious Metals Pounded

Doug Casey — Wed, 29 Apr 2009 19:13:41 +0000

p class="maintextDRP"Gold was initially lower in Hong Kong but traded flat through to the New York open on Tuesday, at which point it plunged about $13 in a half-hour, before riding a gently rising uptrend for the rest of the day, to finish at $893.30/oz., down $12.90. Overnight, gold is slightly higher. /p pPlatinum fared very poorly again, falling from the overseas markets through the first hour in New York, to as low as $1070 before catching a slight updraught, then trading sideways for the rest of the day, and ending at $1091, down $49. Overnight, platinum has been flat./p pSilver also traded sideways through Hong Kong after an early plunge, then got taken down through London to late in the New York#8230;/p

Gold, Silver Continue Higher

Doug Casey — Mon, 27 Apr 2009 18:48:25 +0000

pGold rose in Hong Kong on Friday, then spent the whole day cruising leisurely within a range between $905 and $915, with a slight bias to the upside late in the day that resulted in a finish at $913.10/oz., up $9.30. For the week, gold was strong, adding 5.1%. /p pPlatinum also experienced no sharp moves, trading tight between $1170 and $1180 all the way through, and ending in the middle at $1175, down $4. For the week, platinum slipped 2.5%./p pSilver was as listless as its sister metals, trading inside a 20-cent range for most of the day before edging above it at the noon hour and leveling off through the rest of the Comex and the Globex to close at#8230;/p

And Then There’s This…Friday, April 17th, 2009

Contrarian Profits — Fri, 17 Apr 2009 20:35:29 +0000

pGold spent most of Far East and European trading hugging $890#8230;and silver spent the same period within a dime of $12.70. Nothing to see here, folks! Then, shortly before the Comex open, both metals began smallish rallies#8230;and half an hour after the Comex opened for business, it was lights out./p pNot only did the dealers pull their bids in both metals, but I highly suspect that there was actually some fresh shorting by the Non-Commercials and Nonreportables [in the COT] as well./p pAs I#8217;ve been saying for the last week or so, an assault on gold#8217;s 200-day moving average would materialize sooner or later, as a couple of the U.S. bullion banks [JPMorgan (NYSE:a href="http://www.google.com/finance?q=JPM"JPM/a) and HSBC USA (NYSE:a href="http://www.google.com/finance?q=HBC"HBC/a)] still had huge short#8230;/p

And Then There’s This…Tuesday, April 14th, 2009

Contrarian Profits — Tue, 14 Apr 2009 21:20:22 +0000

pBoth gold and silver rose in Sunday evening trading on the Globex [counterparty...Western Pacific Ocean]. The peak prices in Far East trading occurred around lunchtime in Hong Kong. From there, both metals drifted slightly lower#8230;and remained there all through European trading until the Comex open in New York#8230;then away they both went./p pGold managed a $10 rally before some not-for-profit seller showed up at 9:15 a.m. Eastern time. Once the London p.m. gold fix was in, gold rallied again#8230;making it a hair above $900 for a few seconds#8230;before some other [probably the same] not-for-profit seller showed up. From there it got sold off into the close./p pSilver#8217;s 8:00 a.m. rally on the Comex was like a moon shot#8230;and heaven only knows how#8230;/p

Precious Metals Come Roaring Out Of Holiday Weekend

Doug Casey — Tue, 14 Apr 2009 19:02:49 +0000

pGold was higher in the far East on Monday, flattened out in London, but took off once New York opened and continued to rise to a peak of $900 at noon, at which point it was driven down and declined through the rest of the Comex and went flat on the Globex, finishing at $892.60/oz., up $13.40. Overnight, gold has been flat. /p pPlatinum prolonged its recent bull run, shooting as high as $1245 in the first hour after noon in New York, then eased slightly for the rest of the day, ending at $1237/oz., up $50. Overnight, platinum is trending lower./p pSilver burst higher in Hong Kong, trailed off in early London trading, then really caught fire at the New York#8230;/p

