March 19, 2024

Gold American Eagle Bullion Coin Sales Soar 37% in June – Will Gold Outperform Stocks in 2014?

2014-proof-gold-eagleSales of the US Mint American Eagle gold bullion coins soared in June to 48,500 ounces from the previous month of May during which sales totaled 35,500.  Demand for gold bullion coins, however, has been relatively soft compared to previous years.

June sales of the gold bullion coins were down from the year ago period when 57,000 ounces were sold during June 2013.  At the current sales pace 2014 annual sales of the gold bullion coins would come in at roughly 500,000 ounces down significantly from total sales of 856,500 ounces during 2013.  Sales of the American Eagle gold bullion coins hit a record high of 1,435,000 ounces during 2009 when the financial system was still in intensive care and the Federal Reserve initiated a massive money printing campaign to “save” the world.

Gold should always have a presence in an investment portfolio but since mid 2011 stocks have become a powerful competing investment alternative to precious metals. The easy money policies of the Federal Reserve have served to inflate asset values of stocks and bonds to dangerously overvalued levels according to many analysts.

Will stocks and bonds continue to enjoy easy gains of 20 to 30 percent a year or will the entire house of cards built on easy printed money come tumbling down when the world least expects it?  Just this week the Bank for International Settlements (a consortium of the world’s biggest central banks) issued an alarming warning about growing levels of debt and the dangerous unintended consequences of zero interest rate policies.

The report issued by the Bank for International Settlements (BIS) noted that “Overall, it is hard to avoid the sense of a puzzling disconnect between the markets’ buoyancy and underlying economic developments globally.”  The head of the BIS’s economic department further noted that  “Financial markets are euphoric, in the grip of an aggressive search for yield…and yet investment in the real economy remains weak while the macroeconomic and geopolitical outlook is still highly uncertain.”  The BIS noted the obvious when it cautioned that the ultra low levels of interest rate due to financial repression by central banks is encouraging further borrowing but an eventual rise in interest rates will amplify the problem of excessively high levels of debt, a consequence that no one seems prepared for.

So who needs gold when stocks are heading straight up and the consensus is that this wealth machine of easy money and asset inflation is unstoppable?

Gold, silver and stocks

At some unknowable point in time and for some unpredictable reason the euphoria of the credit bubble created by the central banks will burst just as all bubbles in history have burst.  The resulting financial chaos that ensues from the bursting of a central bank induced credit bubble will be calamitous since the situation could well become uncontainable by world monetary authorities.  As the BIS notes, “keeping interest rates unusually low for an unusually long period can lull governments into a false sense of security” whereby they continue to borrow vast amounts of low cost funds to such excess that further expansion of government borrowings become impossible.  Governments that are unable to finance additional borrowings when the next economic downturn comes will turn to their only savior – the central banks.  Unable to stimulate the economy through rate cuts since rates are already at zero, central banks will be forced to monetize government debts on a monumental scale and when this day arrives we should all want to have a heavy percentage of our portfolios in gold.

The current mania for paper assets seems to have even infected China and India who have historically turned to gold as a safeguard against profligate governments and paper money backed only by the promises of lying politicians.   According to the Wall Street Journal demand for gold is expected to decline in both China and India during 2014.

The crowd seems to be leaning heavily towards paper assets and away from gold, suggesting that a turnaround is probably forthcoming.  Gold has already had its correction and is now on track for what will probably be a historic rally.  Consider that despite widespread bearishness on gold, the price during 2014 has held its own and is actually up on the year.  From a price of $1,225 per ounce at the start of the year gold has moved up to $1,326, not exactly a sign of weak demand.

Soaring Gold and Silver Prices Should Not Be a Surprise to Anyone

bars-of-goldThe precious metal markets caught on fire in a big way today.  Gold prices surged the most in nine months by over $40 per ounce and silver closed in on $21 per ounce.  After losing 28% last year as short term hot money investors sold out their holdings, gold and silver were ready for a huge rally from both a fundamental and technical standpoint (see Why Gold and Silver Could Outperform Every Other Asset Class in 2014).

Precious Metals June 19, 2014

METALS PRICE CHANGE PER CENT GAIN
GOLD $1319.00 +40.50 3.17%
SILVER $20.89 +0.88 4.45%
PLATINUM $1472.00 +24.00 1.66%
PALLADIUM $841.00 +12.00 1.46%

The reasons for today’s huge gains in precious metals varied in the mainstream press but soaring prices should have been no surprise to long term investors who understand why gold and silver should be a part of every portfolio.

Gold and silver constitute a fundamental defense for wealth preservation against the rapidly eroding value of paper currencies backed by broke governments which is Why All Governments Hate Gold.

The various governments of the world and their central banks produce and distribute a product – paper currencies. Those currencies are backed by confidence, faith, and credit, but not by gold, oil, or anything real. Those currencies are digitally printed to excess, since almost all governments spend more than their revenues. The UK, Japan, and the USA are prime examples.

Politicians want to spend more money, but they also need to maintain the illusion that the money is still valuable, that it will retain most of its purchasing power over time, and that inflation is under control. The illusion weakens when food, gasoline prices, and other consumer goods are wildly rising in price. At a more abstract level, gold indicates the same lack of confidence in the printed pieces of paper that our central banks distribute.

If last year’s price correction shattered your conviction in owning gold and silver please consider The Fundamental Reasons for Owning Gold and Silver Are Stronger Than Ever.

One of the best methods for protecting wealth against a constantly depreciating paper currency is to own precious metals.

The bull case for precious metals remains intact as central bankers worldwide have become the lenders of last resort for nations that have exhausted their borrowing capacities.  Very little has changed since 2008 when the world financial system stood at the abyss of collapse.  Unsustainable debt levels continue to increase even as the capacity to service the debt diminishes.

Virtually every government in the world has taken on debts and liabilities that are clearly unsustainable.  Governments “don’t go broke” is the sustaining mantra for those with faith in paper currencies but governments do and will continue to print money that accelerates the loss of purchasing power of fiat currencies.  Please consider the following charts courtesy of John Mauldin Economics.

