Analysis Topic: Commodity Markets - Metals, Softs & Oils
The analysis published under this topic are as follows.Friday, March 23, 2012
Next-Generation Nuclear Power / Commodities / Uranium
Can the nuclear industry sustain itself with a once-every-ten-years accident frequency? Absolutely not, says Tom Drolet, principal of energy consulting firm Drolet & Associates Energy Services Inc. However, with new reactor technology underway, the industry has an opportunity to show the public it can safely generate reliable, affordable low-emissions energy. In this exclusive interview for The Energy Report, Drolet outlines his vision for U.S. energy policy and how next-generation nuclear energy figures into it.
The Energy Report: Tom, you recently gave speeches in Vancouver and New York City on American energy policy. Please share with us your view of nuclear energy and its role in American power generation.
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Friday, March 23, 2012
Governments Gunning for Gold / Commodities / Gold and Silver 2012
Q: What links Turkey, India and Vietnam? A: Weak currencies, trade deficits – and a suspicion that gold is to blame…
HERE'S the scenario: a falling currency, a widening trade deficit, and a population buying more and more gold. What's the result? Well, it tends to be an unhappy government – followed by a policy response.
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Friday, March 23, 2012
Silver Painted Into Potential Head and Shoulders Top’s Neckline / Commodities / Gold and Silver 2012
After silver staged a dramatic false upside break in late February that whipsawed many bullish traders, the price action has since been forming what appears to be a bearish head and shoulders top pattern on the daily charts. The keyword is staged, as the decline could not have been more ‘unnatural’ from a technical standpoint, yet the nature of these moves are rarely questioned.
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Friday, March 23, 2012
FOMC Statement Sends (The Perception of) Silver Sharply Lower as QE3 Hopes Fade Further / Commodities / Gold and Silver 2012
The Federal Reserve’s Federal Open Market Committee or FOMC released a somewhat more optimistic rate statement on Tuesday, March 13th.
The FOMC made no mention of further quantitative easing measures in its latest statement, thereby further reducing (managing) expectations of additional quantitative easing measures, and ‘prompting’ a notable selloff in silver.
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Thursday, March 22, 2012
Resource Investors and the PDAC Curse / Commodities / Gold & Silver Stocks
It's that time of year again. Thirty five thousand people descended on Toronto to take part in the largest mining industry confab in the world. The PDAC has become famous for the broad range of attendees, the numerous parties and the gouging by local hotel operators. In case you only go to Toronto for PDAC, $500 a night is not the usual price for a three star hotel in Hog Town.
For resource stock investors, the PDAC famous for something more sinister; the "PDAC Curse". So far this month is looking like this annual scourge is alive and well and making life miserable for resource stock traders yet again.
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Thursday, March 22, 2012
Why Gold Can Go the Distance / Commodities / Gold and Silver 2012
Gold’s been knocked down lately, but several enduring factors have conditioned the yellow metal for an inevitable comeback.Since the beginning of 2012, gold has trailed its precious metals peers, gaining only about 6 percent compared to double-digit returns for silver and platinum. At the end of February, gold was especially hard hit, following Ben Bernanke’s announcement that there would be no additional quantitative easing and the European Central Bank offering additional LTRO loans to banks.
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Thursday, March 22, 2012
China Economic Contraction Sees Gold Fall Again / Commodities / Gold and Silver 2012
WHOLESALE bullion fell hard in early London trade on Thursday, with the gold price dipping to nearly its lowest level in 2012 as world stock markets and commodity prices also fell.
India's jewelry sector remained on strike in protest at last week's doubling of import duties, and "with physical demand not at full strength and waning investor enthusiasm, the potential for further downside in [the gold price] remains exposed," says today's note from Standard Bank.
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Thursday, March 22, 2012
Buy This Gold Dip As $2,000/oz Possible / Commodities / Gold and Silver 2012
Gold’s London AM fix this morning was USD 1,636.00, EUR 1,243.16, and GBP 1,035.97 per ounce. Yesterday's AM fix was USD 1,656.00, EUR 1,248.21 and GBP 1,042.95 per ounce.
Silver is trading at $31.80/oz, €24.17/oz and £20.14/oz. Platinum is trading at $1,617.50/oz, palladium at $669.75/oz and rhodium at $1,425/oz.
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Thursday, March 22, 2012
Crude Oil Prices And The 'Peak Oil' Environment / Commodities / Crude Oil
Peak Oil can be defined at least 4 ways but one way is simple: Peak Oil is when supplies and stocks are tight enough, relative to demand, to make price slides short and price hikes long, until and unless the economy tilts into recession or by policy decision in response to a dysfunctional and parasitic bank, finance and insurance sector is either pushed or allowed to fall into recession.
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Thursday, March 22, 2012
The Bull Market in Gold and Silver Prevails / Commodities / Gold and Silver 2012
We have been in and around the gold markets for 53 years and conditions have certainly changed, driven mainly by market manipulation of all markets as a result of the Executive Order, which created the “President’s Working Group on Financial Markets.” Those who doubt that are either on the government payroll one way or the other, or you are just too dumb to understand what is really going on. In spite of these machinations and ignorant naysayers the bull markets in gold and silver are still alive and well.