Precious Metals Go Flat

Doug Casey — Thu, 09 Apr 2009 18:05:26 +0000

p class="maintextDRP"Gold was up early in the overseas markets, fell off into mid-morning in New York, rallied back to peak at $890 just before the end of the Comex, then declined again through the Globex, finishing at $880.00/oz., down $1.10. Overnight, gold is slightly higher. /p pPlatinum had a decent day, rising into the second hour in New York, before pulling back a little and trading sideways for the rest of the day, ending at $1175/oz., up $12. Overnight, platinum is sharply higher./p pSilver traded all day between $12.20 and $12.40, zigging and zagging before closing with a slight gain at $12.26/oz., up 4 cents. Overnight, silver is little changed. (a class="textBold" href="javascript:openCharts();"Click here for charts/a)/p pIt was a very emblah/em day for the precious metals as#8230;/p

Gold, Silver Little Changed

Doug Casey — Fri, 27 Mar 2009 18:24:34 +0000

p class="maintextDRP"Gold was flat until just before the New York open on Thursday, popped about $10 from there, but then gave it back before trading rangebound for the rest of the day, finishing at $934.20/oz., up 40 cents. Overnight, gold has fallen off. /p pPlatinum prolonged its recent bust-out to the upside, pushing as high as $1160 early in New York, then declined through the Comex and went flat on the Globex, ending at $1142/oz., up $21. Overnight, platinum is trending lower./p pSilver pushed higher from Hong Kong through to the noon hour but eased gently from there, closing at $13.52/oz., up a penny. Overnight, silver is sharply lower. (a class="textBold" href="javascript:openCharts();"Click here for charts/a)/p pIt was another very lackluster day for the precious metals, except#8230;/p

Precious Metals Run In Place

Doug Casey — Tue, 24 Feb 2009 18:06:03 +0000

p class="maintextDRP"Gold stuck tight to a trading range between $980 and $995 on Monday, and when all was said and done the metal was parked near to where it started, finishing at $991.70/oz., down $1.50. Overnight, gold has edged lower. /p pPlatinum was in positive territory until early in the New York session, when it suddenly dropped $15 in a half-hour and, though it recovered a bit from there, ended at $1075/oz., down $6. Overnight, platinum is little changed./p pSilver had a wild and woolly day to zero effect, falling sharply from the New York open to mid-morning, then shooting up to add 45 cents by the noon hour, falling into the Globex, rallying one last time, but selling off again to close#8230;/p

Gold Little Changed

Doug Casey — Wed, 14 Jan 2009 19:16:51 +0000

pGold had a very quiet day on Tuesday, following Monday’s plunge, as it never strayed as much as $10 from the $820 mark and finished close to where it began, at $820.30/oz., up 40 cents. Overnight, gold is trending higher. /p pPlatinum fell off in the overseas markets and only gained back a little in New York, ending at $937/oz., down $15. Overnight, platinum is sharply higher./p pSilver took a hit right at the New York open, falling to $10.40, but it rallied strongly from there, inching back into positive territory and holding there to close at $10.71/oz., up 9 cents. Overnight, silver has edged higher. (a class="textBold" href="javascript:openCharts();"Click here for charts/a)/p pIt was a pretty lackluster day for the precious metals, with platinum falling#8230;/p

Gold Falls 1 pct as Dollar Firms; ECB Eyed

Contrarian Profits — Wed, 14 Jan 2009 18:05:29 +0000

pU.S. data sparks flight to dollar#8230; Oil slips, traders fret over demand outlook#8230; Traders await ECB rate decision on Thursday. Gold fell 1 percent on Wednesday, giving up earlier gains as the dollar firmed against the euro after weaker-than-expected economic data sparked a flight to the relative safety of the U.S. currency./p p Trading is expected to be muted ahead of the interest rate announcement of the European Central Bank on Thursday, traders said. The ECB is widely expected to cut rates by 50 basis points. /p p Spot gold was at $812.00/814.00 an ounce at 1523 GMT, down from $821.05 in New York late on Tuesday. It touched a high of $828.65 earlier in the session, but slipped as the euro retreated and#8230;/p

Base Metals Whacked

Doug Casey — Tue, 13 Jan 2009 19:13:38 +0000

pThe base metals were all shoved back deep into the red on Monday. Copper declined from the pre-dawn hours to mid-morning, then traded just off its intraday low for the rest of the day, finishing at $1.4285/lb., down nearly 9 cents./p pNickel was off sharply into the New York open, then traded slightly higher through the day to close at $4.6622/lb., down 61¼ cents. Zinc followed a similar path, ending at $0.5518/lb., down a penny and a half. Aluminum was weak, shedding almost 2½ cents, to $0.6718/lb., while lead plunged to its intraday low of $0.5182/lb., down more than 2 1/3 cents./p pWhatever euphoria developed on Friday was gone with the wind on Monday, with copper leading the industrial metals lower across#8230;/p