Eventually, as people realize that the central bank emperors have no clothes it will become clear Why There is No Upside Limit for Gold and Silver Prices.

The increase in the value of gold and silver is due to the fiscal and monetary policies of nations struggling to deal with massive levels of debt – policies that virtually guarantee a continued rise in the price of gold and silver.  Central banks, having exhausted all conventional means of monetary easing, have moved on to the last resort option of quantitative easing and currency debasement.

Government officials argue that unprecedented deficit spending and quantitative easing are necessary to stimulate economic  growth, but this theory has not worked in the real world.  Despite trillions in stimulus spending,  job creation and economic growth have been extremely weak and are likely to remain so according to economists Kenneth Rogoff and Carmen Reinhart who wrote This Time Is Different: Eight Centuries of Financial Folly.  According to Rogoff and Reinhart, economic growth is subpar when public sector debt exceeds 90% of GPD which the U.S. and many other developed nations have already surpassed.  In addition, a recovery of the job and housing markets after a financial crisis take many years due to the burden of excessive levels of debt.  Ultimately, Rogoff and Reinhart predict that austerity measures will need to be imposed along with some type of debt restructuring.

Is the U.S. capable of reducing spending and  instituting austerity measures? Cutting deficits means cutting payments to a long list of incomeless recipients who really don’t care where the entitlement money comes from.  Those still actually paying taxes will object strongly to any proposed tax increase to fund government spending.  Unable to cut spending or raise taxes leaves the Government with one bad option – print more money.

Politicians, who value getting elected above all else, are likely to strong arm the reliably compliant Federal Reserve to “come to the rescue” again with additional printed dollars.   In the minds of politicians and Federal Reserve officials, there will always be very compelling reasons to continue borrowing and money printing.

A nation that has reached the limits on taxation and borrowing has few viable policy options other than a continuing series of quantitative easing programs.  Current government policies, if left unchanged, virtually guarantee a continued increase in the price of precious metals.

 

Why Gold and Silver Could Outperform Every Other Asset Class in 2014

gold-buffaloAfter almost a three year bear market in gold and silver it’s safe to conclude that most of precious metal bears have sold out and moved on.  As gold and silver prices corrected sharply over the past three years, the chorus of bearish sentiment in the mainstream press has become endemic, thus setting the stage for a powerful and unexpected contra rally.

What will set off an explosive rally in precious metals remains to be seen but there are plenty of potential triggers including war in the Ukraine or South Korea as well as the significant financial risk of collapsing asset bubbles engineered by the extremely loose monetary policies of the world’s central banks.

Here’s some of the most interesting recent commentaries on why 2014 could be a big year for gold and silver.

Gold and Silver Are Almost Ready to Rally

While every journey does begin with the first step, we need more evidence than a minor rally day to declare that a bull market has arrived. For the SPDR Gold Trust ETF (ticker: GLD), the April 24 rally was not very remarkable other than the fact that the day started with a loss and ended with a gain.
Now let’s talk about what it was rather than what it wasn’t.

For starters, it was an encouraging hold of short-term support from March. And the failure to set a lower low for the current two-month decline also falls on the bullish side of the ledger.

But more importantly, it was a suggestion that prices will not travel to the bottom of a giant year-long trading range again. In other words, any further strength now would tell us that investors are ready to buy. They will not wait for “better” prices to buy at the bottom of the range, and that means a shift in sentiment for the better.

Finally, the gold market has a “golden cross” in place. This is a condition where the 50-day average crosses above the 200-day average, and while it is really a stock market indicator, the macro look and feel are the same to me. After a long decline and period of sideways movement, this is the market’s first sign it has had enough healing. As long as the sideways trading range is not so long that the averages are completely flat, I think the signal is worthy of respect.

We can also we look at rising momentum indicators as bullish. Weekly charts show the relative strength index (RSI) setting higher lows between June and December even as prices set equal lows. This means the bears were tired as 2013 ended, and the fact that this indicator continued to rise this year suggests the bulls are starting to wake up.

Silver also had a bullish short-term reversal last week, but it has a lot more technical damage to repair. It does not have a moving average golden cross in place, and has already fallen rather close to its previous major lows from last year. Generally, that’s not a good sign, but in this case it’s not so clear cut.

When we look at the bigger picture using the iShares Silver Trust (SLV), we will see something really interesting. Recall 2010, when both gold and silver shot higher, but silver moved at a much faster pace than gold did. On the charts, we can see the technical launching point and breakout in August of that year.

As we see in many markets that appear to be bubbles, with such steep gains and ever-accelerating trends, the “bubble” part of the rally is often completely erased before conditions stabilize and then improve. Silver’s rally is now erased, which means the market is likely washed out and left for dead. Even so, there is a bullish RSI condition in place for the white metal, just as there is for gold.

 The Long Goodbye – by Andy Xie

The recent tumbling of Internet and biotech stocks may indicate that the speculation in such stocks has peaked. But, unlike in 2000, the bursting will occur in slow motion. The financial market structure has radically changed in the past 15 years. Too many money managers have a one-sided incentive to long such stocks.

The global financial system has experienced one bubble after another because major central banks have kept monetary policy loose. Prolonged loose monetary policy has made the financial system extraordinary large relative to the real economy. This change forces central banks to respond to negative shocks, like the bursting of a bubble, from the financial system. Such responses make the financial system even bigger. This vicious cycle explains why speculation has become such a powerful force.

A bubble cannot expand forever, even in an environment of loose monetary policy. The balance between fear and greed can tip over when the price of an asset becomes too high, like Internet stocks now relative to the average. The subsequent deflating bubble, in a continuing environment of loose money, just shifts air into other assets.

The talk of monetary tightening in the United States or China will not be followed up with strong enough actions. Real interest rates will remain negative until another crisis, like high inflation or hyperinflation or political crisis, force the hand.

Gold is the safe asset in today’s environment. As paper currencies lose credibility, the demand for gold will surge. The alternative digital currencies are fool’s good, really scams to take advantage of people’s fear over the potential collapse of paper currencies.

