April 24, 2024

Gold And Silver ETF Holdings Remain Steady As Gold Plunges

August 25, 2011 by 1 Comment

Gold’s non stop advance since early July saw a rapid reversal on Wednesday as gold lost $104.20 to close at $1,752.30 in New York trading.

Gold prices have soared this year on fears of another financial crisis and the continual debasement of paper currencies by governments that are tottering on the brink of default.  Gold began the year at $1,388.50 and by early May traded over $1,550.  After consolidating for two months, gold broke out of its trading range in early July and breached the $1,900 level earlier this week.  Despite today’s sharp sell off, gold is still up $363.80 or 26% for 2011.

As short term trend traders, hedge funds and speculative buyers jumped into gold, prices became overbought with gold trading $423 above its 200 day moving average.  The same traders playing gold for short term profits jumped out just as quickly when prices started to reverse.  Two factors that encouraged profit taking in gold were reports that the Fed would not immediately announce another round of money printing and the sharp hike in margin requirements on gold futures by the CME Group.

On a short term basis gold was overbought and due for a correction after an almost vertical rise from $1,500 as can be seen below.

 

Gold - courtesy stockcharts.com

A view of a longer term chart gives a different perspective – the long term bull market in gold remains intact and the fundamental reasons for owning gold have not changed.

 

Gold - courtesy stockcharts.com

The non stop “gold bubble” chatter by talking heads who missed participating in the decades long gold rally are focusing on a short term price movement instead of the fundamentals that will continue to drive gold prices higher.  Every bull market has corrections and are an opportunity to add to positions.  As a long term investor in gold since the early 1990’s, I have seen other investors trade in and out, losing money each time, instead of simply going with the long term bull trend.

Many analysts have expressed concern that investors might be panicked out of the GLD causing the price of gold to plunge.  This does not seem to be the case despite the large drop in gold prices this week.  As of Wednesday, the GLD gold holdings declined by only 39.67 tonnes.  In addition, when silver spiked in early May, trading volume in the SLV exploded by 750% above the daily average trading volume.  Despite the volatility in gold this week, trading volume in the GLD expanded by only 350% above average trading volumes.  This would seem to indicate that investment in the GLD is a core holding by long term gold investors who are not inclined to sell on normal price corrections.

The SPDR Gold Trust currently holds 39.6 million ounces of gold valued at $70.1 billion.  There has been much hype about the value of the GLD exceeding that of the SPDR S&P 500.  A more proper context for comparison is to compare the value of the GLD to the increase in sovereign debt and money printing.  Bernanke’s latest episode of QE2 money printing was 850% larger than the entire value of the GLD and you can count on additional Fed currency debasement in the future.

GLD and SLV Holdings (metric tonnes)

August 24-2011 Weekly Change YTD Change
GLD 1,232.31 -39.67 -48.41
SLV 9,836.18 +109.08 -1,085.39

The iShares Silver Trust holdings gained 109.08 tonnes for the week ending August 24, despite the slide in silver prices.  The SLV has been building a base in the $35 to $40 range since the May correction.   Many analysts proclaimed that the “bubble” in silver prices had burst after the sharp price correction in May.  From a long term perspective, the May correction did little to diminish either the bullish fundamentals or the long term upward trend in silver prices.

 

SLV - COURTESY YAHOO FINANCE

The SLV currently holds 316.2 million ounces of silver valued at $13.3 billion.

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SPDR Gold Trust And iShares Silver Trust Holdings Decline

August 18, 2011 by Leave a Comment

Gold holdings of the SPDR Gold Trust (GLD) declined slightly on the week by 24.54 tonnes after a gain of 10.22 tonnes in the previous week.   GLD  gold holdings have declined by 8.74 tonnes since the beginning of the year.   The all time high holdings of the GLD occurred on June 29, 2010 when the Trust’s holdings reached 1,320.47 tonnes.