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Thursday, March 22, 2012
Gold Swerves to Avoid the Death Cross / Commodities / Gold and Silver 2012
Despite the turmoil in the world gold prices appear to be range bound between $1800.00/oz and $1550.00/oz. Many are predicting a rapid move north given that the money printing machines are working overtime, debasing all currencies with the eventual outcome being the appearance of the inflation monster. Some are even looking for a black swan event to provide the ignition required to set the precious markets on fire.
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Thursday, March 22, 2012
The Gold Stock Sector Is On Sale / Commodities / Gold & Silver Stocks
Michael Fowler, senior mining analyst with Loewen, Ondaatje, McCutcheon, sees small- and mid-cap junior producers and developers as the "sweet spot" in the gold equities space, and provides a basket of names to consider in each space. In this exclusive Gold Report interview, he also shares his views on the irresponsibility of the "new paradigm" of large-scale financings now in vogue.
The Gold Report: Let's start with the changing risk picture in the gold space. Agnico-Eagle Mines Ltd. (AEM:TSX; AEM:NYSE) and Kinross Gold Corp. (K:TSX; KGC:NYSE) are down by about 50% and 75%, respectively, from their 52-week highs. Both would once have been considered low risk. Are there no low-risk companies in the gold space today?
Thursday, March 22, 2012
Endeavour Silver Provides Blueprint to Sprott’s Call to Action / Commodities / Gold & Silver Stocks
Eric Sprott, legendary gold and silver investor and chairman of Sprott Inc., famously issued an open letter to 17 of the world’s largest silver producers last year. The letter is well-known to the precious metals community because it challenged the mining industry to limit silver sales until prices increased. Unlike an OPEC style cartel, Sprott advocated that miners simply hold a portion of their cash reserves in the form of silver, in order to protect themselves and shareholders from irrational price corrections that take place too often in the silver market. Endeavour Silver not only heeded Sprott’s advice, but has already benefited from it.
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Wednesday, March 21, 2012
Have Gold, Silver Entered a Bear Market? / Commodities / Gold and Silver 2012
For nearly the last five years, we have seen events that were the first of their kind in modern history, from the credit crunch to the East emerging at the expense of the developed world. The oil price has risen to $145, fallen to $35 and then steadily moved up to the current $108. We have seen sovereign debt levels rise to the point where, if they were individual's loans, the individual would have been bankrupted long ago. We have seen governments all over the world try to stimulate their economies to resurrect the spending powers of their embattled consumers. We have seen the developed world inundated with freshly printed money from central banks as deflation hit asset values reducing the velocity and the volume on money.
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Wednesday, March 21, 2012
Gold Market Sentiment Very Poor Despite Strong Fundamentals / Commodities / Gold and Silver 2012
Gold’s London AM fix this morning was USD 1,656.00, EUR 1,248.21, and GBP 1,042.95 per ounce.
Yesterday's AM fix was USD 1,648.50, EUR 1,248.86 and GBP 1,039.01 per ounce.
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Wednesday, March 21, 2012
Gold Remains Vulnerable while Silver Support Threatened by Downtrend / Commodities / Gold and Silver 2012
WHOLESALE MARKET gold prices rose to $1660 an ounce Wednesday morning London time – more or less where they ended last week – before easing ahead of US markets open, while stock, commodity and government bond prices held broadly steady following news that the UK government deficit rose sharply last year.
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Wednesday, March 21, 2012
How to Trade Gold with ETFs and Options / Commodities / Gold and Silver 2012
Larry D. Spears writes: With few exceptions, most leading financial gurus agree that every portfolio should include some physical gold.
But while the yellow metal itself is great as a long-term hedge against turmoil and inflation, it's a lousy trading vehicle.
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Wednesday, March 21, 2012
The Bullish Case for Large-Cap Oil Stocks / Commodities / Crude Oil
With oil prices near record highs, who are the big winners in this energy bull market? Fadel Gheit, managing director and senior analyst of Oppenheimer & Co. has large-cap explorers and producers on his radar. In this exclusive interview with The Energy Report, Wall Street veteran Gheit shares his top picks for diversification, income and even growth.
The Energy Report: What is your current investment theme?
Wednesday, March 21, 2012
Iran Says "Gold Is Money" / Commodities / Gold and Silver 2012
Louis James, Casey Research writes: Economic crises signal that the current system isn't working as expected and needs improvement. When it comes to monetary systems, questioning their fundamentals can lead to doubts about whether the preferred medium of exchange will continue to be preferred for long. The large-scale whirlwind of economic trouble around the globe has pushed some to rethink the role of gold in the economy – and to actually move toward bringing it back.
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Wednesday, March 21, 2012
Global Oil Market Needs Canada's Crude / Commodities / Crude Oil
Canada's natural resources minister told delegates at the International Energy Forum in Kuwait that his country was on the cusp of becoming an "energy superpower." Canada ranks No. 6 in terms of global oil production, but much of its crude exists in the form of oil sands. European leaders are considering a measure that would classify oil sands as an environmental issue, prompting Canada to threaten to take the issue to the World Trade Organization. With the U.S. political system in a deadlock over Canadian crude, the Ottawa government is now working to convince the international community that the global market is in jeopardy if polices "discriminate against oil sands."
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