Two changes in the past 15 years have made bubble formation a constant feature of financial markets around the world. The inefficiencies in capital allocation and income redistribution to finance are the main reason for today’s sluggish global economy.

At the macro level, globalization has made inflation slow to emerge, as multinational companies can shift production around the world in response to cost pressure. This force has given central banks more room in increasing money supply without facing the inflation consequences for years. Hence, central banks around the world have become more active in response to economic fluctuations. The consequence is a rising ratio of money supply or credit to GDP. By definition, this means a bigger and bigger financial system, which needs more and more income to survive.

The real economy, as the previous analysis indicates, can only bear so much. Bubble formation has become central to supporting a bloated financial system. A large and bubbly financial system is unstable. Its periodic collapse brings down the economy, which triggers more monetary stimulus. Hence, constant monetary stimulus and an ever-expanding and bubbly financial system have formed a vicious cycle.

What’s Up With Gold and Silver? (Market Anthropology)

Anecdotally, we are seeing and hearing from those anxiously long the precious metals sector and contentiously short. With gold and silver down sharply in the early morning session – then reversing violently higher, the emotional spectrum in the market is likely diverged at or near another extreme. Over the past 10 months, both bulls and bears alike have been waiting for the next leg to commence. Instead, the market has played the jester – traversing a narrowing range and taking turns at frustrating both sides.

When will the argument resolve itself ?

Although it’s felt like a standing room only performance of Waiting For Godot, we expect long-term yields still hold the key to the next chapter for precious metals and the broader market story. We continue to view the move in 10-year yields as historically stretched to a relative extreme (see chart), a notion apparently lost on many participants as the Fed tapers their way to the end of QE and through an esoteric Fed cycle.
Just this week we saw that a Bloomberg survey of 67 economists unanimously expected 10-year yields to rise over the next six months (see Here). From a contrarian point-of-view, this should wake up participants that underlying sentiment is dangerously listing towards one side and the downstream and kinetic effects could be severe in many markets. The ratio chart below depicts the relationship between gold and 10-year yields, which as we noted last December had also reached a historic extreme. If and when long-term yields breakdown, we suspect a much stronger tailwind to develop behind precious metals.

As the Nikkei was breaking down at the start of the 1990’s, risk appetites changed and developed a palette for the Nasdaq. After the Nasdaq cracked going through the Millennium, investors turned to precious metals. The cycle can also come full circle, as we believe the performance and seasonal presentments of the current risk du jour describes. As the biotech index now turns down just past its zenith, we expect silver and the precious metals sector to begin making their way materially out of the trough they have trended towards over the past three years.

The Reformed Broker

Jeff Gundlach looks at the gold market. He’s not a big gold guy, but says that if you’ve held it this long (and through this much pain), “for god’s sake don’t sell it here!” He thinks the holders who remain are the quintessential, proverbial “strong hands” and that gold miner equities are completely underpriced for the potential of the metal running back up again. He’s more positive on commodities now in general, given how uninterested the investment community seems to be.

http://www.thereformedbroker.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/04/25.jpg

Silver Bullion Coin Sales Soar In March, Gold Coin Sales Slump – Are Coin Buyers Stupid?

2014-proof-gold-eagleThe March sales report of American Eagle bullion coins by the U.S. Mint showed a large drop in gold bullion coins while sales of the ever popular silver bullion coins soared.

Sales of the American Eagle gold bullion coins in March totaled 21,000 ounces, down by 32% from February’s total of 31,000 ounces and down by a dramatic 66% from March 2013 when 62,000 coins were sold.  Year to date sales through March of 143,500 ounces of the American Eagle gold bullion coins plunged 51% from the comparable period last year when the U.S. Mint sold 292,500 ounces.

The decline in sales of gold bullion is in marked contrast to last year when sales boomed despite an almost 30% decline in gold prices, the worst performance since 1981.  Investors in physical gold across the globe viewed the decline in gold as a buying opportunity.  Sales of gold coins in 2013 by The Perth Mint soared over 40% while sales by the Royal Canadian Mint surged over 80%.  Sales of American Eagle gold coins by the U.S. Mint in 2013 jumped by 6.3% to 800,500 ounces.

Are Gold and Silver Bullion Coin Buyers Stupid?

While gold rebounded in 2014 from a low of $1221 to as high as $1385 before pulling back to a current price of $1284, perhaps buyers are waiting to see if the rally in gold will continue or if gold will decline again in 2014 as predicted by the likes of Goldman Sachs.  Long term it does not matter since the entire concept of fiat money has never ended well over the long term.  According to Bloomberg, the “long term” may be upon us sooner than many think.

Sound money and sound banking policies of governments have always been suspect but since the financial crisis of 2008, the entire concept of sound money has been utterly abandoned on a global basis as central banks printed trillions of dollars to support a financial system that imploded due to over indebtedness.  “Curing” the problem of too much debt with more debt and printed fiat money has in many people’s mind saved the world financial system, a tenuous theory at best.

1881-CC-Morgan-Dollar

According to the Bank for International Settlements, the amount of global debt (primarily government borrowings) has soared by a staggering 40 percent to $100 trillion since 2008 with the U.S. in the lead increasing the national debt to $12 trillion from $4.5 trillion at 2007 year end.  Fast forward to the next recession which could have its roots in a variety of events from the collapse of Japan’s epic empire of debt to the start of a serious military conflict over Ukraine driven by the warmongering military industrial complex in the U.S.  Another serious economic crisis, whatever its genesis, will result in money printing on an unimaginable scale as central banks do the only thing they can do which is to print more money.

Buyers of physical bullion are long term investors who understand what’s happening and are buying the only true money that cannot be debased by government profligacy and rapacious tax policies.  In the meantime, fluctuations in the price of gold caused by speculators such as hedge fund operators who can push around the price of physical gold without ever owning it through the use of futures contracts or options merely provide fantastic buying opportunities when they slam down gold prices.  Long term gold and silver are the only protection to preserve wealth against governments determined to debase fiat money to keep the highly leveraged financial system from imploding.  Current gold buyers will at some point will be holding an asset that soars in value as confidence in central banks completely evaporates as the value of paper money collapses.

