Month: May 2013

By www.CentralBankNews.info

By HY Markets Forex Blog

The West Texas Intermediate oil slipped for the second time on Wednesday, after reports from the industry data showed U.S inventories increased for a fourth week  .

Reports from the American Petroleum Institute showed that the U.S oil stockpiles rose to 532,000 barrels last week. With a decline of 1 million barrels expected, investors will closely monitor the government reports on oil inventories. WTI crude oil futures slid as much as 0.7 % in New York, while they were trading 0.52% lower to $95.68 a barrel and Brent Oil decreased as much as 41 cents (0.4 %) to $103.50 a barrel for the July settlement.

Earlier this month the Chinese crude oil inventories increased by 0.1 % in the month of April, which includes the Chinese petrochemicals, oil and gas. According to reports and calculations by Bloomberg, stockpiles rose to 28.7 million metric tons marking a three-month high.

In the Middle East, Saudi Arabian oil exports declined to 7.42 million barrels a day in March, which indicates it came down by 300,000 barrels from the previous month, according to data showed.

The International Energy Agency ( IEA ) said the global oil demand would increase by 6.1 million barrels a day to 96.7 million a day by the year 2018  according to market reports .

“Following several years of stronger-than-expected North American supply growth, the shockwaves of rising US shale gas and light tight oil and Canadian oil sands production are reaching virtually all recesses of the global oil market,” the IEA said in its market report.

The post WTI Oil drops as Inventories rise appeared first on | HY Markets Official blog.

Article provided by HY Markets Forex Blog

By HY Markets Forex Blog

The Asian stocks rose with a positive lead from Wall Street on Wednesday, with Japan’s Nikkei reaching a 5- ½ year high as it holds on to its gains as the Bank of Japan stood pat after they unleashed a massive stimulus last month.

Economists and analysts are expecting the UK’s FTSE 100 to open down 0.16 %, France’s CAC 40 to drop 0.17% and Germany’s DAX to open at 0.18%.The MSCI’s broadcast index of the Asia-Pacific shares outside Japan. MIAPJ0000PUS increased 0.1 % while the South Korean shares rose 0.6%.

Japan’s Nikkei N225 gained 1.6%, breaking above 15,500 for the first time in over five years.

The BOJ unleashed the most intense burst of stimulus last month, promising to put in $1.4 trillion into the economy towards the commitment to achieve 2% inflation in two years.

The Japanese government bond dropped after the BOJ refrained from announcing any steps to stem a JGB market in almost two months .JGB futures fell 0.2 points on the day and down from 142.07.

The Stock Market took heart after two senior Federal Reserve officials dampened market speculations regarding the U.S central bank would probably start tapering its stimulus program later this year.

The Market will be keeping an eye for more clues on what move the Fed’s would make when the chairman Ben Bernanke testifies before congress later on Wednesday.

The post Asian stocks supported by Fed reassurance appeared first on | HY Markets Official blog.

Article provided by HY Markets Forex Blog

By www.CentralBankNews.info     The Bank of Japan (BOJ) maintained its aim of expanding the monetary base by an annual 60-70 trillion yen, along with purchases of Japanese government bonds and other securities, and voiced confidence that the economy was now picking up speed and consumer prices should start to rise.
    The BOJ, which launched its “new phase of monetary easing” on April 4, said it would continue with its plan to buy government bonds so the outstanding amount rises by 50 trillion yen a year and the average remaining maturity of these purchases will be about seven years, along with annual purchases of exchange-traded funds worth 1.0 trillion a year and real estate trusts worth some 30 billion yen.
    In addition, the BOJ will continue to buy commercial paper and corporate bonds until the outstanding amounts reach 2.2 trillion yen and 3.2 trillion yen, respectively, by the end of this year.
    The BOJ, which launched its new, massive quantitative easing plan following last year’s election of Prime Minister Shinzo Abe and the installment of a new central bank governor, sounded upbeat about Japan’s economy, which has been languishing for years and battling deflation for 15 years.
    “Japan’s economy has started picking up,” the BOJ said, adding exports had stopped falling as overseas economies were moving out of a deceleration phase and heading toward a pick-up.