As measured by the closing London PM Fix Price, gold started the year at $1,388.50.  Gold closed in Wednesday trading at $1,790.00 for a gain of $401.50 or 28.9% on the year.  Gold has been in a steady, virtually uninterrupted uptrend since late 2008.  At the beginning of July, the price trend of gold entered an accelerated uptrend.

 

GOLD - COURTESY KITCO.COM

Although a pullback is possible after an almost vertical rise of $256 since July 1st, it is just as likely that gold could confound the skeptics and continue to rise.  The increase in gold prices for the past  decade has reflected widespread apprehension over the value of paper currencies.  The world economy never recovered from the financial crisis starting in 2008 despite the borrowing and printing of trillions of dollars by world central banks and governments.  The increase in the price of gold is reflecting the growing realization that governments and central banks no longer have the ability to contain a second full blown financial crisis.  Under this scenario, gold effectively has no ceiling price.

The GLD is the largest gold exchange traded fund with 40.9 million ounces of gold.  According to Bloomberg, the total holdings of all  major gold  ETFs worldwide amount to 70.7 million ounces of gold.  Holdings of all gold ETFs worldwide have increased by 4.1 million ounces or 6.2% since the beginning of the year.

The SPDR Gold Trust currently holds 40.9 million ounces of gold valued at $73.2 billion.  For perspective, the entire value of the GLD would fund less than 18 days of US Government deficit spending which is projected to exceed $1.5 trillion this year.

 

GLD - COURTESY YAHOO FINANCE

The GLD closed the day at $174.42, fractionally below its all time high of $175.13

GLD and SLV Holdings (metric tonnes)

August 17-2011 Weekly Change YTD Change
GLD 1,271.98 -24.54 -8.74
SLV 9,727.10 -45.46 -1,194.47

Holdings of the iShares Silver Trust declined by 45.46 tonnes on the week after a decline of 86.36 tonnes in the previous week.  Since July 1st, the SLV has gained 190.95 tonnes.

After a price correction in early May, silver has recovered in price and is building a base in the $40 range before the next move up.  Silver has gained $6.17 or 18.2% since July 1st, rising from $33.85 to $40.02.

 

SLV - COURTESY YAHOO FINANCE

The SLV currently holds 312.7 million ounces of silver valued at $12.5 billion.  Investors in the SLV have had an annual rate of return of 25% over the past three years.

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Gold ETF Holdings Hit All Time High As Silver ETF Holdings Decline

August 11, 2011 by 2 Comments

The SPDR Gold Shares Trust (GLD) added 10.22 tonnes of gold since last week as gold prices continue to surge higher.  The GLD now has a net gain in gold holdings of 15.80 tonnes since the first of the year.  The all time high holdings of the Gold Shares Trust was 1320.47 tonnes reached on June 29, 2010.

The value of the GLD during August has increased by 12.1% to $73.9 billion on high volume.  During July, the highest volume day for the GDL was on July 13th when 25.2 million shares traded.  On August 8th, 9th and 10th, volume on the GLD exceeded 40 million shares.  On previous occasions when trading volume in the GLD surged, gold prices either pulled back slightly or consolidated in sideways trading before continuing higher.

All of the fundamental factors that have been pushing gold prices higher for the past decade are now being amplified by a looming currency collapse and sovereign debt crises.  Adding to concerns is the apparent inability of central banks and governments to contain the rapidly expanding financial crisis.

As measured by the closing London PM Fix Price, gold started the year at $1388.50 and closed Wednesday in New York trading at $1796.50, up $51.30.  Gold has gained $407.90 or 29.4% since the first of the year.

Total holdings of all gold ETFs recently reached a record of 2,276 tonnes of gold, valued at $130 billion.  The GLD currently holds 41.7 million ounces of gold valued at $73.9 billion.

GLD - COURTESY YAHOO FINANCE

 

The GLD hit a new all time high in Wednesday trading, closing at $174.58, up $5.97.

GLD and SLV Holdings (metric tonnes)

August 10-2011 Weekly Change YTD Change
GLD 1,296.52 +10.22 +15.80
SLV 9,772.56 -86.36 -1,149.01

Holdings of the iShares Silver Trust (SLV) declined by 86.36 tonnes on the week but have gained 236.41 tonnes since July 1st when silver prices began rallying.

