April 11, 2026

Precious Metals Little Changed On Week While Investors Ponder Government Defaults

May 20, 2011 by Leave a Comment

Precious metal prices traded in a narrow range this week.  As measured by the closing London Fix Price, gold, platinum and silver declined slightly while palladium gained $16 per ounce.

After the London close, prices of precious metals rose across the board in New York afternoon trading.  Gold closed at $1,514.50 up $19.70, silver at $35.26 up $.12, platinum at $1,775 up $8 and palladium at $739 up $8.   Buying in the precious metals may have been prompted by late day worries over the downgrade of Greek debt by Fitch Ratings as well as concerns over the worsening state of public finances in Spain, Portugal and Italy.

Yields of 25% on short term debt Greek debt imply that the markets are are pricing in a very high probability of default by Greece.  What markets do not seem to have priced in is the contagion risk of Greek default and what impact that would have on investor confidence, world financial markets and the global banking system.

Meanwhile the U.S. debt crisis continues to brew as the debt ceiling limit was reached with no indication of a resolution by Congress.  If the past is any guide, Congress will let the debt bomb/deficit crisis simmer until the last minute when the debt ceiling will be raised yet again under the guise of “future fiscal restraint” and the deficit spending and borrowing will continue as usual.

Ignoring the eroding financial condition of the U.S. today only ensures that the inevitable financial crisis will be more devastating than one might chose to contemplate.  The timing may be uncertain but the outcome is not.

The American Precious Metals Exchange (APMEX) included a chart in one of its latest email newsletters that depicts the gap between the growth of  U.S. GDP and debt.  The chart graphically illustrates the extent to which the U.S. has been living beyond its means and using trillions in deficit financing to do so.

DEBT VS GDP - COURTESY APMEX

APMEX also notes that  “If there is no resolution (of the budget ceiling) by August 2nd, there could be disastrous ramifications for the U.S. and the global economy. The U.S. will be in default on its promises to pay. The value of the dollar could drop dramatically.”

 

Precious Metals Prices
PM Fix Since Last Recap
Gold $1,490.75 -15.00 (-1.00%)
Silver $34.80 -1.40(-3.87%)
Platinum $1,767.00 -7.00 (-0.39%)
Palladium $734.00 +16.00 (+2.23%)

Precious metals, silver in particular, have been undergoing corrective price action during May, but the fundamental reasons for owning precious metals grows stronger by the day.   Demand for precious metals remains strong.  The World Gold Council’s latest report shows that global demand for gold increased by 11% in the first quarter, while buying by Chinese investors reached all time highs.  The trend is still your friend in the precious metals markets and price weakness should be viewed as an opportunity to increase long term positions.

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Gold Demand Soars As Chinese Buying Surges To Record Levels

May 20, 2011 by Leave a Comment

According to the World Gold Council, total global demand for gold in the first quarter of 2011 jumped by 11% to 981.3 tonnes.   Gold demand was driven by increased investor purchases, especially in China where surging demand for gold reached record highs.

The World Gold Council foresees increased 2011 gold demand based on fundamental factors that include unrest in the Middle East, the sovereign debt crisis in Europe, global inflationary worries, weakness in the U.S. dollar, concern over a slowing U.S. economy and continued strong physical demand for gold by China and India.  Increased purchases of gold by central banks is also likely to increase to protect reserves against paper currencies issued by over indebted sovereign nations.

The World Gold Council noted that gold hit its eight consecutive record high price during the first quarter of 2011 after a brief pullback in prices early in the year.   Due to higher prices the value of gold purchased during the first quarter rose by almost 40% from $31.4 billion to $43.7 billion.

Investment demand surged by 26% during the first quarter to 310.5 tonnes and represented 31.6% of total first quarter gold demand.  The investment demand category includes physical bars, official coins, medals and ETF products.  Investors showed a strong preference for holding physical gold as bar demand increased by 62%, official bullion coins by 39% and medals by 3%.  Bullion holdings by ETFs declined by 55.9 tonnes during the quarter as investors decided to hold more physical gold due to worries about counterparty and credit risk.  Despite the reduction in first quarter ETF holdings, total global holdings of ETFs amount to 2,100 tonnes valued at approximately $95 billion.