   
   

By MoneyMorning.com.au

George Soros has built a $20 billion personal fortune from scratch, over a fifty-five year career.

And it’s just been reported that he has been buying one of the most deeply unloved parts of the market…

…Resource stocks.

When one of the wealthiest and most experienced investors in the world is buying something, it often pays to do the same…

Resource stocks don’t have many friends right now. After two years of falls, in terms of ‘excitement factor’, resource stocks currently rate close to having a root canal.

But Soros knows a thing or two about investing. One of these things is that you should buy when no one else wants to. Understanding this fact helped Soros’ own fund notch up an incredible average of 20% a year for 40 years.

But not only is Soros buying into the unloved sector of resources, he’s buying into possibly the most despised subsector within it…

…Gold stocks.

Yes that’s right.

Soros is buying gold stocks. By the way, this isn’t a rumour. This isn’t a ‘Soros may be behind this’ story. Soros is actually buying gold stocks.

He recently increased his holdings of the ‘Market Vectors Gold Miners’ Exchange Traded Fund (ETF) by 70%, from $59 million, to a lazy $100 million. This ETF is made up of a mix of the biggest gold miners from around the world. Buying this way is an easy way to spread your bets in one go.

On top of this, Soros also has $32 million of specific gold stocks. This allowed him to increase exposure to the ones he likes the most.

Where Gold Gets Really Interesting…

Soros has also purchased $25 million worth of the ‘Market Vectors Junior Gold Miners’ ETF, which is the small-cap gold stock version of the other ETF.

Small-cap stocks are higher risk than big caps, so taking a big position makes it look like he’s feeling confident about a major turnaround.

What’s more, he’s getting his exposure to the ‘Market Vectors Junior Gold Miners’ through ‘Call Options’. Buying this way gives him flexibility on when to buy in, but more importantly gives a great deal of leverage if gold stocks rise.

On top of what he already owned, Soros now has almost a quarter billion dollars of gold exposure.

Right at the time that many gold investors are getting nervous and running for cover, one of the world’s wealthiest people is buying gold in a big way.

A quick look at this chart gives you an idea why. Gold is now back to a long-term support level.

The last time it bumped against the base of its channel was 2008, and before that 2005. Both times, gold went on to jump over 80% in the following twelve months. A repeat of that from here would take gold to $2,500.

The other technical signals are flashing green too. The RSI at the top is as low as it’s been, as is the MACD. Both are clear warnings to expect gold to make some major moves up from here, and soon.

In my newsletter to Diggers and Drillers subscribers at the start of May, just after gold had bounced $150 from its lows to reach $1470, I wrote:

‘Just a note of caution here though: expect a brief pullback in gold during the early stage of any recovery.

‘If you study the charts closely you’ll see that when gold has bounced after the 30% sell-offs in 2003, 2006 and 2008, it hasn’t been plain sailing. Each time, gold has recovered, but has seen a 9-12% pullback during the recovery within the first few months.

‘If we see this happen again, depending on when it happens we could see gold potentially pull back to the US$1300′s again. Be prepared for the possibility of something like that to happen along the way. The market is nervous, and any pullback would rattle investors. Though it would probably be the last good buying opportunity you will see for a while. That applies to gold, as well as gold stocks.’

Sure enough, gold fell to the $1,300′s suddenly last week. The drop was 10%, taking it from $1490 to $1340.

But it didn’t stay there for long, and gold was already back above $1400 last night. If gold keeps following the script, then the worst may be behind us. Soros seems to be investing like he thinks it is, at any rate.

So Which Gold Stocks to Go For?

Cash is the first thing to look at.

When you heard from me yesterday, I explained how a strong cash balance is essential for the company, and its investors, to succeed.