Silver prices have not kept pace with the increase in gold prices as investors worry about reduced industrial demand for silver in a severe economic downturn.  Silver closed Wednesday at $39.39, up $1.58.  Silver began the year at $30.67 and is now up by $8.72 on the year returning investors a gain of 28.4%.

The SLV peaked in late April at the $50 level before prices corrected to the low 30’s.  The SLV has had an average annualized total return of 25% over the past three years.

The iShares Silver Trust currently holds 314.2 million ounces of silver valued at $12 billion.

 

SLV - COURTESY YAHOO FINANCE

As the world economy marches off the edge of the cliff and many wonder why, we look back at some prophetic  thoughts from Bill Murphy, co-founder of the Gold Anti-Trust Action Committee (GATA) in an interview with The Motley Fool in June 2010.

“What’s important for your readership to understand is that the markets have been made dysfunctional by U.S. policy and what these bullion banks are doing. Even Alan Greenspan said recently that interest rates were left too low for too long. Had the gold price been allowed to trade freely, interest rates wouldn’t have been able to stay down as low as they were. It would have been a warning sign for people not to get involved in the behavior that they did … not to go with all of the risks that developed. And there’s a good likelihood that the disaster would have been nowhere near as bad as it was.

“Alan Greenspan called gold a “thermometer.” So they diffused the thermometer by keeping the gold price managed. And what’s important for people to understand now is that the same thing is going on. If we’re correct, it’s going to lead to a bigger catastrophe, because no one has learned any lessons.”

 

 

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Gold Prices Skyrocket, Stocks Plunge – Looking Like 2008 On Steroids

August 2, 2011 by Leave a Comment

As politicians celebrated the debt limit increase and congratulated themselves for “saving” the nation that they destroyed, collapsing stock markets and soaring gold prices told a different story.  The public spectacle of a dysfunctional Congress debating the debt limit exposed to the world the horrendous extent to which the US government is addicted to endless deficit spending.

Republican presidential candidate Ron Paul summed up the outcome of the debt limit fiasco best:

This deal will reportedly cut spending by only slightly over $900 billion over 10 years. But we will have a $1.6 trillion deficit after this year alone, meaning those meager cuts will do nothing to solve our unsustainable spending problem. In fact, this bill will never balance the budget. Instead, it will add untold trillions of dollars to our deficit. This also assumes the cuts are real cuts and not the same old Washington smoke and mirrors game of spending less than originally projected so you can claim the difference as a ‘cut.’

The plan also calls for the formation of a deficit commission, which will accomplish nothing outside of providing Congress and the White House with another way to abdicate responsibility. In my many years of public service, there have been commissions on everything from Social Security to energy policy, yet not one solution has been produced out of these commissions.

Ron Paul also provided an explanation of what constitutes a “spending cut” in the bizarro world of government accounting and why, in the end, spending and debts will not decrease.

No plan under serious consideration cuts spending in the way you and I think about it. Instead, the “cuts” being discussed are illusory, and are not cuts from current amounts being spent, but cuts in projected spending increases. This is akin to a family “saving” $100,000 in expenses by deciding not to buy a Lamborghini, and instead getting a fully loaded Mercedes, when really their budget dictates that they need to stick with their perfectly serviceable Honda. But this is the type of math Washington uses to mask the incriminating truth about their unrepentant plundering of the American people.

The world was finally tuning in to the reality of the desperate financial condition of the United States.  The mainstream press was predicting a plunge in gold prices and soaring stock prices after Congress agreed to increase the nation’s debt limit.  Instead, the opposite happened as markets reflected underlying economic reality.

Since mid July, the Dow Jones Industrial Average has plunged by 858 points.  Since July 1st, gold has gained $178 per ounce.  Meanwhile, the debt crisis in Europe continues to intensify with bond yields soaring in Italy and Spain.  The world economy is marching off the edge of a cliff as governments lose the ability to contain the spiraling debt crisis.  It’s starting to look like a replay of 2008 on steroids.

