February 5, 2012

Could Chinese New Year Boost Silver and Gold?

The precious metals market has been looking for any sign that the slide happening over the past 6 months is going away. Well both gold and silver prices are finally rebounding with gold leading the way to an 8 week high.

What could be causing the rise?

Looking to Barron’s online they say…

Prices moved higher during Asian trade as Chinese buying picked up following the Lunar New Year holiday, according to a Dow Jones Newswires report. But analysts remained cautious, pointing to an 11.2% rise so far in 2012 in gold futures prices. The PowerShares U.S. Dollar Index ETF (UUP) was falling some 0.27% in pre-markets as the CurrencyShares Euro ETF (FXE) was rising by 0.39%.

That could mean good news as the market looks to pull investors back in.

Price of Silver Jumps Above $35

The price of silver is on the move. Silver Spot Price has jumped midday once again and is now hovering above $35 per ounce. It has been weeks since the $33 threshold has been broken and it doesn’t look like the bull investors are turning back.

Buying silver has been the last thing on investors minds as precious metals, including gold. Both metals have seen a hacking in the price over the past three months. But lately, with Euro economics, silver and gold are back in the news.

The Wall Street Journal is touting the move in precious metals due to the EU deal that was struck today. We believe the correlation there would either be inflationary or demand in industrial use as the EU would be able to continue to consume industrial uses of the metal. That combined with investors continuing to pump money into ETFs that have seen a retreat like SLV and GLD.

However, Forbes and Kitco news have reported that the value of the dollar, the declining value of the dollar that is, could move the price of silver and gold higher. This would lead to inflationary pressure on the greenback which was the biggest driver in the past few years for both metals.

Finally Barrons Blod gives a good rundown on the mining industry for the two precious metals and why silver mining isn’t going away due to the increase reserves.

News on Silver and Gold After the Dip

The price of gold and silver fell substantially during the past two weeks. Some might call this a rout. With markets around the world signaling no to low growth ahead, news of the prices of precious metals hasn’t been hidden amongst the economic headlines.

Bloomberg Businessweek reported that along with the rest of the precious metals markets going down, mining companies are right there taking a fall as well. Goldcorp, AngloGold and more are considerably down.

CNN Money is reporting huge moves in the metal commonly found in piping.

Gold and silver and the rest of the precious metals market will continue to be in the news as the world economies try and figure out if they’re going into another recession and toying with deflation or if this is just a bump in the road on the way to economic recovery.

Price of Silver Back Below $30

The price of silver and gold have been dropping and siler dipped below $30 per troy ounce again today. That price is fast becoming a floor that most silver investors a hoping stays in place as the world economic market tries to figure out what to do with the chance of another recession.

Is it demand? Is it finally a correction? Investors are trying to figure that out. Gold had the biggest plunge since the 80s and silver is right there behind it, with two dips in the year that have sent investors to the sell sell sell button.

The first was in May, after the price of silver dropped more than 25% in a few days just before it was flirting with an all time high of $50 an ounce. Then again this past month, after gold had it’s run-up to record high prices, both precious metals were in the news with a big sell-off.

Only time will tell, some investors are saying I told you so while others are looking at just another dip as volatility plays into the markets.

Silver Continues to See Sharp Falls, What Should You Do?

Every silver investor is wondering the same thing; will silver continue to see such sharp falls? The answer… who knows? I am not going to be the one to tell everyone that silver will not fall even more than it already has. I will go out on a limb though and say that in the long run, the white metal (or the “devil’s metal” as some call it) will be fine in the long run.

Why is Silver Continuing to Fall?

The result of the recent slide in silver can be due to a number of things. First and foremost is the failing economy. Not only is the economy in the toilet, but it seems to be getting worse off everyday. That doesn’t bode well for any investor.

Yes, many investors are putting their money into silver, both to keep it safe and to gain a profit, but there is only so much money out there for investors to invest. Let me put it differently, investors were able to sell stocks and pull money from other areas to put into silver. That is not the case now, as most investors don’t have anything to sell because the market is plummeting, or because they have already put everything they have into silver and other precious metals.