One of the cashed up stocks I found last time increased in price almost twenty-fold.

The problem is that most companies are down to their last ten bob. And small gold stocks are in a particularly bad way.

But there is a small cluster of cashed up gold stocks too. And incredibly there are a few gold stocks that are trading below the value of their cash balance. See what I mean:

Click to enlarge

That’s right. There’s an Aussie gold stock with $45 million in cash in the bank, selling for $28 million.

These stocks, and the ones I showed you yesterday, are just a few of the cashed up beauties that floated to the surface when I waded through hundreds of quarterly reports this week. The benefit of running raw numbers like this is that some obscure but pretty decent stocks can emerge.

Cash is just the first of many things to check. I have a long checklist to follow.

But cash is where I start. Having no cash is like having no fuel in the tank. It doesn’t matter how good the car is; it won’t get very far!

You can safely assume that Soros is running a firm ruler over the balance sheet of the gold stocks he likes. It pays to do this research. Because if gold stocks are poised for a big move, like he and I both believe…then it is the cashed up ones that will lead the pack.

Dr Alex Cowie+
Editor, Diggers & Drillers

From the Port Phillip Publishing Library

Special Report: How to Buy Better Stocks

Daily Reckoning: The Warning Signs for Australia’s Economy

Money Morning: Look for Small-Cap Resource Stocks with Plenty of Cash

Pursuit of Happiness: Working Towards Independence From The State

Dr Alex Cowie
Editor, Diggers & Drillers
Join me on Google+

Diggers and Drillers:
Why You Should Invest in Junior Mining Stocks

EURUSD’s rise from 1.2796 extends to as high as 1.2938. However, the rise is likely consolidation of the downtrend from 1.3242. Resistance is located at the upper line of the downward price channel on 4-hour chart. As long as the channel resistance holds, the downtrend could be expected to resume, and one more fall to test 1.2747 support is still possible. On the upside, a clear break above the channel resistance will indicate that the downtrend from 1.3242 had completed at 1.2796 already, then the following upward movement could bring price to 1.3500 zone.

Daily Forex Forecast

By MoneyMorning.com.au

It’s a Saturday, and Chris Anderson’s daughters want to redecorate their dollhouse. They ask him to buy them new furniture.
‘I went online,’ he says, ‘and quickly realized three things: (1) dollhouse furniture is expensive; (2) there is surprisingly little variety; and (3) the stuff your kids like is invariably the wrong size for your dollhouse.’

So with a little help from Dad, the girls then turn to making their own dollhouse furniture in only minutes, using a 3-D printer at home. ‘We may never buy dollhouse furniture again,’ Anderson writes. ‘If you’re a toy company,’ he adds with drama, ‘this story should give you chills.’

For the last 18 months, we’ve been wrestling with a conundrum: How is it that the US energy industry is unlocking vast new stores of oil and gas…and the US biotech industry is discovering how to turn back our biological clocks…at the same time Washington is setting new debt records and Wall Street is back to its old pre-2008 tricks?

Months ago, we made this ‘Tale of Two Americas’ the central theme of the 2013 Agora Financial Investment Symposium, scheduled for this July in Vancouver.

As part of our pre-conference research, we were compelled to track down Chris Anderson and talk with him face to face at the SXSW Interactive Festival – an offshoot of the annual South by Southwest gathering in Austin, Texas.

His daughters’ dollhouse furniture is a tiny ripple in the vast ocean of a home-brewed technological revolution that will change the world as we know it.

Opening the Doors for Entrepreneurs

‘We went to Thingiverse, an online repository of 3-D designs that people have uploaded,’ Anderson explains in his book Makers: The New Industrial Revolution.

‘Every furniture type we could want, from French Renaissance to Star Trek, was available, ready for the downloading. We grabbed some exquisite Victorian chairs and couches, resized them with a click to perfectly fit our dollhouse scale, and clicked ‘Build.’ Twenty minutes later, we had our furniture.’