American Eagle silver bullion coins meanwhile continue to soar and are a much more affordable option for many buyers compared to gold.  March sales of American Eagle silver bullion coins soared in March to 5,354,000 ounces, up by 43% from the prior month’s sales of 3,750,000 ounces and up by 60% from the March 2013 sales of 3,356,500 ounces.   Sales of silver bullion coins also increased dramatically in 2013 to a new record high of almost 42 ounces, up from almost 34 million ounces in 2012.  Based on annualizing the year to date sales of silver bullion coins, 2014 could turn out to be another block buster year with sales approaching another record of over 55 million ounces compared to 42 million ounces in 2013.

Buyers of physical gold and silver are long term investors who are intelligently protecting their wealth against governments hell bent on inflation and debasement of the currency in order to keep the house of debt cards from collapsing.  Accordingly, short term declines in the sale of gold bullion coins is totally irrelevant.

The Rationale for Owning Gold and Silver Is Stronger Than Ever

1933-double-eagle1By: GE Christenson

Consider our economic world from two perspectives:

The Deviant View – as represented by those who visit deviantinvestor.com, read alternate media, are skeptical of the “official” news, and who critically examine the financial world.
or
The others – call it the mainstream media view.
Deviant readers are more likely to believe:

  • The US government gold supposedly stored in Fort Knox and at the NY Federal Reserve is mostly gone. (Deviant Investor survey showed that over 81% believe that less than 20% of the gold is actually available.)
  • The Federal Reserve will eventually be forced to increase QE instead of reducing it. (Deviant Investor survey showed that 62% believe that QE will be increased to $100 Billion per month, or more, by the end of 2014.)
  • Gold bottomed in December and is going to new highs. (Deviant Investor survey indicates that 92% believe that gold has bottomed and is going to new highs.)
  • The Federal Reserve has, over the past 100 years, debased the dollar, produced inflation, and substantially increased the profits for the financial industry mostly at the expense of the American people.
  • Dollars are unbacked debt based Federal Reserve Notes that work well for daily commerce. However, they have no intrinsic value and, in terms of decades, been not been a good store of value.
  • Gold and silver are excellent for savings and investing at the present time, have intrinsic value, and are a store of value over the long term.

SILVER DOLLARS

Mainstream Media View

  • Of course the gold is still physically stored in Fort Knox and at the NY Federal Reserve! Why would it not be there?
  • QE will be reduced, the economy is beginning to grow, and the economy will appear much healthier in time for the 2016 elections.
  • The Syria intervention that did not happen was mostly about human rights, not gas pipelines or control over energy markets.
  • The stock market is a good measure of economic health, even though it primarily benefits the upper ten percent of the US populace.
  • Pension funds are seriously underfunded, but they will be fine – with only a few exceptions – as always.
  • Social Security is a “pay as you go” retirement plan for Americans; and even though it is a legally sanctioned “Ponzi Scheme,” it is a solid system.
  • Politicians will be politicians, but for the most part, the US political system works with only a modest amount of corruption and inefficiency.
  • If you like your health plan, you can keep it. If Crimea votes to join Russia, they can. If you don’t want to pay taxes, … well, that is a different issue.
  • If you run a too-big-to-fail bank, you need not worry about breaking the law or prosecution, since the bank is necessary for the survival of the economy.
  • Stocks are good, gold is bad. Per Warren Buffett, “Gold gets dug out of the ground in Africa, or someplace. Then we melt it down, dig another hole, bury it again and pay people to stand around guarding it.” From Charlie Munger, “Civilized people don’t buy gold.”

And there you have it – a simple summary of the Deviant view versus the Mainstream view.

Implications

Suppose that 50% to 80% of the gold in Fort Knox and the NY Fed is either gone, leased, or rehypothecated. Suppose that China has amassed the largest horde of gold in the world. Do these suggest the price of gold is likely to increase over the next few years?

Suppose that the Federal Reserve is forced via market conditions (interest rates rising, the S&P crashing, war, dollar collapse, financial melt-down, or other possibilities) to expand the QE program and to “print and purchase” $100,000,000,000 or more per month of distressed paper, damaged derivatives, flaky mortgage-backed securities, and increasingly large quantities of dumped T-bonds and notes. Do you think this will support the price of gold over the next few years?

money printing

Suppose that gold double bottomed in June and December 2013 after being crushed by the naked short sales in April and June of 2013. Suppose that the unintended consequence of that market take-down was increased demand for physical gold, particularly from Asia and the Middle East. Does the new uptrend and increasing world-wide demand for gold suggest higher prices in the next few years?

Suppose that, for whatever reason, the world launches into another cycle of war, several countries send troops to various spots around the world, and the US engages in one or several hot wars. Will this increase the deficit, increase the national debt, increase financial and social anxiety, upset the stock market, and suggest higher gold prices?

Summary

The Deviant View: Gold has bottomed, the US deficit will expand, the national debt will continue its exponential increase, and consumer prices for the things we need, such as food and energy, will substantially increase. War, fraud, and corruption will increase prices more rapidly.

The Mainstream View: You can keep your health plan, NSA spying on everyone is mostly good, wars keep the economy healthy and moving, the stock market will continue to roar higher, and, as former Vice President Dick Cheney stated, “Reagan proved that deficits don’t matter.”

Another View On Gold: The following are comments that I have paraphrased from another site that dislikes gold. (I disagree with all of these comments.)

  • If and when humanity advances, the value of gold will be zero.
  • The problem is that gold is not an asset because it produces no return.
  • Gold is not only high-risk but also costly since it pays no return.
  • Gold is not a savings vehicle.

I express my opinions, and I expect others to do the same. There will be disagreements. We all experience the consequences of our thoughts and actions. This is why it is so important to perceive economic reality clearly. A belief in current delusions and the uselessness of gold will be expensive.

Additional Reading

Andrew Hoffman: “Deflation,” and Why You Must Own Precious Metals – Now!

