February was another very strong jobs month with the economy adding an estimated 678,000 jobs vs an expected 400,000.
The unemployment rate came in at 3.8%, down from 4%. Labor force participation also improved, rising from 62.2% to 62.3%. Both December and January numbers were revised upwards.
You’re getting less for more every time you pull out your wallet. Inflation is chewing up the average person’s paycheck. In this episode of the Friday Gold Wrap podcast, host Mike Maharrey talks about the real pain of inflation. He also talks about Jerome Powell’s testimony before Congress, the trajectory of monetary policy, the strength of the economy, and he breaks the February jobs report live.
Global silver demand is expected to reach a record high of 1.112 billion ounces in 2022. This is one of several silver-related stories in the latest edition of Silver News published by the Silver Institute.
There have been some major adjustments to headline data numbers so far in February from the BLS, the Fed, and now the Comex.
This analysis focuses on gold and silver delivery volume on the Comex. See the article What is the Comex for more detail.
The previous Commitment of Traders analysis showed how much influence Managed Money has over the short-term price movement of gold and silver. The table below summarizes this influence by comparing the Managed Money Net Positioning with “Other”, the next largest category. Swap is not considered because it typically sits opposite the other two.
As mentioned yesterday, daily updates into the March close are warranted given the extreme situation in the market. Today is First Position, which means the data tonight will give the first indication of March deliveries. Let’s get into it…
Even with the taper, the Fed continues to expand its balance sheet. And it’s not tapering the purchase of mortgage-backed securities (MBS) nearly as fast as advertised.
You’ve probably heard people say inflation is being caused by “greedy corporations.” They back up this increasingly popular narrative with tales of “excessive corporate profits.” In this episode of the Friday Gold Wrap, host Mike Maharrey busts this myth. He also talks about the wild ride in the gold and silver markets after Russia invaded Ukraine.
Usually, I only do one Comex Countdown into the close, but… you know… a war just started. Throw on top the fact that the Comex has been flashing warning signs lately, and I think a daily update is warranted for the next three days.
It’s very possible delivery volume is very robust which could put pressure on the physical market. I will keep the commentary light and the charts simple…
According to the seasonally adjusted data, M2 expanded by $245 billion in January. However, when looking at the raw, non-seasonally adjusted M2 data, the money supply contracted by $214 billion. That would be the largest contraction since Jan 2013.
How do we parse out this data?