No, the results weren’t very sophisticated. ‘Right now we can print plastic in only a few colors on our MakerBot. The finish is not as good as injection-molded plastic, and we can’t print color details with nearly as fine precision as the painting machines or stencils of Chinese factories.’

But give it time, he says: think back 30 years to the days when you printed two-dimensional documents on crude dot-matrix printers. ‘Just a generation later, we have cheap and silent inkjets that print in full color with resolution almost indistinguishable from professional printing.’

The future Chris Anderson envisions is about much more than using 3-D printers to make your own trinkets. It’s about opening the doors of entrepreneurship to anyone with a little imagination and an internet connection.

It’s not only the ‘next big thing’. We daresay it’s the only thing that can overcome the crushing burden of debt that still looms like a snow ledge over the next generation of Americans. ‘Any genuine recovery in America,’ we wrote in 2011, ‘will be led by entrepreneurs who generate new ideas and create new jobs.’

Enter Anderson’s new industrial revolution: ‘Transformative change happens when industries democratize,’ he writes, ‘when they’re ripped from the sole domain of companies, governments and other institutions and handed over to regular folks.

‘The technology to create and design new products is available to anyone today. You don’t need to invest in a massively expensive plant or acquire a vast workforce to turn your ideas into reality. Manufacturing new products is no longer the domain of the few, but the opportunity of the many.’

Leader of the Maker Movement

Chris Anderson has taken a roundabout journey to becoming the apostle of what’s now known as the Maker movement.

He was a college dropout and punk rocker who paid the bills working as a bicycle messenger. Then he went back to college, applied himself and earned a degree in computational physics from Berkeley.

He began writing and editing for the scientific journals Nature and Science. Then he turned to general interest media, working a seven-year stint at The Economist, including a three-year assignment in China.

In 2001, he became the editor of Wired, the magazine that’s covered cutting-edge technology and its impact on the broader culture for the last two decades.

He chronicled the Maker movement from its earliest stages. And over the last several years, he transformed from an observer to a participant to a leader of the movement.

An inveterate tinkerer, Anderson’s own foray into entrepreneurship began inauspiciously – in an utterly failed effort to entertain his kids one weekend in 2006. ‘One Friday, in the Wired offices, these two boxes arrive,’ he tells us in a face-to-face interview.

‘We would always get products for review, and these two boxes show up. One was the brand-new Lego Mindstorms NXT 2006 kit, and the other one was a radio-controlled model airplane. I thought, ‘Best weekend ever, right? Saturday, we’re going to build a Lego robot with my kids, and Sunday, we’ll fly a plane.’

The Lego robot – a three-wheeled thingy – was a bust. ‘It moved forward until it saw a wall and then it backed up. And the kids were like, ‘You’ve got to be kidding me. We’ve seen Transformers. We know what robots are supposed to do. And where are the lasers? Why isn’t it walking?”

The plane fared no better. ‘I flew it straight into a tree, because I suck at flying. I then climbed the tree to get it, which is mortifying.

‘I was annoyed at them, I was annoyed at myself; the whole weekend had gone wrong. I was thinking about how it could have gone better. I thought, Well, the problem is we couldn’t build anything really cool with Lego, and the problem is it can’t fly.

‘What if we could build a Lego thing that will fly the plane? I bet the Lego could have flown the plane better than I could have, and that would be cooler than this three-wheeled thing that bounces off walls.’

Then it dawned on him that with some of the other parts that arrived in the boxes that Friday, he could build a crude autopilot. ‘I came home, Googled ‘autopilots’ and understood a bit of the basics. Then I grabbed the kids and we sat at the dining room table and we built a Lego autopilot. And it worked. Kind of. It could kind of barely fly the plane.’

Anderson and family had concocted the first Lego drone. It now sits in the Lego museum in Denmark.