Gold  soared by $39.80 on the day to close in New York trading at an all time high of $1,661.10.  Silver more than paced the gain in gold, adding $1.61 to close up 4.1% at $40.95.

SPDR Gold Trust Holdings Increase, Silver ETF Holdings Decline

Holdings of the SPDR Gold Shares Trust (GLD) gained almost 37 tonnes on the week.  For the first time this year, holdings of the GLD are greater than they were at the beginning of the year.  The record holdings of the GLD occurred on June 29, 2010 when the GLD held 1,320.47 tonnes of gold.

The SPDR Gold Trust currently hold 41.2 million ounces of gold valued at $67.5 billion.  Shares of the GLD hit an all time high, closing at $161.52.

 

GLD - COURTESY YAHOO FINANCE

Holdings of the iShares Silver Trust (SLV) declined by 90.93 tonnes after an increase of 112.15 tonnes in the prior week.  Since the beginning of July, holdings of the SLV have increased by 288.28 tonnes.

The SLV currently holds 315.9 million ounces of silver valued at $12.5 billion.

GLD and SLV Holdings (metric tonnes)

August 2-2011 Weekly Change YTD Change
GLD 1,281.75 +36.95 +1.04
SLV 9,824.93 -90.93 -1,096.64

 

 

 

 

 

 

Filed Under: Featured, Gold, Silver, Statistics, US Debt Crisis Tagged With: , , , , , , , ,

SPDR Gold Trust Hits All Time High, Silver ETF Holdings Increase

July 28, 2011 by 2 Comments

Holdings of the iShares Silver Trust (SLV) gained 112.15 tonnes on the week after increasing by 169.76 tonnes in the previous week.  Although SLV holdings have declined by 1,005.71 tonnes since the beginning of the year, holdings of the silver trust have increased markedly in July as silver prices surged.

Since July 1st, holdings of the iShares Silver Trust have increased by 379.21 tonnes.  Holding of the SLV hit an all time high on April 25th when the Trust held 11,390.06 tonnes of silver.

As measured by the London PM Fix Price, silver has gained $6.96 since July 1st, rising from $33.85 to $40.81.  Silver is up 33.1% since the beginning of the year when it stood at $30.67.  The SLV, after correcting in early May, has broken out of its trading range in the mid 30’s and has been steadily advancing.

Investors looking to past history for clues on the future price move in silver are looking at two entirely different worlds.  The parabolic move and subsequent collapse of silver prices in the 1980’s was driven by specific events which quickly reversed.  After breaking out of a decades long base, silver will not be a replay of the 1980’s but instead is in a long term super cycle which will ultimately result in much higher prices (see For Silver, This Time Is Different).

 

SLV - COURTESY YAHOO FINANCE

The SLV currently holds 318.8 million ounces of silver valued at $13.0 billion.  Over the past year the SLV has increased by 86%.  Over the past three years the SLV has had an annual rate of return of 25.1%.

GLD and SLV Holdings (metric tonnes)

July 27-2011 Weekly Change YTD Change
GLD 1,244.80 -1.21 -35.91
SLV 9,915.86 +112.15 -1,005.71

Holdings of the SPDR Gold Shares Trust (GLD) dipped slightly on the week by 1.21 tonnes after increasing by 20.60 tonnes in the previous week.

Gold has been in a steady uptrend during July.  As measured by the closing London PM Fix Price, gold has gained 9.6% or $142 since July lst.  Gold started the year at $1388.50.

Since the beginning of the month, the GLD has gained 39.0 tonnes.  The GLD currently holds 1,244.80 tonnes of gold valued at $65.0 billion.

The GLD hit new all time highs this week as the advance in gold prices continued.

 

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Gold and Silver ETF Holdings Increase As Precious Metals Rally

July 21, 2011 by Leave a Comment

Holdings of the SPDR  Gold Shares Trust (GLD) gained 20.60 tonnes on the week after increasing by 19.60 tonnes in the previous week.

