Author: Sirhc

Gary Wagner Thursday February 07, 2019 18:13

Featuring views and opinions written by market professionals, not staff journalists.

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The Chinese markets might be closed this week, however concerns about the continuation of our looming trade war continues. Resulting in U.S equities closing sharply lower today and as of 4:30 PM Eastern standard time the Dow Jones industrial average is off by well over a full percentage point and currently trading down almost 290 points a net decline of 1.15% on the day. The NASDAQ composite is experiencing deeper losses today currently down approximately 1.5%, and the Standard & Poor’s 500 is down by 1.3%.

At the same time precious metals are not so black and white, as we see major price differences in gold when comparing current futures pricing to that of spot prices. Currently spot gold is fixed at $1310.40, a net increase of $4.20 on the day. At the same time gold futures basis, the most active April contract is currently unchanged at $1314.40.

Most interesting is that today’s moderate gains in the physical price of gold are entirely based on bullish market sentiment, with traders bidding the precious yellow metal higher by $6.00 per ounce. Dollar strength has resulted in a decline of $1.80 limiting today’s upside move in spot gold, this according to the KGX (Kitco gold index).

Although gold futures are showing very little change on the day, most noteworthy is the fact that after trading to a low today of $1306, prices quickly rebounded and are currently range bound between up $.20-$.30, and down $.20-$.40.

Both silver and palladium are trading higher on the day. Currently silver futures basis the most active March contract is trading up almost 2/10 of a percent and currently bid at $15.73. Palladium is exhibiting gains of 6/10 of a percent, which is a gain of $8.10 today. Putting March Palladium futures at $1359.70. Obviously, palladium continues to outshine and outperform the other precious metals in the complex.

It is an uncommon occurrence for spot gold to be trading moderately higher and gold futures to be trading fractionally lower. That being said we have seen this scenario occur twice in the last two weeks of trading. This might be indicating that gold prices will move higher and that the current price correction might in fact be short-lived.

Wishing you as always, good trading,By Gary Wagner

by Ross Norman on January 15, 2019

It is natural that we measure things by a familiar yardstick – the problem is that being so-biased or lazy, we can be deceived.

Take gold. Popular belief has it that gold prices have not performed especially well despite some egregious geopolitical and economic factors. Well measured in 72 currencies, gold is at … or within a few percentage points … of being at an all time high for people in those countries. Not on the list are the British Pound, the Swiss Franc, the Euro and Chinese Yuan – but we are not far off in all of those currencies too. Only in USD does gold lag – and not all of us live in the US.

Using the dollar gold price, as most of us do, has disguised what is actually quite a powerful bull market. If my memory serves me right, we saw the same phenomenon – a stealth rally in minor currencies – ahead of the last major gold bull run (in dollars) in the late 1990’s. Arguably this may be a very good leading indicator.

Faulty yardsticks also takes us onto wealth management. Measuring our net worth in local currencies, we might be rather pleased with ourselves – smug even. However we chose to ignore the fact that the yardstick is not a constant … it is shrinking and sometimes really quite fast. It’s the natural corrosive effect of inflation. Knowing this, governments give us a gauge for yardstick shrinkage to use such as RPI or CPI, to reassure you that the shrinkage is minimal… and then lie about it.

There are alternatives.

In the US, the Chapwood Index is highly regarded as it reflects the true cost-of-living increase. Plainly and simply, the Index shows that incomes can’t keep up with expenses, and it explains why people increasingly have to turn to the government for entitlements to bail them out. The basis of the Index is fullly open to scrutiny and if correct suggests Americans have been losing roughly 10% of their wealth each year since 2014. Half of it gone. This compares with the official government figure of 1.9%. Ronald Reagan called inflation “the thief in the night” and it is built for times just as this. It gives the appearance of being wealthy (maintaining high nominal values) while eroding your actual position – which manifests itself in far higher costs on the other side.

Interestingly, gold has seen an average year-on-year gain of about 10% compounded since 2000 – off-setting those real losses – which reaffirms in our mind that it continues as a reliable yardstick against which to measure costs or indeed wealth. In short, gold has maintained what economists call “purchasing power parity” for millenia. So not only is it an excellent yardstick – its actually quite a useful thing to own – especially if you fear wealth erosion. If you haven’t already read this, you must – see :Jastram’s Golden Constant

Many crises invariably start with stealth inflation and then follows currency weakness – so gold gets expensive and then it blows out significantly higher in your local currency. Then you realise that the lifeboat has sailed … the choo-choo train has left the station.

For the unprotected, your backstop plan to protect your wealth by “buying gold when I need it” has just failed. You are now trapped with a dissolving currency and every financial escape route looks too expensive … and so it goes. Ask anyone in one of those 72 countries (see below) where gold is starting to look expensive.

In short, insurance is best bought before you think you need it … boring, but true.