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POSTED ON July 29, 2016  - POSTED IN Key Gold Headlines

In case you missed it, here’s what the Fed’s been up to this week.

Gold Prices Spike after Fed Announcement

It was a big week for being fed up with central banking. The Fed’s July meeting and the FOMC’s statement were on Wednesday. As expected, the plans for a rate increase were put on hold, and the markets had little response with the S&P closing flat. However, investors poured into gold futures, which rallied to their highest level in two weeks on Wednesday, according to MarketWatch.

Fed Up Friday

POSTED ON July 29, 2016  - POSTED IN Key Gold Headlines

Last week, we reported on an oft-ignored fundamental in the gold market – the shrinking supply.

Mining.com analyzed the data and concluded there are no more easy gold discoveries. In fact, the number of major gold discoveries is shrinking. This week we have further evidence that the supply of gold is being squeezed. In fact, MarketWatch asserted that we’re heading for “an impending gold production cliff” based on analysis by Sprott Asset Management.

cliff

Analysts say gold discoveries peaked in 2007, and a production peak will soon follow. Since that high-point in ’07, discoveries have collapsed, this “despite exploration budgets increasing by 250% from 2009 to 2012,” Sprott’s gold team said in a recent note.

Mining companies have begun to consider upping exploration budges with the price of gold on the rise, but there’s a “lead time to transition a discovery to production,” Sprott analysts said. As a result, “production is forecasted to decline over the next number of years.”

POSTED ON July 29, 2016  - POSTED IN Key Gold Headlines

Once again, the Federal Reserve came, saw, and did nothing.

fed1

This has become modus operandi for the Fed over the last two years. As each FOMC meeting approaches, speculation about a possible rate hike ramps up and then the Janet Yellen does…nothing. The one exception was last December, and that turned out to be a complete disaster.

The pundits and analysts are already talking about the possibility of a September hike. Odds are, we’ll witness a repeat performance – or should I say non-performance.

Interestingly, the mainstream is starting to catch on to the game.

POSTED ON July 28, 2016  - POSTED IN Interviews, Videos

Sunny Pannu, director of corporate development for Defiance Silver, a silver explorer and developer, recently sat down with Silver Institute executive director Michael DiRienzo for a wide-ranging discussion about the fantastic world of silver.

The discussion focused on the present state of the silver market and its future. Topics ranged from an explanation of how the silver price-fix works to the dynamics of supply and demand.

DiRienzo emphasized the dual nature of silver, noting that it serves as both an industrial metal and a precious metal for investment. He echoed the same themes as a prominent mining CEO did in a recent interview with Kitco News, saying both investor and industrial demand for the white metal is strong.

DiRienzo  said silver coin sales are on a record pace, as are inflows of silver into ETFs. On the industrial side, it’s interesting to note that the demand for silver has been steady despite general sluggishness in the global economy. DiReinzo said this was due in part to the expanding and diversifying uses for the metal.

Silver is basically all around you. It’s contained in your automobile, your cell phone, your computer, solar panels, PDP televisions, and many, many, many medical uses. So, on the industrial side, you’ll find silver’s use not only a mainstay, but also its growing in many other areas as well.”

POSTED ON July 28, 2016  - POSTED IN Key Gold Headlines

The Federal Reserve stayed pat on interest rates in its most recent meeting, but speculation continues to percolate that the central bank will possibly raise rates in September.

Peter Schiff has been saying for months that the Fed won’t raise rates. He reiterated this on his most recent podcast. (Scroll down to listen to the full podcast.)

The Fed continued to say that they believe the economy is evolving in a way that will warrant gradual rate hikes. And of course, by gradual they mean no more rate hikes…So they raised rates once in December and they haven’t raised rates since. That’s about as gradual as you can possibly get. I mean, if a snail was raising rates they would have blown past Janet Yellen…I think, again, the rate-hiking cycle ended when they raised rates. It began when they started talking about tapering. That was the whole rate cycle, and whether people want to admit it or not, we are now in the easing cycle.”