Gold has been in a steady uptrend during July as the debt crises in Europe and the United States continue to expand.  As measured by the London PM Fix Price, gold has gained $103 since July lst.  Gold has gained $197.50 per ounce since the first of the year when the price was $1,388.50.

Since July lst, total gold holdings of the GLD have increased by 40.21 tonnes and the value of the trust has increased by $6 billion to $63.5 billion.  At July 20, the Gold Trust held 40.1 million ounces of gold bullion, up from 38.8 million ounces on the lst of July.

Shares of the GLD hit an all time high this week along with the price of gold.

 

GLD - COURTESY YAHOO FINANCE

The iShares Silver Trust (SLV) increased its holdings by 169.76 on the week after a gain of 101.55 tonnes in the previous week.   Silver holdings of the trust since the beginning of the year have declined by 1,178.86 tonnes when the Trust held 10,921.57 tonnes.  The record holdings of the SLV occurred on April 25th when the Trust held 11,390.06 tonnes.

Silver has surged in price along with gold since the beginning of July.  Based on the closing London PM Fix Price, silver has increased from $33.85 on July 1st to $38.59 at the July 20th close, for a gain of $4.74 or 14.0%.

The SLV Trust currently holds 315.2 million ounces of silver valued at $12.2 billion.  As of July 20th, the net asset value of the Trust was $37.61 according to the Trust’s website.  The price of the SLV closed on July 20th at $39.12 or a 4% premium to the Trust’s net asset value.  The current premium of the SLV to the Trust’s net asset value is higher than usual, reflecting investor demand for the SLV.  The all time high premium on the SLV to the underlying net assets of the Trust occurred on April 27, 2011 at 6.3%.

iShares Premium/Discount - courtesy us.ishares.com

Precious metals have advanced strongly after suggestions by the Federal Reserve that it might initiate another round of quantitative easing if economic conditions continue to deteriorate.  Meanwhile, the debt crisis in Europe continues to expand with many believing that the only “solution” is to imitate the U.S. Central Bank and print money.

GLD and SLV Holdings (metric tonnes)

July 20-2011 Weekly Change YTD Change
GLD 1,246.01 +20.60 -34.70
SLV 9,803.71 +169.76 -1,117.86

 

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Gold and Silver ETF Holdings Increase As Precious Metals Explode Higher

July 13, 2011 by Leave a Comment

The iShares Silver Trust (SLV) showed a gain in holdings of 101.55 tonnes on the week after declining by a modest 48.21 tonnes in the previous week.  A decline from record holdings of 11,390.06 tonnes on April 25th paralleled the sell off in the silver market that occurred in early May.  Since mid June, holding of the SLV have stabilized in the range of 9,500 to 9,600 tonnes.

Silver has surged in price since the lst of July when silver closed at $33.85.  Today’s closing New York price of $38.33 gives silver a gain of $4.48 or 13.2% through July 13th.  The price of silver surged today after Fed Chairman Bernanke, mere days after the end of QE2, announced that he was ready to “come to the rescue” of the American financial system again with another round of quantitative easing.   Bernanke’s continued policy of dollar debasement may not do much to revive the economy, but it is certain to send gold and silver prices to all time highs.

The SLV Trust now holds 309.7 million ounces of silver valued at $11.4 billion dollars.  The all time high in the value of silver holdings by the Trust occurred on April 28th at $17.3 billion.

After basing in the $35 range since early May, the SLV looks ready to begin challenging its all time high. The SLV closed today at $37.23 up $2.03.

 

SLV - COURTESY YAHOO FINANCE

GLD and SLV Holdings (metric tonnes)

July 13-2011 Weekly Change YTD Change
GLD 1,225.41 +19.60 -55.30
SLV 9,633.95 +101.55 -1,287.62

Holdings of the SPDR Gold Shares Trust (GLD) gained 19.60 tonnes last week after small drops in the previous two weeks.  The price of gold has retained virtually all of its price gains this year even as sell offs hit stocks, commodities and other precious metals.  Gold opened the year at $1,388.50 and has steady increased in value.