Hugo Salinas Price: We Cannot Get Away From Gold or Silver

GE Christenson
aka Deviant Investor

Gold’s Next Big Move Is Up – Every Bull Market Has Pullbacks

gold generalBy: GE Christenson

Gold peaked in August of 2011 and fell erratically into December 2013.

Was that the end of the collapse, or is there more downside coming in gold prices?

Bearish Scenario: Listen to the banks who are forecasting weak prices in 2014 and thereafter. “Nothing to see here folks, the dollar has weakened drastically since 1971, gold sells for 30 times its 1971 price, but it’s all good. Just move on and pretend… Gold will drop below $1000 before you can say 2016 elections…”

I’m not a fan of:

The bearish gold scenario when decades of Federal Reserve “printing” and US government budget deficits have all but guaranteed continued destruction of the purchasing power of the dollar.

Belief that even though dollar debasement practices have accelerated since the 2008 crash, gold prices will fall because bankers say so.

Propaganda that gold is useless and that unbacked debt based fiat currencies are solid and stable.

Large High Frequency Trading companies that short the gold market, loudly proclaim that gold prices will fall, dump a huge number of paper contracts on the Comex, quietly cover their shorts after the gold price crash, book huge profits, and then reverse the process as they push prices up. These traders are in the business of making profits so none of this is surprising.

Instead of listening to self-serving banker opinions, let’s examine the data. The following chart shows monthly prices for gold since 2000. Note that highs and lows as listed in the monthly data are slightly different from actual hourly highs and lows. For this analysis over 14 years, the differences are immaterial.

This table shows the price and approximate number of years.

table3102014

Summary: The price of gold bottomed in 2001, rallied for 3.0 years, fell for 1.1 years, rallied for 2.8 years, fell for 0.6 years, rallied for 2.8 years, and fell for 2.4 years. Lows were about 4 years apart, highs were about 3.5 years apart, and the rallies lasted, on average, about 3 years.

Gold in December of 2013 had dropped to the lower logarithmic
trend line after falling for 2.4 years. The patterns suggest that the next move should be a rally that lasts approximately 3 years to new highs near the top of the trend channel well above $3,500.

roosevelt

But there is more: (If you distrust Technical Analysis, skip this section.)

  • Gold prices made a double-bottom in June and December 2013 thereby indicating a successful test of the lows formed in June.
  • The MACD – a technical indicator (first chart) which tracks the difference between two moving averages – registered a very low reading in December 2013. Further, the moving averages in the indicator have turned up. This is strongly supportive of the analysis that December marked a major low in gold prices.
  • The TDI-Trade-Signal line – another technical indicator (first chart) – registered its lowest reading in 15 years at the June 2013 low and has also turned up. This is another strong indication that gold bottomed in December.
  • The RSI – Relative Strength Index – as shown on the second chart was at a 15 year low at the June 2013 gold price lows. It has turned upward.
  • The disparity index, which is simply the deviation between the monthly prices and the 12 month simple moving average (second chart), was at a 30 year low and flashing a buy signal after the June 2013 gold price lows.

For those who have no faith in technical analysis:

Consider this GEM – Gold Equilibrium Model (thanks to Nick Migliaccio for the name). I summarized the model in this short article. The model is based on three variables and calculates the equilibrium gold price with no reference to oscillators or technical indicators. The GEM model projects a “fair” or equilibrium price for gold in March 2014 of approximately $1,580. Gold prices, based on this long-term model, are currently low and are likely to move much higher over the next several years. This long-term model produced an excellent statistical correlation with the smoothed price of gold over the 42 years from 1971 – 2013.

Conclusions

  • The GEM indicates that, over the next several years, gold prices are headed much higher.
  • The chart of gold prices since the year 2000 (log scale) shows a “megaphone pattern” of higher lows and higher highs. Currently the gold price is near the bottom of the exponentially up-trending pattern.
  • Technical oscillators indicate important bottoms in June and December – at levels not seen in more than a decade.
  • The disparity index shows that gold prices in June were well below the 12 month moving average. Similarly daily and weekly prices were well below their moving averages. Prices tend to regress to the mean – another indication that prices are likely to rise from the deep lows in June and December.
  • Short term prices could rise or fall a little from here – I’m offering no opinion – but gold prices should be much higher in 2015 and 2016.
  • Gold is for savings and investing, not trading. Dollars buy groceries while gold buys safety, insurance, and peace of mind.
  • As Darryl Robert Schoon always says, “Buy gold, buy silver, have faith.” It is good advice.

GE Christenson, aka Deviant Investor

17 Questions About Gold and Silver The Federal Reserve Needs to Answer

Yikes!  We Have to Look at This for the Next Four Years

Yikes! We Have to Look at This for the Next Four Years

By: GE Christenson

1.  Germany requested that the NY Federal Reserve return the gold that Germany shipped to the United States decades ago. If the gold were physically in the vaults, it would be relatively simple to ship the gold back to Germany. It has not been returned, which begs the question, where is Germany’s gold?

2.  If Germany’s gold is “missing,” what about other gold from other countries that is supposedly stored at the NY Fed?

3.  Does the U.S. gold supposedly stored at Fort Knox and at the NY Fed still exist in those vaults?

4.  The U.S. believes in paper dollars and an unbacked debt based currency. Such currency can be created with little more than a few keystrokes on a Federal Reserve computer. Would the Fed and the U.S. government sell gold into the world market to slow the inevitable weakening of the U.S. dollar? Would the Fed and the U.S. government ship (via intermediaries) substantial quantities of gold to China to prevent dumping of T-bonds and dollars? Are gold sales a “delaying action” to extend the reserve currency status of the U.S. dollar?

CPI INFLATION

5.  If China is converting their excess of dollars and T-bonds into gold, buildings, land, businesses, mines, and so much more, what do they believe is the real value of those dollars and T-bonds?

6.  If much of the German, Italian, French, English, and U.S. gold is “missing” and is now in very strong hands, is the price of gold too low and likely to rise?

7.  What will happen to world bond and stock markets if confidence in the financial system evaporates? Would confidence in the financial system be damaged if the world became aware that most of the gold supposedly stored in government and central bank vaults in the western world is “missing?” Is this the primary reason why the U. S. gold vaults have not been audited for over 50 years?