Gold Stumbles Out Of The Block In 2009

Doug Casey — Tue, 06 Jan 2009 18:22:35 +0000

pGold started falling as soon as London opened on Monday, and continued down into the first hour of New York trading, hitting its low for the day at $845, then rallied, sold off to the noon hour, and rallied again through the rest of the Comex and the Globex, finishing at $858.30/oz., down $26.60 from Friday. Overnight, gold is sharply lower. /p pPlatinum dropped to its intraday low of $915 early in New York, then staged a strong rally that carried it nearly to $950 before it eased late in the day to end at $943/oz., up $3. Overnight, platinum is slightly lower./p pSilver greeted the new year by following gold, albeit with sharper declines and stronger rallies, all of which left#8230;/p

Gold Leads Precious Metals Slide on Firmer Dollar

Contrarian Profits — Mon, 05 Jan 2009 20:30:02 +0000

pDollar rises to 3-week high vs euro on stimulus hopes#8230; Oil prices fail to hold gains above $48 a barrel#8230; Abu Dhabi Dec gold sales fall 40 pct month on month. /p pGold slid more than 3 percent in Europe on Monday as the strengthening dollar knocked the metal#8217;s appeal as a currency hedge, and oil prices retreated from highs. /p pOther precious metals tumbled in gold#8217;s wake, with silver falling 8 percent, platinum 3 percent and palladium 6 percent. /p p Spot gold was quoted at $851.65/853.65 an ounce at 1445 GMT, down from $873.20 an ounce late in New York on Friday, having touched a session low of $843.50. /p p U.S. gold futures for February delivery on the COMEX division of the New#8230;/p

Gold Taken Down Again, Silver and Platinum Follow Amid Massive Deleveraging

Doug Casey — Mon, 20 Oct 2008 12:46:36 +0000

Gold held above $810 until London opened, then began a long slide that continued until mid-morning, after which it found its feet again and tacked on some minor gains before finishing at $782.60, down $21.70. For the week, gold backpedaled by 8%.

Platinum traded within a tight $20 range from the overseas markets straight through the Globex, closing near the low end at $857/oz., down $39. For the week, platinum shed more than 13%.

Silver was in the green until the midpoint of London trading, then it too hit a slow decline that lasted until the same mid-morning point as gold’s, and it too recovered a bit to end at $9.31/oz., down 34 cents. For the week, silver lost 8½%. (Click…

And Then There’s This… Thursday, September 25, 2008

Contrarian Profits — Thu, 25 Sep 2008 16:22:10 +0000

Both gold and silver recovered from their sell-offs in early morning trading in the Far East yesterday. Both spiked upwards about 15 minutes before the Comex open...and were subsequently capped at their highs of the day very shortly after that.

From there...it was down, down, down until a bottom was in a few moments after Far East trading began early this morning in Sydney... which was 6 pm NY time last night.

Open interest is once again in the spotlight. On Tuesday, gold open interest fell another 9,816 contracts. That's a lot...30 tonnes to be precise. Silver o.i. on the same day was down only 17 contracts. Tomorrow is the day that the new COT report is issued. It would be just peachy keen if this number shows up in it. The '2 or 3' bullion banks are on the run...covering every short they can...and probably going long at the same time.

Yesterday, UBS gold analyst John Reade had this to say..."Comex option expiry on Thursday (today - Ed) has a lot of open interest between $890 and $910/oz, and we believe it is no co-incidence that gold is struggling to get far from here at the moment. Barring an external factor breaking gold out of this range - which effectively means either a big move in the dollar, perhaps crude oil, or possibly risk aversion - then we will remain around the current levels until after the expiry, which takes place after the Comex close (today). Then gold will be better able to move more freely, as gamma hedging will reduce." October is not a big delivery month in either gold or silver, so its associated options expiry date (Sept. 25) is somewhat of a non-event. We'll find out in the next 36 hours if what he's said here holds any water.

In other gold news yesterday on Bloomberg...Barrick Gold Chairman, Peter Munk said bullion prices will go higher, driven by large-scale buying by "major, major" holders of dollars who fear the effects of the U.S. government's bailout plan on the currency. Yesterday the SLV added 3.7 million ounces. Nothing was added to GLD. And the US Mint has punched out 1,375,000 silver eagles so far this month.