The kids soon lost interest. Anderson did not. Long story short, his do-it-yourself drone experiment in 2006 became a website in 2007 called DIYDrones.com, and then became a company called 3D Robotics in 2009, selling both ready-made drones and drone kits for hobbyists.

It has 70 employees in San Diego and Tijuana. Last year, the firm broke $5 million in revenue; this year, the figure is set to double. Anderson has quit the day job at Wired.

And nearly everything about his business embodies the organizing principles of the Maker movement. Tune in tomorrow to find out how his business and countless others are gearing up to fly sky high…

David Gonigam
Contributing Editor, Money Morning

Join Money Morning on Google+

From the Archives…

The Foundations for the Great Lie We Have Built Our Lives Upon
17-05-2013 – Vern Gowdie

How the Aussie Dollar is Running Out of Friends, Fast
16-05-2013 – Murray Dawes

STOP PRESS…Resource Stocks Pay Dividends Too
15-05-2013 – Dr Alex Cowie

‘Best Week in Four Years’: Resource Stocks are Starting to Move…
14-05-2013 – Dr Alex Cowie

Why You Won’t See Me on ABC or CNBC Discussing Financial Markets…
13-05-2013 – Kris Sayce

By www.CentralBankNews.info     Nigeria’s central bank held its Monetary Policy Rate (MPR) steady at 12.0 percent, as expected, saying it would be premature to cut rates in light of the risk that inflation may accelerate if there is a need for increased government spending in the short-to-medium term.
    The Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) said its monetary policy committee had voted by seven votes to three to maintain the policy rate along with the cash reserve requirement and the liquidity ratio.
    “The Committee was convinced that in view of the successes achieved in all fronts – banking stability, low inflation, exchange rate stability, strong reserve buffers and recovery in the equities market, there is no reason at this point to change a policy that has worked so well,” the CBN said.
    The CBN, which last raised rates in October 2011, said it was concerned over the low level of credit growth to the private sector, attributing this to the crowding out effect of high growth in credit to the public sector.
    Government spending is expected to rise this year and recent military action in the north-east of the country will result in additional spending, the CBN said.
    “Overall, the Committee is of the view that government spending will constitute a major risk to the inflation and exchange rate outlook, thus advising prudence in monetary policy action at this time,” it said.

     On Monday Nigeria’s finance minister, Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala said a small rate cut would help economic activity but knowing the central bank governor, he was sure rates would be maintained.

    The CBN targets inflation of 10 percent.
    “The inflation outlook remains relatively benign with projections of headline inflation remaining in the single digit range for the next six months,” due to base effects, muted growth in monetary aggregates and exchange rate stability, the CBN said, adding:
    “The principal risks to the outlook remain fiscal spending and possible pressures on the exchange rate from any attrition to reserves caused by declining revenues as a result of output leakages.”
    Nigeria’s foreign reserves to by 12.1 percent to US$ 49.13 billion as of May 16 from end-2012, mainly due to increased portfolio capital inflows.
     Revenue from oil  exports account for almost 80 percent of the Nigerian government’s revenue and the CBN said it was concerned by the uncertain oil market, high output leakages from oil theft which affects the oil sector’s contribution to economic output and the “prospects for declining output if the state of affairs continues.”
    Nigeria’s economy expanded by an annual rate of 6.6 percent in the first quarter of 2013 from 6.9 percent in the fourth quarter and the CBN expects second quarter Gross Domestic Product to rise by 6.72 percent, mainly due to growth in the non-oil sector, agriculture, wholesale and retail trade.
    However, the relatively robust growth forecast for 2013 is hinged on favourable conditions for agriculture and there are risks from widespread insecurity, weak infrastructure, probable flooding from projected heavy rains in some parts of the country and the state of emergency in the North East and military operations there that could affect economic activities.

    www.CentralBankNews.info

By David Banister, Chief Strategist www.themarkettrendforecast.com

I used to half joke with some of my investing friends that the best time to buy stocks is during or right after a crash.  Think 1987, 2000-2002, 2008-09, and now perhaps Gold Miners?? Well, before we get too far ahead of ourselves, lets examine evidence of a “Crash”: I like to use crowd behavioral, empirical, and technical evidence in combination.