In fact, Peter has said on numerous occasions the next move for the Fed will be lowering rates back to zero and launching another round of quantitative easing.

qe

If the actions of central banks in the rest of the world serve as any example, Peter will certainly be proven right because the world is awash in QE. In fact, Reuters reported that the amount of quantitative easing is at record levels:

POSTED ON July 27, 2016  - POSTED IN Key Gold Headlines

Over the last year, we’ve reported extensively on the growing influence of China on the world gold market, and the flow of gold from the West to the East. But with uncertainty created by Brexit, economic stagnation, and the proliferation of negative yielding bonds, it appears investors in the West have rediscovered the beauty of gold.

Western gold demand hit unprecedented levels through the first half of 2016, and according to a major precious metals research firm, that trend will continue through the second half of the year.

POSTED ON July 26, 2016  - POSTED IN Key Gold Headlines

The highly-anticipated Rio Olympics begins next week (August 5th), and with it, a race for the gold. Soon, Olympic winners will be standing on the podium donning their gold, silver, and bronze medals and waving towards a roaring crowd. Nothing is more iconic of the Games than these medals draped around the winners’ necks. But have you ever wondered if the Olympic medals are actually made of gold at all? It turns out today’s gold medals actually contain very little gold at all.

Gold Medal History

During the Ancient Olympic Games, winners didn’t receive medals at all. Instead, they won a wreath made from olive leaves from a sacred tree near the temple of Zeus at Olympia. It wasn’t until the 1896 Summer Olympics that winners were awarded with actual hardware. However, at that time top performers didn’t win gold; they took home silver. Second place received bronze.

1896 Olympic Silver Medal

1896 Olympic Silver Medal

POSTED ON July 26, 2016  - POSTED IN Key Gold Headlines

Between Jan. 1 and July 11, the price of silver increased 44.7%. But can the white metal maintain its bull run?

A prominent mining CEO thinks it can – and will.

SilverB

Mining, Inc. CEO Mitchell Krebs told Kitco News that he expects the precious metals sector to attract even more investor interest through the second half of this year. Krebs, who also serves as president of the Silver Institute, went on to say he thinks silver sits in a unique position to outperform as it benefits both as a monetary metal and an investment metal:

I think, right now, silver is in this sweet spot and I think this trend can continue.”

POSTED ON July 25, 2016  - POSTED IN Key Gold Headlines

After a brief pause in May, the Chinese and Russian central banks resumed their gold buying spree in June.

The-Peoples-Bank-of-China

The People’s Bank of China added about 15 tons of gold to its stash last month. The Chinese central bank now officially holds about 58.62 million ounces of gold. China has bought gold in 11 of the past 12 months and has increased its hoard about 165 tons over the past year.

A year ago this month, the Chinese central bank announced its gold holdings had grown by 57% to about 1,658 tons. It was the first official update to China’s gold reserves since 2009. Many analysts believe the Chinese actually own more gold than the official numbers indicate – possibly a lot more.

POSTED ON July 22, 2016  - POSTED IN Key Gold Headlines

As the saying goes: “Keep your friends close, and your enemies closer.” Here’s a quick look what the Fed’s been up to this week.

Fed Up Friday

Philly Fed Shows Drop in Manufacturing

This week the Federal Reserve Bank of Philadelphia released the results of its Manufacturing Business Outlook Survey. The Survey of regional manufacturers showed general activity falling from 4.7 to -2.9 for July.  According to Market Watch, this is the “ninth month of declining activity of the past 11 months and the slowest pace in six months” for the region. These numbers represent what Peter’s said about the economy in the past: “The Actual picture [the Fed paints] is an economic recovery that is over, if it ever happened.”

Fed Officials Tell WSJ Rate Hike Likely this Year

Some centrist Fed officials told the Wall Street Journal a rate hike is likely this year if the economic outlook continues to look positive. Timelines were thrown out, with a possible hike as soon as the September meeting. But that’s eight weeks away, and there are two job reports and other economic data to consider. A slim majority of surveyed economists are betting on a December hike instead.

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