In a Reuters story...."US gasoline inventories have shrunk to their lowest since 1967. The drop in fuel stocks has caused long lines at service stations in southern cities. Retail outlets, including those in Atlanta and Memphis and as far away as Ohio, have run out of fuel."

In a Bloomberg story..."Investors outside the United States, who own more than half of all Treasuries outstanding, say the government's $700 billion plan to revive the banking system will diminish the appeal of the nation's bonds." (Diminish??? They're being kind when using that word - Ed).

Bloomberg...Interbank interest rates (including LIBOR) shot to new highs yesterday as the credit markets remain frozen solid in Europe and the US. Efforts by central banks to revive money markets with emergency cash auctions haven't worked. "There's no real term funding markets except for central banks," said Meyrick Chapman, a fixed-income strategist in London at UBS AG. And lastly...there has been another run on a bank...this time it's the Bank of East Asia in Hong Kong. In the photo below, an obviously distraught depositor has her turn at an ATM in Kwun Tong.

click to enlarge

Today's first story is downright scary! It's from the South China Morning Post in Hong Kong. It's entitled "Mainland Lenders Ordered to Halt Interbank deals with U.S. Banks" This is being done "in a bid to prevent possible losses during the financial crisis." The link is here.

The second story is from the Russian News and Information Agency (RIA Novosti) in Moscow, and is provocatively entitled "Time For a Gold Rouble?" Knowing what I know about Vladimir Putin, it wouldn't surprise me a bit if that's exactly what he does! The link is here.

Where all this might end, nobody can say. But it is unlikely that either the dollar, or the post-Bretton Woods system of which it is the beating heart, will emerge whole. - James Grant

I see in an AP story yesterday that "Iran's president addressed the U.N. General Assembly Tuesday declaring that ‘the American empire’ is nearing collapse and should end its military involvement in other countries." That sounds suspiciously like what Patrick Buchanan said in his commentary that I posted here on Monday. It's obvious that all eyes in the world are on the U.S.A. as it continues to circle the drain.

Enjoy your day today, and I'll see you on Friday.

Source: And Then There’s This… Thursday, September 25, 2008

Gold Rebuffed at $900 Once Again

Doug Casey — Thu, 25 Sep 2008 14:47:04 +0000

Gold rose steadily from Hong Kong into the first hour of New York trading on Wednesday, cresting above $900, but that is proving to be a formidable resistance point, and the metal was beaten down until noon, rallied into the COMEX close, but sank again through the Globex, finishing at $881.90, down $10.80. Overnight, gold has been pushing higher.

Platinum made a strong run upward from Hong Kong until just before the New York open, hitting $1240, but then gave it all back and then some, as it declined for the rest of the day to end at $1184/oz., down $18. Overnight, platinum has moved higher.

Like gold, silver peaked early in New York trading, poking its nose above $13.60, but from there its fall was not quite as steep or steady as gold’s and it closed at $13.21/oz., down just 7 cents. Overnight, silver is trending higher. (Click here for charts)

It was another day of consolidation for the precious metals on Wednesday, again not unexpected as the usual suspects lined up against them, with the dollar rising and crude giving up early gains to finish lower.

Not a bad day, really, but one that reinforced the notion that gold will continue to meet resistance at $900 until something happens to propel it higher for good. That something could of course be whatever happens with the Paulson bailout plan.

“Traders are seen as reluctant to take significant positions before the rescue plan takes shape,” said Kitco’s Jon Nadler. Thus, “Volatility will remain visible so long as the package faces legislative headwinds and uncertainty continues in other markets.”

However, Nadler added, “Gold will continue to benefit from the funding squeeze that continues to chill markets.”

Also factoring in could be that gold may stay rangebound until after the October-futures contract expires at the close of trading today, according to UBS AG analyst John Reade, who says the contract “has a lot of open interest between $890 and $910, and we believe it is no coincidence that gold is struggling to get far from here at the moment.”

In any case, physical buying by the ETFs continues apace. The SPDR Gold Trust (GLD), the biggest exchange-traded fund backed by bullion, has increased 6.7% already this week, after climbing 11% last week to a record 724.9 metric tons. The fund is the eighth-largest holder of bullion in the world.

That may be just the beginning, as we prepare to enter the year’s fourth quarter, traditionally the peak season for gold buying.

Source: Precious metals adrift - Gold rebuffed at $900 once again