8.  Why are China and Russia buying large quantities of gold from the western world as well as all of their domestic production?

9.  Paper dollars were, years ago, backed by gold or silver. They are no longer backed by either. Why?

feature-300x200

10.  JP Morgan testified before congress in 1912 and stated, Gold is money. Everything else is credit.” Do you understand what this means?

11.  You have $100,000 to invest today into either gold or S&P 500 Index ETFs. Which investment do you believe will purchase more gasoline in three years?

12.  If you had $100,000 to invest into either gold or Confederate paper money and Confederate bonds in 1862, which would have been the better investment 20 years later?

13.  Voltaire stated about 3 centuries ago that “paper money eventually returns to its intrinsic value – zero.” Most paper money systems throughout history have failed. The current paper systems seem likely to fail in the future. What is the intrinsic value of 80 ounces of gold (about $100,000 at today’s prices)? What is the intrinsic value of 5,000 $20 bills ($100,000)? Which seems likely to purchase more food in three years?

14.  Mayer Rothschild supposedly stated, “Give me control of a nation’s money and I care not who makes its laws.” Was he thinking that if he can create the currency and the legislature can be “influenced” with currency, then he can buy the legislation that his banking interests needed? Was he also thinking that if he can create the currency and he can trade that currency for physical gold, he had procured real wealth for his family?

15.  Nixon closed the gold window in 1971 and assured us that it was only temporary. Since then the (official) U.S. national debt has increased from approximately $398 Billion to over $17 Trillion – up by a factor of over 40. Interest must be paid on that debt. Was the creation of $17 Trillion in debt beneficial for the majority of the people and the economy of the U.S. or only for the political and financial elite?

FEDERAL DEBT

16.  Is the current U.S. paper money experiment going to end differently from any other failed fiat currency system?

17.  In 1971 gasoline in the U.S. cost approximately $0.35 per gallon. Today it costs approximately $3.50 per gallon. The rising national debt correlates with the rising prices of gasoline, tuition, health care, postage, coffee, stocks, gold, copper, rent, food, and so much more. Some of those prices have risen faster (others slower) than the debt, but the trend is the same since 1913 and especially since 1971 – all up substantially. Do you think this is a coincidence? Do you think the ongoing increase in national debt will continue to cause consumer price inflation or that it will, somehow, miraculously, cause prices to go down, in spite of 40 + years of contrary experience?

Conclusions

Is this the end of the world? No! But it is past time to realize that a debt based financial system is largely detrimental to most of the people outside the political and financial elite. Such a debt based system has a limited lifespan and a reset seems both imminent and inevitable. Actions to consider:

  • Eliminate non-mortgage debt and reduce the amount of other debt.
  • Convert variable rate mortgage debt to fixed interest rate debt.
  • Be wary of a stock market that has risen for almost five years and seems to be based more on QE, hope, and artificially lowered interest rates than upon earnings and the health of the economy.
  • Convert paper and digital dollars to gold and silver and store them in a safe depository outside the banking system.
  • Be careful in this increasingly dangerous world.

GE Christenson, aka Deviant Investor

14 Tough Questions Gold Investors Have for the Federal Reserve

Liberty-EagleBy: GE Christenson

“Those who cannot remember the past, are condemned to repeat it.” George Santayana.

1. What mistakes from the past are we condemned to repeat?

2. Since unbacked paper currency systems have always failed in the past, why have bankers and economists promoted an unbacked paper currency system since 1971?

3. Would the Federal Reserve, which is owned by private banks, seek to enrich its member banks and the financial elite by implementing monetary policies such as QE that purchase distressed bank assets and boost the stock and bond markets?

4. Janet Yellen is the new leader of the Fed and new leaders are almost always confronted with a financial crisis early in their term. What should we expect during the next 18 months?

economic collapse

5. ALL paper money systems have eventually failed due to excessive “printing” of the paper currency. How many years of “printing” $85 Billion per month qualifies as excessive “printing”?

6. Human nature changes very slowly if at all. Politicians have lied to most of the people most of the time during the past several thousand years to serve their own self-interest. Are politicians currently lying about ObamaCare, strength of the economy, employment, the NSA, big banks, the IRS, Syria, and so much more?

7. Why does gasoline currently sell for approximately $3.50 per gallon even though it cost only $0.15 per gallon about 50 years ago? Why does a cup of restaurant coffee no longer sell for $0.10? Why do $20 gold coins containing nearly an ounce of gold now sell for over $1,250?

8. The S&P 500 Index is trading near an all-time high and is by most measures and sentiment severely over-bought on a weekly and monthly basis. Is it ready to correct downward?

9. Why is the official unemployment rate falling even though fewer Americans are working and the labor participation rate is at 30 year lows?

10. The Federal Reserve has been levitating the stock market and bailing out banks. Is it possible the Fed policies will backfire and those policies will eventually accomplish the opposite of what the Fed wants?

11. If the national debt of $17 Trillion can never be repaid, and if the U.S. government must borrow to pay the interest every year, and if the Federal Reserve must “print” those dollars, what is the real value of that debt? Is it $17 Trillion or perhaps a great deal less? The economist Hyman Minsky called this “Ponzi Finance” – the final stage of a debt based economic system when payments on the debt must be made from additional borrowing.

money printing

12. If a soaring gold price encouraged people to question the value of the U.S. dollar, and if the U.S. government had the means to suppress the price of gold, would the U.S. government manipulate the price of gold lower?

13. Germany requested their gold be returned from the NY Federal Reserve vaults about a year ago. It has NOT been returned. What happened to the German gold? Further, how much, if any, of the gold supposedly stored in Fort Knox is physically there and not “leased” or otherwise encumbered?

14. Gold has been money – a store of value, divisible, a medium of exchange, a unit of accounting, and intrinsically valuable – for 5,000 years. Paper money has usually been little more than a politician’s promise of integrity and responsibility. Which do you trust – gold or a politician’s promise?

These questions and their answers suggest that:

Drastic restructuring of the current monetary system seems inevitable, whether or not it is imminent.

