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Today’s AM fix was USD 1,730.50, EUR 1,339.81 and
GBP 1,073.64 per ounce.
Yesterday’s AM fix was USD 1,742.75, EUR 1,352.23 and GBP 1,081.71 per
ounce.
Silver is trading at $33.15/oz,
€25.78/oz and £20.56/oz. Platinum is
trading at $1,657.75/oz, palladium at $676.80/oz and rhodium at $1,025/oz.
Gold is a tad higher today in most major currencies.
Investors await the policy decision by the US Federal Reserve and Fed
Chairman Ben Bernanke’s news conference at 1815 GMT.
Yesterday’s German Constitutional Court’s
decision allowing Germany to ratify the €500 billion ESM with strict
conditions sent gold to its highest price since last February (in dollars)
and silver back above $34/oz briefly.
Silver 5 Year Chart – (Bloomberg)
Gold was down only $0.10 or 0.01% in New York yesterday
and closed at $1,732.00. Silver hit $34.065 yesterday and then dropped to as
low as $32.482 and then also rebounded, but it finished with a loss of 0.6%.
It is worth remembering that gold, silver and the
platinum group metals (PGMs) have seen strong gains in the last 30 days and
therefore a correction is possible.
In the last 30 days (since August 13th), platinum has
risen by 18.9%, silver by 18.7%, palladium by 18.4% and gold by 7.6%. All
remain well below their nominal record highs (see charts) and more
importantly well below their inflation adjusted highs.
All will most likely continue to rally especially if
the Fed announces QE3 today as investors turn to precious metals to hedge
substantial money printing by governments and the real risk of future
inflation.
"The Euro bailout measures and the opening of the
monetary policy floodgates by the central banks are likely to result in
higher inflation in the medium to long term," says today's Commerzbank commodities
note.
The strikes and violence in South Africa's gold and
platinum industries are supporting and may contribute to higher prices.
Machete-wielding strikers forced Anglo American
Platinum, the world's No.1 platinum producer, to shut down some of its
operations in South Africa, sending spot platinum to a five month high of
$1,654.49.
Spot palladium gained 0.9% to $677.20, and reached
$680.50 earlier in the session -- a four-month high yesterday.
Platinum Monthly Chart 1992-2012 – (Bloomberg)
Palladium’s record nominal high was $1,045/oz back in January 2001.
South Africa gold production fell 5% versus a year ago
further confirming South Africa’s has reached peak gold.
Spreading labor unrest in the nation’s mining
industry has deepened concern of a credit-rating downgrade for South Africa.
South Africa’s bonds slumped and the cost of insuring the
nation’s debt jumped more than any other country yesterday.
Palladium Quarterly 1994-2012 – (Bloomberg)
The rand weakened 2% against the dollar, extending its
loss over the past month to 3.1%, the worst performer among 16 major
currencies.
Geopolitical risk continues to support gold with riots
and attacks aimed at American interests spreading across the Middle East,
North Africa and even into West Africa.
In the aftermath of the storming of the US embassy in
Libya and killing of the U.S. ambassador, violence has flared in Egypt,
Tunisia and in Yemen this morning and there are concerns of violence in
Nigeria.
Hundreds of Yemeni demonstrators stormed the US embassy
in Sanaa today and security guards tried to hold
them off by firing into the air. Once inside the compound, they brought down
the US flag and burned it.
Nigeria boosted security at foreign diplomatic
buildings and Nigerian police are on “red alert” and ensuring
“24-hour water-tight security in and around all embassies and foreign
missions in Nigeria,” spokesman Frank Mba
said today in an e- mailed statement from Abuja, the capital.
Cross Currency Table – (Bloomberg)
Protesters have attacked the U.S. embassies in Cairo
and Tunis. In Tunisia, police used tear gas to stop hundreds of protesters
from storming the United States Embassy. US embassies in Tunisia and Algeria
warned Americans to avoid crowded places because of expected protests.
In Egypt, the powerful Muslim Brotherhood called for
peaceful nationwide protests tomorrow “outside all the main
mosques.” Security guards maintained the Egyptian U.S. embassies'
perimeter against protesters, some who hurled Molotov cocktails.
Geopolitical risks remain elevated and means that an allocation to gold
remains important.
For breaking
news and commentary on financial markets and gold, follow us on Twitter.
NEWS
Gold steady ahead of Fed, platinum near 5-mth high
- Reuters
Fed Seen Starting QE3 While Extending Rate Pledge to
2015 - Bloomberg
Gold May Gain Before Fed Policy Decision Amid Record
ETP Assets - Bloomberg
Rich-Poor Gap Widens to Most Since 1967 as Income
Falls - Bloomberg
COMMENTARY
How Gold, Shares, Deposits and House Prices Fared
Five Years After Northern Rock – The Telegraph
Developed World in Financial Decay – How Long
Before Money Collapses? - GoldSeek
The Rise of the Barter Economy -
Bloomberg
The euro’s demise may be the final chapter of
the ERM debacle – The Telegraph
Mark
O’Byrne
Goldcore
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