Another factor hurting silver right now is the price of gold. We all know that the price of silver is often tied to what the price of gold does, however, it was thought that silver would start to break away from gold a little more and become a bit more independent. While that has happened some, we still see that silver is tied into gold more than we expected. Gold is in the midst of a massive sell off as investors try to cover losses in other areas. Gold is dropping, therefore silver looks to be following suit.

As of the writing of this article (2:37 pm EST, 8:37 am PST) the price of silver is hovering just over $30 per ounce. That is a far cry from the $44 per ounce price range that silver was at just a few weeks ago, and miles away from the projected $50 per ounce price range that many expected was about to hit.

However, I still have a nagging feeling that silver may shoot back up very soon. Silver is the most volatile of all the precious metals, and the price is likely to shoot up tomorrow or next week. However, the price is also just as likely to drop again. Silver investors are on edge, but anyone who deals in silver knows the game. Volatile metal means volatile prices.

What Should You Do?

I am going to answer this the best I can without trying to sway you one way or another, the choice needs to be yours. If you look at the facts and look at other areas of silver, then you can definitely make an educated guess.

You have three choices in my opinion:

  1. Sell all your silver ASAP. Get rid of what you have, try to retain some of what you invested and walk away until silver stabilizes or until you feel more comfortable with the white metal as an investment. Remember this though, silver will probably never be as stable as you want it to be i.e. volatile.
  2. Hang on to all the silver you have and wait the storm out. Silver may jump back up in price right away, and in the long run it is still a very good investment option. If you can afford to hang on to your current silver investment, then this could be good for you down the road.
  3. Buy, buy, buy. Yes that’s right. Take this opportunity to buy as much silver as you can, especially at these low prices. Remember, silver is still expected to go way up in price, economy or not. While I can’t guarantee this, buying silver at such a low price may be a fantastic way to accrue a great return of investment. It will also keep you money safe as it continues to act as a safe haven for man investors.

You have some thoughts and facts laid out for you. The choice is yours. Whatever you decide, good luck! Make sure you do your homework and really get all the facts before you make any decision regarding your silver investment. Silver is volatile, but it is more than likely going to stick around for a long time and remain a decent investment for most.

Price of Silver Still Dropping Due to Global Confidence

More bad news out of China and Europe have sent stocks and commodities into a tailspin. Fears continue to rise in Europe and around the rest of the world, causing even the price of silver to fall some, as investors are in a tizzy about the failing economy and are faced with several decisions about their money.

Silver will more than likely end up remaining a very valuable commodity, especially in the long run, but the last 7-10 days have been pretty rough. Silver was recently trading as high as $43 per ounce, and now it has dropped to just over $36 an ounce.

While the price has recently dropped, these aforementioned global fears are eventually going to help spike the price of silver back up to levels not seen, which includes silver trading at the $50 per ounce price range and above.

You can look at the recent price drop like this; now is even a better time to get you money in silver. Not only will it protect it, but it is going to probably yield you a nice return in the future as well.

Remember, do some research and make a move to invest in silver. Just because the rice is down some does not mean that silver isn’t still wildly popular, as seen recently with the first week sales of the Uncirculated Silver Eagle.

Uncirculated Silver Eagle Sales Makes Huge Splash

The 2011-W Uncirculated American Silver Eagle was released last weak and the coin debuted with huge sale numbers, proving that demand for both silver and collectible coins is still in full-tilt. The United States Mint reported five-day sales of more than $11-million since its launch on Thursday, September 15.

At its opening price of $60.45, the exact sales total was $11,181,255.15. The unit total came in at 184,967 for a daily sales average of 30,827 coins, although the bulk of the uncirculated Silver Eagle orders were likely placed during the first and second day.

The unit debut amount for the Uncirculated Silver Eagles was enough to make the debut the fourth best in U.S. Mint numismatic product releases this year, falling behind the 2011-W Proof American Silver Eagle (253,144), the 2011 Silver Proof Set (209,367) and the 2011 Mint Set (191,391).