1.  In a recent money managers poll, virtually nobody was bullish on Gold or Gold stocks, and over 80% of those polled were bullish on the SP 500 and US stocks.

2.  The percentage of Dumb Money traders (non-reportable traders) in the futures markets with short positions on Gold is at all time highs, they tend to be very long at the highs and very short at the lows.

3.  The insider buying ratio of Gold Mining stocks to sellers is running over 10 to 1, the highest since October 2008 when Gold bottomed out at $685 per ounce from $1030 highs.  Quoting Ted Dixon, CEO of Ink Research, “such a high level of buying interest among officers and directors within their own businesses in the resource sector has correctly foreshadowed a recovery in share prices in the past: That high point of nearly five years ago came about six weeks before the Venture market bottomed on Dec. 5, 2008…While the excitement that surrounded mining stocks as recently as two years ago has waned, experienced value investors recognize that such periods of investor neglect often give rise to the best deals” Source: Theglobeandmail.com

4.  The ratio of the HUI Gold Bugs Index to the SP 500 is at multi year lows and in near crash mode on the charts. The RSI Index (Relative strength) on the weekly charts is at 10 year lows at -13.71, which is off the charts low!!

5.  Most trading message boards I view at Stocktwits and others are universally bearish on Gold and Gold stocks.

6.  Gold is in a wave B or Wave 5 down re-testing the 1322 lows which we have discussed here for weeks as very likely if 1470 was not taken out on the upside… this is a normal sentiment pattern and re-test.

7.  Gold has been in a 21 Fibonacci month correction pattern off a 34 Fibonacci month rally from 686-1923. In August of 2011 I penned articles from 1805 right up to 1900 warning of a massive wave 3 top forming.  Everyone was bullish, now it’s the complete opposite.

8. Currency debasement continues around the world with negative real interest rates. This is bullish for Gold once this correction has run its course.

9. Hulbert Digest Gold Sentiment index is at an all time low (gold newsletters at -35 sentiment readings!!)

10.  Gold -Silver put to call ratios are at all time highs

I could go on and on with headlines and such, but you get the idea.  This is the same type of sentiment I wrote about on the stock market on Feb 25th 2009, here  is that article... and nobody on the planet was bullish.

Below is a chart showing the Bullish % index for Gold Miners, as you can see the last time we were at 0% was late 2008 when Gold had bottomed out and insiders were also buying like crazy like now:

The GLD ETF chart also shows a likely re-test or slightly lower of the 1322 futures lows of April, when Insider buying hit 10 year record levels:

Obviously Gold could end up going a lot lower than we think, and the Gold Mining stocks could sink further yet. But for those with a 3-6 month horizon, we expect the 21-24 month Gold correction to complete by no later than October 2013.  During the next several months the opportunities to buy some miners on the cheap will potentially make some investors a lot of money in the coming few years.

Join us at www.markettrendforecast.com for occasional free reports or sign up for our daily updates on the SP 500 and Precious Metals.

By David Banister
www.markettrendforecast.com

London Gold Market Report

from Adrian Ash

BullionVault

Tues 21 May, 09:10 EST

The PRICE of both silver and gold slipped back in London on Tuesday morning, cutting into yesterday’s rapid gains from 4-year and 1-month lows respectively. World stock markets stalled after hitting a series of near and new all-time highs so far this month.

The British Pound fell hard – supporting the gold price in Sterling above £910 per ounce – after new data showed a slowdown in consumer price inflation.

“These stunning upside reversals off fresh lows [in gold and silver] were somewhat justified,” says a note from brokers INTL FC Stone, “given that both were quite oversold.”