Jewelry demand of 556.9 tonnes accounted for 56.8% of total gold demand during the first quarter.  Total jewelry demand grew by 7% during the first quarter with India and China accounting for 63% of total demand.  China, which has seen explosive demand for gold over the past decade, registered a 21% increase in jewelry sales to 142.9 tonnes.

Technology demand for gold, which includes electronics, industrial and dental use declined slightly to 113.8 tonnes.  Gold demand by the electronics industry remains strong and during 2010, the industry consumed a record 326.8 tonnes.

Despite the surging global demand for gold, supply is not increasing and actually dropped by 39.9 tonnes or 4.4% during the 2011 first quarter compared to last year’s first quarter.  The decline was primarily due to large central bank purchases which the World Gold Council deducts from available supplies.  Central Banks have been rapidly increasing their purchases of gold reserves and during the 2011 first quarter purchased 129 tonnes of gold  which exceeded the total amount purchased during the first nine months of 2010.

Surging gold prices should be a natural incentive for the mining industry to increase production but this has not been the case.  Mine production increased by only 7% to 663.9 tonnes during the first quarter, trailing total demand of 981.3 tonnes.  During 2010 gold mine production provided  62% of total supply with recycled gold accounting for the bulk of other supply.

The big picture in the gold market remains focused on China.  The World Gold Council report notes that “The past 10 years have witnessed exponential growth in China investment demand for gold, which entered a new era with the opening of the Shanghai Gold Exchange.   By the end of 2010, annual gold demand totalled 187.4 tonnes, an increase of 71.1% over the previous year.”

Chinese gold demand has been increasing by 14% per year since 2001 with jewelry accounted for 64% of total demand.  During 2010 gold jewelry demand in China was 451.8 tonnes, up 100% since 2004.  Chinese gold investors are also huge buyers and in the first quarter of this year were the largest buyers in the world of physical bullion coins and bars.

The World Gold Council expects Chinese gold demand to double within less than ten years due to gold demand based on Chinese culture, inflationary fears, buying by the Chinese Central Bank, a desire to diversify wealth holdings, advise from prominent Chinese economists to increase gold reserves, increased institutional demand and increased demand by a growing middle class.

Courtesy World Gold Council

 

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Why Higher Inflation And $5,000 Gold Are Inevitable

May 19, 2011 by 1 Comment

In his press conference on April 27, 2011, Federal Reserve Chairman Bernanke dismissed inflation worries, stating that “Our expectation is that inflation will come down and towards a more normal level”.   Should we believe him?  Not if you want to preserve your wealth and here’s why.

Chairman Bernanke has a perfect record of making inaccurate economic forecasts.

  • Bernanke, March 2007, prior to the historic housing crash said,  “At this juncture . . . the impact on the broader economy and financial markets of the problems in the subprime markets seems likely to be contained.”
  • Bernanke, February 2008, prior to the banking crisis that almost resulted in the collapse of the entire U.S. banking system  said, “I expect there will be some failures. I don’t anticipate any serious problems of that sort among the large internationally active banks that make up a very substantial part of our banking system.”
  • Bernanke, June 2008, prior to the worst recession and job losses since the 1930’s, said the danger of the economy falling into a “substantial downturn” appears to have waned.

Even if the Fed was able to keep inflation at a “benign” rate of 2% a year, the long term effects on savings are devastating.  Over ten years, a 2% inflation rate reduces the value of $100,000 to $82,034, resulting in an 18% loss in purchasing power.

According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, inflation averaged 3.4% since 1980.  At the beginning of 1980, one dollar had the same purchasing power as $2.86 at the end of 2010.

The cost of living has spiraled upwards since the early 1970’s, correlating perfectly to the point at which the value of the dollar was decoupled from gold.  In 1971, the United States stopped exchanging dollars for gold to foreign official holders of dollars and the dollar gold standard was officially ended in 1973.