Before the system resets it seems likely that governments around the world will scramble to locate and nationalize assets in order to maintain their power for a while longer. Capital controls and financial repression via artificially lowered interest rates are already in place. Pension plans, savings accounts, and IRA and 401(k) plans seem vulnerable to partial confiscation, bail-ins, or mandatory investment in government bonds. Such confiscations and bail-ins have already occurred in other parts of the world and could easily happen in the United States.

toned-morgan-dollar

Gold and silver have protected purchasing power and assets for 5,000 years. In this twilight period of the current debt based monetary system it seems likely gold and silver will increasingly be necessary for protection of purchasing power and assets. Are you prepared?

GE Christenson

aka Deviant Investor

Is a Monster Rally Brewing in Gold and Silver?

herbert-hooverBy: GE Christenson

The year 2013 was a great year for the S&P and a terrible year for silver and gold investors. There are many indications that it is time for a reversal.

If a market moves too far (up or down), too fast, or for too long, expect a reversal. Examples:

  • The S&P 500 index has moved MUCH higher during the past 57 months – a very long time. Expect a reversal soon.
  • Silver prices rose from $8.53 in October of 2008 to almost $50 in April of 2011, and then crashed (with help from JP Morgan and others) to under $19 in June and December of 2013. More currently, silver was priced about $34 just 13 months ago and is now down over 40% in that short time. Expect a reversal soon.
  • The NASDAQ 100 Index rose from under 1,100 in October of 1998 to nearly 5,000 in March of 2000 and then collapsed to under 800 in October of 2002. This was a mania and crash reversal.
  • Crude Oil rose from $51 in January of 2007 to $147 in July of 2008, and then collapsed to $36 that same year. What happened here? It was NOT a change in fundamentals!

The fundamentals for these markets did not change from normal to fantastic to terrible in a short time. It is clear that High Frequency Trading (HFT) algorithms, speculators, momentum players, the Fed, and others pushed the markets higher or lower to unsustainable levels and then reversed those markets.
How do Silver Prices Compare to the S&P?

Examine the data back to 1975 and calculate the ratio of the price of silver to the S&P 500 index. We see that:
1. SI / SP Ratio 38 year average: 0.029
2. SI / SP Ratio 38 year low: 0.003 November 2001
3. SI / SP Ratio 38 year high: 0.365 January 1980
4. Last 8 years average: 0.016
5. Last 8 years low: 0.007
6. Last 8 years high: 0.038 About 1/10th of 1980 high
7. Current ratio: 0.010 December 2013
8. The ratio declined from 1980 until 2001 during the silver bear market and the bull market in stocks.
9. Since 2001 the ratio has been rising along with the renewed bull market in silver.
10. Excel calculated a linear trend line for the ratio during the last eight years so that the deviation of the ratio, above or below, averages to zero. See the SI / SP Ratio and Linear Trend graph.

11. Plot that deviation, above or below the linear trend line, and it is easily seen that the ratio was very high in April of 2011 (silver too high) and is currently quite low – yes, silver is deeply oversold. See the Silver vs. Ratio Deviation From Linear Trend graph.

12. When the silver to S&P ratio increases to the average ratio since 2006 then the ratio of silver prices to the S&P should nearly triple – silver prices should rise substantially while the S&P is likely to fall.
Silver Prices are Too Low Compared to the S&P 500 Index

What else supports that analysis?

  • Silver prices have been going down, on average, for 32 months while the S&P has been rallying, on average, for 57 months – a very long time for both trends. A reversal is due.
  • In the shorter term, silver is oversold and the S&P is overbought, based on their 200 day moving averages. Silver is about 10% BELOW its 200 day moving average and the S&P is 10% ABOVE its 200 day moving average. Prices will regress to their means – higher for silver and lower for the S&P.
  • MANY other oscillators confirm that silver is oversold and the S&P is overbought. Expect reversals.
  • The U.S. national debt is huge – over $17 Trillion and doubling approximately every 7 years. Over the past three decades the smoothed prices of silver and gold have correlated with the national debt. We KNOW the national debt will continue increasing so we can be assured that, ON AVERAGE, the prices of silver and gold will continue to rise.
  • The S&P has been levitated by QE money printing, continual hype about the “recovery” and High Frequency Trading. Margin debt is at an all-time high, similar to just before the 1987 and 2000 stock market crashes. A trend change is due. An S&P crash is certainly possible.
  • Paper gold and silver prices have collapsed in the past year while demand for physical gold has risen to multi-year highs. Normal and honest markets do not operate this way for long. We can plan on continuing or increasing demand for gold in China, India and Russia as they trade dollars and T-bonds for hard assets. Expect gold prices to accelerate higher in 2014. Silver will follow.
  • Compare the price of silver to its 40 week moving average over the past eight years. See the Silver vs. Deviation From 40 wk MA graph. The deviation above/below the 40 week MA indicates that silver is oversold and due to rally.

Confidence in the silver market is low and only “die-hard” silver investors in the U.S. seem interested. Market sentiment is terrible and that suggests a trend change is likely.
Silver cycles: I understand that in our current environment (HFT, currency wars, manipulation of paper prices by JP Morgan and others, and QE) the prices of gold and silver can be easily pushed higher and lower. Consequently I trust cycles only a little, but consider:

Silver Long Cycles

Date Comment Time since last low
Feb. 1993 Important low
July 1997 Low 4.4 years
Nov. 2001 Important low 4.3 years
Aug. 2005 Low 3.7 years
Oct. 2008 Important low 3.2 years
June 2013 Important low 4.7 years
(Average 4.1 years)

It seems likely that the June 2013 will not be broken, or if it is, only briefly.