Monday’s sudden leap in the silver and gold price, which took only a few minutes, was sparked by a “classic short squeeze” according to several analysts today.

Bearish bets in gold futures rose last week to a record holding for speculative traders, breaking 100,000 short contracts – which profit if prices fall – for the first time on record, according to US regulatory data.

Monday’s dramatic $30 jump in the gold price equaled a 2.2% rise, but saw silver jump faster – up 3.9% in a matter of minutes.

Across in Asia, “Physical support for the price is currently huge,” says another analyst in a note, “but will not last forever in our view.

Two weeks after both India’s gold-buying festival of Akshaya Tritiya and tight restrictions on Indian gold imports, “There is no action in the market,” said one Mumbai bank dealer to Reuters earlier.

“Everybody has stopped consignment imports. [So] premiums are still on the higher side in the domestic market” at up to $20 per ounce above the world’s benchmark gold price for London settlement.

On the production side today, London-listed gold miner Petropavlovsk Plc – whose shares have lost two-thirds of their value since New Year, and whose executives have waived 2013 bonuses to help slash costs – extended the gold hedging program it began in February.

With output forecast around 21 tonnes for the next 12 months, Petropavlovsk has now hedged 15 tonnes of that gold, locking in a price of first $1663 and then $1408 per ounce.

Forward sales by larger gold producers grew throughout the 1990s bear market. The industry’s total “hedge book” reached more than 2,900 tonnes in 2001. Leading analysts GFMS said earlier this month they don’t foresee a big move back towards gold hedging by miners any time soon.

As a sector, North America’s major listed gold mining stocks have dropped half their value since the price of bullion peaked in September 2011.

The gold price today stood 28% lower from then, trading at $1375 per ounce by lunchtime in London.

“We have been tempted [by gold mining stocks] for a long time,” says Robin McDonald of Cazenove’s $1.6 billion Multi-Manager Diversity fund, speaking to TrustNet, and “we saw the fall of 22% back in April as the right time.”

Now adding Blackrock’s Gold & General fund to his holdings, “People have become wholly disillusioned with the asset class,” McDonald says.

“In my experience, when nobody has anything nice to say about an asset class,from a contrarian standpoint, it’s time to buy.”

Looking at silver bullion on Monday, Bank of America Corp’s Michael Widmer in London told Bloomberg that “A lot of the investors who bought silver on a view of Dollar debasement or inflation picking up massively I think are now disappointed.

“The other point,” Widmer added, “is that silver industrial demand in [this global] mood of subdued economic growth is not doing particularly well either.”

Meantime in the stock market, investment bank Goldman Sachs has raised its target price for the S&P 500 index – currently at 1665 – to 1750 by year’s end, with further advances to 2,100 in 2015.

“We forecast dividends will rise by 30% during the next two years,” says Goldmans. “Further expansion [in the price/earnings ratio, with stocks rising faster than revenues] is possible if interest rates stay low, growth improves.”

After holding US interest rates unchanged between zero and 0.25% for the 53rd month running at the Federal Reserve’s last policy meeting, central bank chief Ben Bernanke is due to testify Wednesday to the Joint Economic Committee of the Senate.

“Bernanke is unlikely to hint at a tapering of [quantitative easing] bond purchases,” says today’s Commodity Daily from the analysis team at Standard Bank in London, “which would be a positive for gold.

“Below $1360 the metal represents a reasonable buying opportunity.”

Adrian Ash

BullionVault

Gold price chart, no delay | Buy gold online

Adrian Ash is head of research at BullionVault, the secure, low-cost gold and silver market for private investors online, where you can buy gold and silver in Zurich, Switzerland for just 0.5% commission.

(c) BullionVault 2013

Please Note: This article is to inform your thinking, not lead it. Only you can decide the best place for your money, and any decision you make will put your money at risk. Information or data included here may have already been overtaken by events – and must be verified elsewhere – should you choose to act on it.