The debut numbers for this coin are staggering, yet it was only the fourth best debut of the ear. This is an amazing statistic, once again proving that you should do your best to invest in some silver if you can.

Orders for the 2011 Uncirculated Silver Eagle may be placed directly on the United States Mint website, or simply by calling the Mint’s toll free number 1-800-USA-MINT (872-6468). Good luck!

Another China-Focused Silver Mining Company Comes under Attack

Another silver mining company is being accused of fraud and inflated earnings. This time, Silvercorp, which operates silver mines in China, is the latest in a string of North American-listed China-focused companies to come under short-seller attack.

A group of short-sellers, who earlier this month accused miner Silvercorp Metals of fraud, outlined new allegations against the company on Monday.

In a new anonymous posting on alfredlittle.com, the short-sellers accused the company of inflating its earnings and provided details on some earlier allegations.

Complaints center around murky finances, or items in corporate filings that the short-sellers say cannot be substantiated. The company has dismissed all the anonymous allegations of fraud and accused short-sellers of attempting to run a “short and distort” scheme designed to drive down its share price.

Silvercorp shares were down 4.6 percent at C$6.50 at 11:10 a.m. (1510 GMT) on Monday on the Toronto Stock Exchange, while its U.S. listed shares were down 5.4 percent at $6.64.

This is definitely some interesting news, as Silvercorp is not the first – nor will they likely be the last, company that has had some serious allegations brought against them.

Keep an eye on these developments as they unfold. For now, you may want to stay away from doing any business with Silvercorp until this matter is resolved.

HSBC Dropped From Silver Futures Antitrust Violation Lawsuit

Both HSBC Holdings PLC and JP Morgan Chase and Company have been accused of manipulating silver futures and options prices in violation of U.S. antitrust law. It seems though that HSBC is no longer a part of the case, as HSBC was dropped as a defendant.

The investors who are involved in the class action case against HSBC and JP Morgan Chase had signed a tolling agreement with HSBC and weren’t naming the bank as a defendant. Tolling agreements are often used to stop statutes of limitation from running while the parties discuss settlement or dismissal of a claim.

The investors who brought to suit against the two banks claim that, starting in March 2008, the banks colluded to suppress silver futures so that call options, or the right to buy, would decline, and put options for the right to sell would increase, according to the complaint filed in federal court in Manhattan. This is a huge anti-trust law violation, and if proven guilty could carry some pretty severe consequences for HSBC and JP Morgan Chase.

The CFTC (Commodity Futures Trading Commission) started to probe the allegations against the banks regarding the silver futures price manipulation back in 2008.

Investors seek to represent a class of thousands of people and companies that held or traded silver futures and options on June 26, 2007, or from March 17, 2008, to Oct. 27, 2010.

It looks though that HSBC is off the hook, so even if they were guilty, nothing will be done now. However, JP Morgan Chase is still on the hook, and looks as though they will continue to be investigated for a while on the matter.

Positive Cues From Asian Markets Drive Silver Futures Up

Silver prices rose by 1.17% to Rs 64,530 per kg in futures trade today as speculators created fresh positions, while receiving taking positive cues from Asian markets.

At the Multi Commodity Exchange, silver for delivery in December rose by Rs 644, or 1.17%, to Rs 64,530 per kg, with a trade volume of 3,006 lots. Similarly, the white metal for delivery in far-month March moved up by Rs 734, or 1.13%, to Rs 65,975 per kg, with a trade turnover of 55 lots.

Market analysts said the rise in silver futures was mostly in line with a firm trend on the other Asian markets as euro debt crisis boosted demand for the precious metal as an alternative investment.

In the Asian region, silver climbed one per cent to USD 40.69 an ounce in the morning trade today, rebounding from a two-day fall.

The positive cues from Asia, combined with other news from around the world may serve to send silver way up. There was also news that China may try to bail out Greece, and if that happens, then who knows what will happen in he markets.

The bailout could be a good thing, but what would China’s price be? Look for silver to remain strong in the future, as investors are continuing to put their money in the white metal to avoid losses in these tough economic times.