Silver Shorter Cycles

Date Comment Time since last low
June 2006 Intermediate low
Aug. 2007 Intermediate low 14 months
Oct. 2008 Intermediate low 14 months
Feb. 2010 Intermediate low 16 months
May 2011 Intermediate low 15 months
June 2012 Intermediate low 13 months
June 2013 Important low 12 months
(Average 14 months)
Conclusions

Silver and gold prices have been forced lower in the paper markets while the S&P has been levitated with zero-interest rates, HFT and QE. The financial powers-that-be, the political and financial elite, Wall Street, China, India, Russia, and the U.S. Treasury have all benefitted from the suppression of gold and silver prices. Most have also benefitted from QE and the S&P levitation. The surprise is not that gold and silver prices have been pushed lower after their 2011 blow-off rallies, but that the “smack down” has lasted so long in the face of such strong physical demand.

Regardless, regression to the mean is relevant, even in manipulated markets. Expect a trend change in 2014 and much higher gold and silver prices as they rally above their 200 day moving averages.

The ratio of silver prices to the S&P is back to 2008 levels and substantially below the linear trend since 2006. Expect the ratio to regress (rise) to its mean while silver prices rally substantially from here.

Both long and short term time cycles indicate that an important bottom occurred in June of 2013. It appears that a double-bottom occurred in December of 2013. If this double-bottom holds, time cycles suggest that silver will rally strongly in 2014.

GE Christenson aka Deviant Investor

Gold and Silver Can Defeat Government Taxes, Corruption and Theft

gold-buffaloBy: Vin Maru, TDV Golden Trader

As everyone rings in the New Year with a toast and a cheer for a prosperous 2014, Wall Street started celebrating many months ago and is ringing in the New Year with a glass of Dom Pérignon. They surely have a reason to celebrate as 2013 brought them good fortune and financial prosperity, having rung in the New Year with new all time highs on many of the US-based major indexes.

While there are many ways to measure prosperity, for Wall Street it’s all about profits and the bottom line. They only know one thing, how much wealth they can steal from others by “gaming” the system. I say “steal” because today’s markets are no longer about valuations and true price discovery. It’s more about computer algorithms, access to unlimited funds, having insider knowledge on buy and sell orders, front running the average investor and the ability to extract risk free profits by gaming the system. Of course this is nothing new for big Wall Street investment houses; over the last decade they have mastered the art of investing by gaming the system and extracting wealth from others.

Financial prosperity in today’s world means having the Federal Reserve central bank in your corner ready to bail you out in case any of your bets go bad. Becoming “Too Big to Fail” is a necessity to financial survival and having the regulators in your pocket also helps. Of course, we can’t forget about using extreme leverage, derivatives, credit default swaps and futures to squeeze some additional profits from the system.

With all these tools and means to game the system, investment banking for profit becomes a game of how much wealth you can steal from others before you get caught with your hand in the cookie jar. Of course when you do get caught, all you get is a slap on the wrist in terms of fines and penalties. If you get caught laundering money, rigging interest and foreign exchange rates — no problem, there is a fine for that, as long as you are one of the “Too Big to Fail” banks.

Today’s financial system is setup to steal your wealth. The bankers steal from you by rigging the system for their gain, and then the government fines the bankers for stealing. In order to maintain banking control and growth, the bankers have to resort to rigging the game even more so they maintain profit growth. This corrupt system of theft is definitely a win win situation, a win for the bankers and a win for the government, it’s only the average person who loses by having their pockets picked.

We can’t blame all of this on the bankers, the corruption in the Western financial world runs right to the root of the problem, government. By allowing central banking to exist, governments can ensure their own financial safety net and survival from having a system which continuously prints money to fund deficit spending. To remain in power, Government’s control only exists and grows because of taxation and the rules and regulations they impose on their citizens. Take France for example, their constitutional council and highest court just gave the green light to Hollande to introduce a top tax rate of 75 percent on earnings over one million Euros.

Of course, the most corrupt government in the world is the United States. Having the status of the world’s currency reserve empowered them to build the biggest army, thus giving them the ability to bully any other nation state by way of force or death. And if they don’t attack you directly, they surely will spy on you electronically via the NSA and they will definitely tax and fine you for non-compliance to their rules and regulations.

I always wondered if the US will ever get their deficits under control and how they will reduce their debt burden. One way for sure is that the US will tax and regulate their way out of financial debt by taking wealth that was hidden from them. After reading an article on how Swiss regulators recommended banks take provision for US tax deal, it became pretty obvious that all international bankers will be forced to comply with the US regulators or get shut out of their system.

The real irony of the situation is how this system is gamed right from the beginning to end, which then comes full circle to help governments. The bankers have been cashed up via the central banks and are making tremendous profits trading rigged markets. All this new wealth now on the banker’s balance sheet will be heavily taxed over the coming years and used to pay off fines imposed on them by governments and regulators.

proof-silver-eagle

In short, the corruption in US banking to help government finances, spending and debts goes like this:

  • The Federal Reserve central bank print money from nothing.
  • The CB then gives this newly printed money to big banks to buy US debt.
  • The “To Big to Fail” banks then sell the US debt back to the Fed (for a nice profit) and receive more money.
  • The big banks who are now cashed up, conduct proprietary trading to rig markets for even more profits.
  • All this extra ill-gotten cash sitting with the banks is then taxed, and/or regulated and fines are imposed for illegal rigging of markets.
  • This money is then given back to the US government which probably helps extinguish some debt or pays for gov’t expenses.

In this system of corrupt Western finance, the only people that lose are the people or entities who don’t see it happening or can’t take the necessary steps to avoid the theft and confiscation, and then actually profit from it happening. Anyone with savings will also get burned by either the devaluation of fiat currencies or outright theft of deposits at the banks by way of bail-ins or nationalization of retirement savings. Either way, the average person is at a disadvantage in a no win situation if they leave their assets in the western financial system.

The window to get your wealth out of the traditional western financial system is closing. Anyone who does so now will be saved from the ever growing corruption and theft that is coming down the road. Precious metals are one of many assets that should be continuously accumulated now and on any further pullback. At this point the rigged price of the metals is not as relevant as the number of ounces you own and hold outside the financial system, and that window is rapidly closing.

This is why I researched and wrote the special report for TDV called “Getting Your Gold out of Dodge”, to help you protect your precious metals assets. If you are also interested in coverage and trading opportunities in precious metals and technology, you can sign up for the TDV Golden Trader newsletter.