The Fed’s policy of pushing easy credit for the past 30 years to fuel economic growth has left Americans swimming in debt.  The housing collapse and declining incomes have resulted in millions of mortgage defaults and underwater homeowners.  The Government’s attempt to bailout a collapsing economy and over leveraged banks and consumers has resulted in trillions of dollars in new debt and a $1.5 trillion deficit.

Government debt has exploded to the point where the solvency of the U.S. Government is now being questioned.  Large tax increases to erase the deficit would spin the U.S. into a deep recession.  The President and Congress lack the political will to cut spending.  The U.S. has spent and borrowed itself to the eve of financial ruin and must “inflate or die” at this point (see Why There Is No Upside Limit For Gold and Silver Prices).

The Fed, with the experience of two money printing campaigns already under its belt, will have no problems extending this practice.  As Bernanke noted in 2002 before he became Fed Chairman, “The U.S. Government has a technology, called a printing press, that allows it to produce as many U.S. dollars as it wishes at no cost”.

The Fed’s cheap money policies and concerted efforts to debase the value of the dollar are just beginning, and that means the biggest move up in precious metals is still in front of us.  My minimum long term forecast for gold remains at $5,000 per ounce and silver at $170 per ounce.

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Gold And Silver ETFs Show Modest Decline In Holdings

May 18, 2011 by Leave a Comment

The holdings of the iShares Silver Trust (SLV) declined slightly on the week by 53.10 tonnes as silver prices continued to consolidate after the sharp sell off of early May.

Since the beginning of the year, holdings have declined by 434.19 tonnes to the current level of 10,540.48 tonnes.  The all time record holdings of the SLV were 11,390.06 tonnes on April 25th, as the price of silver was approaching the $50 per ounce level.

Even after the early May pullback, silver has rewarded investors with a gain of 29.7% from the January low of $26.68.  The SLV has delivered a total return of 115.4% over the past year, and an average 25.8% yearly return since its inception in April 2006.

Despite the downturn in ETF holdings, there is strong evidence of continued strong fundamental demand for silver:

  • The U.S. Mint continues to ration sales of silver bullion coins, as total production cannot meet full market demand. This has led to higher premiums for American Silver Eagles and the newly introduced America the Beautiful Silver Bullion coins.
  • Dealers are reporting continued high demand for silver bullion as an increased number of new investors seek to protect their wealth by diversifying out of paper currency and existing investors use the reduced prices to increase holdings.
  • Investor demand for physical gold and silver is growing dramatically in countries such as India.  According to the Financial Times, silver traders in India report that “People are booking incredible amounts of Silver as they see the current drop in prices as a great opportunity to buy more…most are buying for pure investment.”

Meanwhile, the cheap money policies of the Federal Reserve are not likely to change any time soon.  Minutes of the last Fed meeting on April 27-28th, indicate that the Fed extensively discussed an exit strategy from its easy money policies but provided no guidance on timing.  Most analysts have concluded that it may be years before the Fed actually starts to tighten monetary policy.

GLD and SLV Holdings (metric tonnes)

May 18-2011 Weekly Change YTD Change
GLD 1,191.34 -9.70 -89.38
SLV 10,540.48 -53.10 -434.19

Holdings in the SPDR Gold Shares Trust (GLD) declined slightly on the week by 9.7 tonnes.  It was disclosed this week that investor George Soros sold 4.7 million shares of the GLD during the first quarter, bringing his holdings down to a token 49,400 shares.  The liquidated shares were valued at $684 million based on today’s closing price of the GLD.  The 4.7 million shares of GLD represented only approximately 15 tonnes of gold or 1.2% of total GLD holdings.

Was Soros turning negative on gold, as suggested by the media, or was Soros simply taking some short term profits?  While Soros was selling, legendary hedge fund manager John Paulson did not reduce his massive stake of $4.4 billion in the GLD.  Although Soros has a great long term track record, during the financial panic of 2007-2008, he bought Countrywide and Lehman Brothers shortly before they collapsed.  Perhaps history will repeat and the sale of gold by Soros will mark a major bottom in the gold market.