As it became clear that the deficit talks in Washington would resolve nothing and with easy Ben Bernanke ready to put the printing presses into overdrive, the price of gold soared to all time highs.  The continuing debt crisis in Europe will only get worse, eventually forcing the European Central Bank to engage in its own money printing operations on a massive scale.

As measured by the London PM Fix Price, gold opened the month at $1483.00 and closed in New York trading today at $1,583.60 for a gain of $100.60 or 6.8%.  In later trading in Asian markets, gold continued to soar, climbing another $6.10.  James Turk, a highly respected analyst with a superb track record is forecasting a gold price of between $5,000 and $8,000 before 2015.  Given the pace at which debt trapped countries are tipping over, I suspect that those price targets may be reached much sooner.

The GLD currently holds 39.4 million ounces of gold valued at $62.2 billion.

 

Gold - Courtesy stockcharts.com

 

 

 

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Gold and Silver ETF Holdings Decline On Week While Europe’s Debt Crisis Expands

July 7, 2011 by Leave a Comment

The iShares Silver Trust (SLV) showed a decline in holdings of 48.21 tonnes from the previous week, after rising by 21.23 tonnes in the previous week.   The net outflow of the SLV since the start of the year now totals 1,389.17 tonnes.

Silver opened the year at $30.67 per ounce and closed at $35.38 on July 6th. Despite the fact that silver has gained 15.4% since the start of the year, SLV holdings have declined by 12.7%.  Although increases or decreases in iShares silver holdings can be a guide to silver demand, physical holdings of the SLV do not correlate exactly with the price movements on the underlying metal.  This is due to the complex structure of the SLV which allows authorized participants to create or redeem shares in the SLV (see How Wall Street Made Profits On Silver ETF As Small Investors Sold).

There was, however, a close correlation between holdings of the SLV and the price of silver in late April.  As silver prices surged to a high of $48.70 on April 28th, holdings of the iShares Silver Trust hit an all time high of 11,390.06 tonnes on April 25th.

The iShares Silver Trust currently holds 306.5 million ounces of silver valued at $10.84 billion.  The all time high value of silver holdings by the SLV was reached on April 28th when the Trust held silver valued at $17.3 billion.

The SLV moved up on the week and is basing in the mid 30’s range.

 

SLV - COURTESY YAHOO FINANCE

Holdings of the SPDR Gold Shares Trust (GLD) declined slightly on the week by 2.42 tonnes after a small decline in the previous week of .91 tonnes.  The decline in GLD gold holdings since the beginning of the year totals 74.91 tonnes. The price of gold has increased 10% from $1388.50 at the beginning of the year to yesterday’s closing price of $1527.25.

The GLD currently holds 38.8 million ounces of gold valued at $59.2 billion.

Gold moved up $32.25 this week after dipping below $1,500 last week.  As measured by the closing London PM Fix Price, gold closed on Wednesday at $1527.25.  Gold has refused to give up its gains this year as distrust of paper money continues to justifiably expand.  The inevitable default by multiple member states of the European Union will require massive monetary support for insolvent banks holding trillions of dollars of sovereign junk debt.   The European Central Bank is desperately trying to maintain the facade of a successful debt restructuring by issuing more loans to insolvent nations.

Bloomberg this week discusses the looming debt crisis in Italy which has over 2 trillion in Euro denominated debt.

Italy, though, has close to 2 trillion euros in debt outstanding. It’s inconceivable that Germany or the IMF could provide a rescue to protect its creditors. Such a package would have to involve loans and guarantees of at least 500 billion, and possibly 1 trillion, euros to impress the markets. This would be a significant fraction of Germany’s gross domestic product of about 2.5 trillion euros. With a debt-to-GDP ratio of about 80 percent, Germany’s ability to take on new debt is limited.

The Netherlands, Finland and Austria, combined with Germany, have a GDP of about 3.5 trillion euros. France adds 2 trillion more, but its debt, already 85 percent of output, is expected to grow over the next several years.

