The Gold Economy

Increased speculation that the Fed may resort again to quantitative easing to boost employment , as a result of a saddening US jobs report, is the main reason why Gold on the Comex division of the New York Mercantile Exchange gained 0.8 percent on Friday.

Gold futures for August delivery were recently up $11.60 at $1,542.20 per ounce in New York. Trade has ranged from $1,525 to $1,546.

US non-farm payrolls delivered their weakest reading since September, with an increaso of only 18,000 last month, extremely below expectations of a 97,000 gain. The national unemployment rate rose to a… Continue reading

A rate hike from China which put inflation concerns back in the spotlight, and  worries over euro zone and US debt lifted the shiny metal’s haven appeal.

Spot gold was bid at $1 526,81 an ounce at 1343 GMT, against $1 515,70 late in New York on Tuesday, having fallen as high as $1 509,49. US gold futures for August delivery rose $15,10 at $1 527,80 an ounce.

“China has done a number of reserve requirement increases over the last several months — however, you have climbing inflation, so in real terms you are not making any money… Continue reading

Thursday morning trading in London saw gold rising to $1512 an ounce, bringing it to a weekly gain of 0.7 percent in the week so far, however by lunch time it fell back again, as did commodities and stocks held flat as the second austerity vote by Greece was due to take place on midday Thursday.

The Greek parliament on Wednesday passed the first out of two austerity votes with 155 to 138. Thursday’s second vote concerns how to implement the approved cuts and privatizations.

At the same time, gold prices in euro rose to €33,596 per kilogram (€1045 per ounce). They… Continue reading

Gold investors are optimistic that Wednesday’s vote will see Greece’s parliament approve an austerity plan that is thought to support sentiment in bullion and other commodities.

As a result, gold increased on Wednesday, supported also by light physical buying in Asia – although some analysts said the volume was too limited to push gold out of its trading range.

Greece is still in the focus, with its parliament due to vote on the austerity package that international lenders have demanded as part of a massive bailout.

On Tuesday, the 19-commodity Reuters-Jefferies CRB index went up 1.7 percent… Continue reading

Despite of the mixed signals being communicated to the gold market, gold was fixed at a new high of $1,522.00 at the end of Wednesday trading in London.

Gold struggled to move much above $1,500 after Wednesday’s high, but some experts, including Martin Murenbeeld, chief economist at Dundee Wealth Economics, believe that gold’s bearish factors are unlikely to hold in the long term.

Murenbeeld believes that gold’s upwards trend is likely to continue over the long term, because, as he puts it – the arguments for gold are simply more compelling that those against it – but he… Continue reading

I must confess I am a gold bug both philosophically and in terms of investing. We are entering a golden age for Gold as the bull market is destined to reach amazing heights and real and honest money reemerges as legal tender against fiat currencies that will soon be at the mercy of a sovereign debt crisis. All this being said, I take issue with some headlines listed here in friend Gary’s blog and some gold bug talking points. I’m listing some of these headlines and talking points and here then my response.

System Wide Meltdown as… Continue reading

“I keep on accumulating gold,” says renowned investor Marc Faber, publisher of the Gloom, Boom & Doom report.

Gold almost returned to where it started off this week, with the US dollar gold price falling 1.3 percent on Thursday compared to the previous session, hitting $1538 per ounce. Silver prices also fell back below the $36 per ounce mark, slightly below its starting off price at the beginning of the week.

This came as US Federal Reserve chairman Ben Bernanke made no special reference to the QE3 – a third round of quantitative easing – while holding a press… Continue reading

While gold fell as much as 2 percent in Thursday trading, Friday saw the precious metal steadying thanks to a softer dollar and a strengthening of the euro following the announcement that Greece had won approval for its five-year austerity plan.

Nevertheless, following a commodity-wide rout, bullion is now headed for its worst week since the beginning of May this year, as a result of the steep losses experienced on Thursday which were made worse by the stronger dollar.

The euro bounced back in Asia after news that Greece has come to an agreement with international lenders over… Continue reading

Greek Prime minister won the vote of confidence on midnight Tuesday, at a time when other markets were closed, while most analysts are predicting an inevitable default by Greece at some point.

Yesterday saw Greek Prime Minister Papandreou winning the vote of confidence from his parliament. Analysts are now awaiting the outcome of next week’s discussions on the second round of austerity measures, and the subsequent implementation of the measures, which is accompanied by the fire sale of Greek public assets.

Experts are agreeing more and more that Greece is simply unable to repay its debt, leaving the… Continue reading