The long term uptrend in gold is still intact and supported by the fundamentals (see Insights From A Legendary Gold Investor).   Since the SPDR Gold Shares inception date of November 12, 2004, the fund has had a spectacular annual average return of 19.6%.  The GLD currently holds 38.3 million ounces of gold valued at $57.3 billion.



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Soros Sells Gold But Also Bought Lehman Brothers and Countrywide Right Before Their Collapse

May 18, 2011 by 1 Comment

Countrywide Financial Corp

The $28 billion Soros Fund Management disclosed in SEC filings that it had sold virtually all of its holdings in the SPDR Gold Trust (GLD). At the end of the March, the Soros Fund, run by renown George Soros, owned only 49,400 shares of GLD after selling 4.7 million shares in the first quarter.

Rumors of GLD liquidation by Soros has been public for weeks now and may have contributed to the recent decline in the price of gold.

George Soros is one of the world’s most prominent hedge fund investors with a great track record, but like any investor, some of his stock picks have been disastrous. In late 2007, as financial stocks were swooning due to disclosures of huge mortgage loan losses, Soros acquired shares of Countrywide Financial. In the quarter ending September 30, 2007, the Soros fund picked up 1.8 million shares of Countrywide, acquired at an estimated average price of $25. As financial markets collapsed in 2008, Countrywide’s price plunged and it was ultimately acquired by Bank of America at $7 per share.

As markets plunged in 2008, Soros apparently could not comprehend the severity of the financial crisis. During the quarter ending June 30, 2008, Soros increased his stake in Lehman Brothers to almost 9.5 million shares from only 10,000 at the end of March. By mid August 2008, Lehman Brothers stock had plunged 80% on the year as losses on toxic debt holdings climbed into the billions. Shortly thereafter, when the Fed refused to bail out Lehman Brothers, they collapsed on September 15, 2008.

Time will tell if the decision by Soros to liquidate his gold position turns out to be another disastrously ill timed move.

Meanwhile, hedge fund manager John Paulson, who made billions during the financial crisis by shorting subprime mortgages has not reduced his massive $4.4 billion investment in the SPDR Gold Trust.

Soros may be playing the role of a short term trader while Paulson waits for the big payoff as he did with his bets on subprime mortgages.   Trader sentiment in both commodities and precious metals had become massively bullish  and with markets vulnerable to a sell off, perhaps Soros simply decided to take some profits short term.

Ultimately, market fundamentals suggest much higher gold prices and it would not be surprising to see the Soros Fund reestablish gold positions at some later date.

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US Mint Gold Bullion Sales Set Rapid Pace

May 17, 2011 by Leave a Comment

The recent declines in precious metals seem to have shifted some investors preferences. For the current month to date, US Mint sales of gold bullion sales are on pace for the highest levels of the year, while silver bullion sales remain at typical levels.

From their peak prices reached in late April, silver has declined by about 32% while gold has declined by a modest 6%.

In the past week, the US Mint has sold 15,500 troy ounces of gold bullion coins, comprised of 11,000 ounces of American Gold Eagles and 4,500 ounces of American Gold Buffaloes. Monthly totals are now 89,000 and 9,500 ounces respectively. These figures reflect sales through May 16, 2010.

US Mint Bullion Coin Sales for Week Ending 5/16/2011 (troy ounces)

Gold Eagle 11,000
Gold Buffalo 4,500
Silver Eagle 756,500
Silver ATB 15,000

Silver bullion products, which remain subject to rationing, sold a combined 771,500 troy ounces in the past week. This consisted of 756,500 ounces worth of American Silver Eagles and 15,000 ounces worth of the 5 ounce America the Beautiful Silver Bullion Coins. For the latter product, the US Mint has now sold all of the available coins for the first two designs of the year featuring Gettysburg National Military Park and Glacier National Park. An additional 126,700 coins (633,500 troy ounces) featuring the Olympic National Park design will go on sale to authorized purchasers on May 23, 2011.

US Mint Bullion Coin Sales for Year to Date (troy ounces)

Gold Eagle Gold Buffalo Silver Eagle Silver ATB
January 133,500 – 6,422,000 –
February 92,500 – 3,240,000 –
March 73,500 38,000 2,767,000 –
April 108,000 20,500 2,819,000 1,127,000
May 89,000 9,500 2,177,500 140,000
Total 496,500 68,000 17,425,500 1,267,000

For the year to date, silver bullion coin sales have reached 18,692,500 troy ounces. Last year, the US Mint had sold 35,487,500 ounces across the two available silver bullion coin programs.

Gold bullion coin sales have reached 564,500 ounces for the year to date, compared to 1,429,500 for the prior year.



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Insights From One Of The World’s Lengendary Gold Experts

May 17, 2011 by Leave a Comment

The Standard & Poors 500 stock index is still below the level it reached more than 10 years ago in early 2000.  Interest rates on traditional bank savings have barely exceeded zero percent since the Fed instituted its zero interest rate policies in 2008.  Meanwhile, incomes are stagnant and the cost of items we use everyday have been inexorably increasing.

Investors who expected to achieve financial independence by investing in actively managed stock mutual funds have seen their dreams turn to nightmares.  The brutal truth is that the vast majority of mutual fund managers do not beat the market over the long run.   Investors who did not diversity out of traditional investments have seen the value of their savings diminished by inflation and stagnant stock prices.

By contrast, one legendary gold investor who has consistently made great calls in the precious metals markets has achieved average annual returns over the past ten years of over 29%.  Money doubles in about 2.5 years at 29%.  Investors who had the patience and conviction to ride out inevitable corrections have seen fabulous returns.

The man who achieved this stunningly successful investment record is Harvard educated John Hathaway, who has been with the Tocqueville Gold Fund (TGLDX) since its inception in 1998.  Hathaway’s success has been based on his ability to chose smaller mining companies that have the potential for explosive growth and then patiently wait for results.  The average gold mutual fund has an annual holdings turnover of 104% compared to 9% at TGLDX.  While other fund managers frenetically trade mining stocks, Hathaway’s deep knowledge of the companies he invests in has resulted in superior investment returns.  Also benefiting shareholders is the fact that the TGLDX does not charge  front end or deferred sales loads which reduce investor returns.

The TGLDX has soundly beaten the investment performance of both gold bullion and the widely followed PHLX Gold/Silver Sector (XAU) which holds a broad basket of gold and silver stocks.  Since 2000, the TGLDX has returned approximately 810% compared to 500% for gold bullion and 325% for the XAU.

TGLDX VS XAU - COURTESY YAHOO FINANCE

When John Hathaway speaks, serious gold and silver investors pay attention.  In the Tocqueville Gold First Quarter 2011 Observations, Mr. Hathaway explained why he remains positioned for further gains in the precious metals and related equities.

Mr. Hathaway noted that his current position on gold is based on interrelated macro economic issues which make the “current landscape especially tricky”.   Hathaway noted that “the Fed seems predisposed to maintain extremely lax monetary conditions” and that “a credible fiscal plan seems like a long shot”.   Conditions in the Middle East could worsen considerably, energy prices are likely to remain at levels that seemed “unthinkable” a year ago and if there is political resistance to the Fed reducing its balance sheet, “the conditions are ripe for an inflationary spiral”.

The dollar appears to be deeply oversold and a near term rally could slow gold’s uptrend, according to Hathaway.

Mr. Hathaway feels that by mid year, the outlook will be more clear but in the meantime, “we remain positioned for further advances in precious metals”.

The top 8 stock holdings of TGLDX at March 31, 2011 were Goldcorp (GG), Newmont Mining (NEM), IAMGold (IAG), Ivanhoe (IVN),  Silver Wheaton (SLW), Gold Resource Corp (GORO), Osisko Mining (OSK) and Randgold Resources (GOLD).

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Zimbabwe Central Bank Chief Bashes U.S. Dollar While Promoting Gold Backed Currency

May 16, 2011 by Leave a Comment

According to a news report in New Zimbabwe, the head of the Zimbabwe Central Bank is warning that the U.S. dollar may lose its reserve currency status soon and suggested that Zimbabwe institute a gold backed currency.

Central Bank Chief Gideon Gono said in an interview that  “There is a need for us to begin thinking seriously and urgently about introducing a Gold-backed Zimbabwe currency which will not only be stable but internationally acceptable.   We need to re-think our gold-mining strategy, our gold-liberalisation and marketing strategies as a country…to me, Gold has proven over the years that it is a stable and most desired precious metal.”

The irony here is overwhelming.   Zimbabwe, a country without a functioning currency due to hyperinflation is worried about the declining value of the U.S. dollar.  The Zimbabwe dollar has been worthless since 2009 and the Zimbabwe economy now functions through the use of foreign currencies, including the U.S. dollar.

The central bank of Zimbabwe had fueled hyperinflation the old fashioned way by trying to use printed money to pay government expenses.  The people of Zimbabwe were not fooled and the currency soon lost all value.  A $100 trillion dollar Zimbabwe bank note is now a novelty item on EBay, going for about $7 each.

$100 Trillion Dollar Zimbabwe Note

The U.S. dollar must be in real trouble if officials of Zimbabwe are worried about accepting U.S. dollars.   Zimbabwe central bank officials have had first hand experience seeing how quickly a paper currency can become worthless.

According to Central Bank Chief Gono, “Zimbabwe is sitting on trillions worth of gold-reserves and it is time we start thinking outside the box, for our survival and prosperity.  The world needs to and will most certainly move to a gold standard and Zimbabwe must lead the way”.

How ironic would it be if the Central Bank of Zimbabwe winds up with the world’s strongest currency by introducing a gold backed currency?

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Gold And Silver Gain On Week – Time Tested Indicator Says Gold Stocks Are Cheap

May 13, 2011 by Leave a Comment

After last week’s major sell off in precious metals, gold and silver prices gained on the week while platinum and palladium registered small declines.   As measured by the closing London Fix Price, gold gained $19.25 on the week and silver gained $2.00.

As is typical after a major pullback, silver prices were volatile.  Silver’s sharp price increase this year had attracted many day traders and leveraged speculators who were forced to sell as silver prices declined, in large part due to the rapid series of margin increases by the COMEX on silver futures traders.

This week’s volatility in silver prices can be seen using the SLV as a silver proxy.  After almost hitting $38 on Tuesday, the SLV plunged to $32 in early Thursday trading before recovering to the $34 level in late Friday trading.

SLV - COURTESY YAHOO FINANCE

The forced liquidation of silver positions by weaker leveraged hands has provided long term investors with a buying opportunity according to the experts at Dillon Gage Metals, a major precious metals dealer.  According to Terry Hanlon, President of Dillon Gage, “This year, silver has had its biggest run in the shortest period of time in recent memory.  Profit-taking corrections are to be expected when markets rally.  This recent price correction doesn’t change the basic fundamentals, which include good demand for silver to make coins in a number of countries.”

Hanlon also noted that the recent strong dollar rally in early May lead to a broad based commodities sell off which extended to precious metals.  The increased margin deposits required by the COMEX which increased from $4,250 a year ago to $16,200 per contract was also an obvious contributor to weakness in silver prices.  Hanlon expects silver prices to remain range bound in the short term saying that “I look for investors and money managers to take a brief breather on the sidelines before getting back into the silver market on the buy side.”

No one can say exactly where silver prices will bottom out before heading higher but Dillon Gage sees “support at the $32 an ounce level”.  Silver’s 200 day moving average is currently in the $28 range which should provide solid technical support.

Precious Metals Prices
PM Fix Since Last Recap
Gold $1,505.75 +19.25 (+1.29%)
Silver $36.20 +2.00(+5.85%)
Platinum $1,774.00 -15.00 (-0.84%)
Palladium $718.00 -3.00 (-0.42%)

It is interesting that amidst a broad based commodities sell off and a major price pullback in silver, gold’s relative performance has been very strong and indicative of fundamental demand.  The recent news that numerous countries are increasing their stockpiles of gold bullion provides further proof that both individual investors and governments are seeking to preserve their wealth by diversifying out of paper currencies.

For investors who prefer to invest in gold mining companies, the K-Ratio, a time tested buy/sell indicator currently has very bullish readings.   The K-Ratio is computed by dividing Barron’s Gold Mining Index by the current Handy and Harmon gold price and reflects the relative value of gold stocks compared to gold bullion.   A reading below 1.2o tells us that gold stocks are cheap compared to gold bullion.  The K-Ratio is currently at .93 indicating that gold stocks are currently a better relative bargain than gold bullion.

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Silver And Gold ETFs Stable – Bank Savings vs. Precious Metals and How Much Is a Trillion?

May 12, 2011 by 2 Comments

As the silver market stabilized after last week’s sell off, holdings of the iShares Silver Trust (SLV) increased by 153.22 tonnes over the past week.

Since the beginning of the year, the SLV holdings have declined by 381.09 tonnes, but the largest decrease in holdings tracks the silver sell off that began in late April.  From a record high holding of 11,390.06 tonnes of silver on April 25th, the SLV has seen a decline in holdings of 849.58 tonnes.   The reduction of holdings since April 25th exceeds the amount of silver originally held by the SLV at its inception in April 2006 when it held 653.17 tonnes.

One indication of the amount of forced selling that occurred last week is reflected by the premium/discount on the SLV compared to its net asset value.  On April 25th, when the SLV had peak holdings and silver was surging towards the $50 level, the premium on SLV shares was 1.48%.  Investors at that point were paying $45.83 per share while the SLV’s net silver assets were $45.14.  Two days later and trading at very high volume, investors paid $47 per share for the SLV which held silver worth $44.20, a fat premium of 6.29%.

The first week of May saw a steep price decline in silver caused, in large part, by five margin increases by the COMEX on silver futures trading (see How The Comex Crashed The Silver Market).  Forced selling of the SLV resulted in huge discounts from net asset value.  On May 2nd, the discount on the SLV reached a huge 9.87% and sellers of the SLV were receiving only $42.79  for shares with a net asset value of silver worth $47.51.  On Monday and Tuesday of this week, pricing became orderly with only a minor difference between net asset value and market value of the SLV.

The SLV currently holds 338.9 million ounces of silver valued at $13.3 billion.  Despite the recent sell off, silver has had a spectacular performance this year.   From its January low of $26.68 to its closing New York spot price on May 11th of $35.27, silver has risen by 32%, proving the case for diversification into precious metals.

By contrast, savers of paper currency in banks have been treated to returns of virtually zero, courtesy of Ben Bernanke’s zero interest rate policies.  As the public wakes up to the fact that their paper currency savings are becoming worth less and less, the demand for both gold and silver should increase exponentially.

GLD and SLV Holdings (metric tonnes)

May 11-2011 Weekly Change YTD Change
GLD 1,201.04 -18.90 -79.68
SLV 10,540.48 +153.22 -381.09

Holdings of gold by the SPDR Gold Shares Trust (GLD) declined by 18.90 tonnes on the week.  The GDL currently holds 38.6 million ounces of gold valued at $58.2 billion.

How Much Is A Trillion?

Sometimes a very routine event can open your eyes and keep you on the right long term track.  Last week I was having breakfast in Mexico and casually put a tip of a couple of U.S. dollars on the table.  (Yes, they still take our paper money in Mexico).   Gazing at the paper dollars I reflected on how, as a child, two hours of working odd jobs for neighbors would earn me two dollars.

Then, I tried to figure out how big the table would have to be to hold the $2 trillion dollars printed out of thin air by the Federal Reserve over the past couple of years.   At this point, my wife started getting annoyed with me, so I gladly restrained myself from an academic exercise that was fruitless anyways.   How many people can comprehend a trillion dollars?  Not me, but I know it’s a crazy large amount.  I also know that anything that can be produced in the trillions at virtually no cost cannot have any real long term fundamental value.  And that’s all I really need to know to make me indifferent to a short term sell off in the gold and silver markets.

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