It all adds up to one sobering fact: Europe does not have enough fiscal firepower to handle an Italian crisis — at least in such a way as to protect creditors completely. Beyond the difficult numbers, why would Germany or other EU countries lend to Italy, particularly when its politicians show no sign of coming to grips with their new reality?

The slow motion collapse of overly indebted countries in Europe is picking up speed.  Rising gold prices reflect the coming financial crisis which equity and debt markets have not yet fully discounted.  Expect to see gold prices soar as the debt crisis moves into high gear.

 

GOLD - COURTESY KITCO.COM

GLD and SLV Holdings (metric tonnes)

July 6-2011 Weekly Change YTD Change
GLD 1,205.81 -2.42 -74.91
SLV 9,532.40 -48.21 -1,389.17

 

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Silver ETF Holdings Gain As Gold ETF Holdings Decline Slightly

June 29, 2011 by Leave a Comment

Silver holdings of the iShares Silver Trust (SLV) gained by 21.23 tonnes on the week.  In the previous three weeks,  SLV silver holdings had declined by a total of 381.95 tons, bringing the net outflow for the year to 1,340.96 tonnes.

The all time high holdings of the SLV was 11,390.06 tonnes on April 25, 2011.   The decline in SLV holdings from the all time high totals 1,809.45 tonnes, a decline of 15.9%.  The yearly high for the price of silver of $48.70 on April 28th correlates closely to the date of record holdings of the SLV.

The iShares Silver Trust currently holds 308.0 million ounces of silver valued at $10.6 billion.  The total net assets of the SLV have plunged by $6.7 billion since reaching an all time high of $17.3 billion on April 28th.  The dramatic 39% decline in the total net asset value of the SLV reflects the combination of much lower silver prices and reduced silver holdings.   Silver, at today’s close, has declined by $14.31 per ounce (29.4%) from the high of $48.70 on April 28th.

 

SILVER - COURTESY STOCKCHARTS.COM

Silver, as measured by the closing London PM Fix Price, closed today at $34.39, up $0.43 per ounce.  In later hour New York trading, silver continued to move up and closed at $34.98.  Silver has been in a narrow trading range in the mid 30’s since its decline in early May.

GLD and SLV Holdings (metric tonnes)

June 29-2011 Weekly Change YTD Change
GLD 1,208.23 -0.91 -72.49
SLV 9,580.61 +21.23 -1,340.96

The holdings of the SPDR Gold Shares Trust (GLD) declined slightly on the week by 0.91 tonnes, bringing the decline for the year to 72.49 tonnes.  The GLD currently holds 38.85 million ounces of gold valued at $58.4 billion.

Gold closed in London at $1504.25 and continued to move up in late New York trading, closing at $1512.80, up $9.70.  Gold has remained in the $1,500 range even as oil, stocks, silver and a large number of other commodities have declined in price since early May.

Filed Under: Gold, Silver, Statistics, Weekly Recap Tagged With: , , , , ,

Silver ETF Holdings Decline Again As Gold ETF Holdings Gain

June 23, 2011 by Leave a Comment

Holdings of the iShares Silver Trust (SLV) declined again this week by 106.14 tonnes after a decline of 248.69 tonnes in the previous week.  The year to date decline in silver holdings by the SLV now totals 1,362.19 tons.

The decline in holdings of the SLV from its all time high of 11,390.06 tonnes on April 25, 2011 now totals 1,830.68 tonnes, or a decline of 16.1%.  There is not a direct and timely correlation between the price of silver and the holdings of the SLV as evidenced by the fact that silver has declined in price by a much larger percentage than holdings in the iShares Silver Trust.  From its high of $48.70 on April 28th, silver has had a price correction of 35.6%.

The holdings of silver by the SLV are structured in a complex manner.  The trust is set up so that the SLV price correlates closely to the price of silver.  This is accomplished by allowing Authorized Participants to arbitrage against a premium or discount of the SLV to the trust’s underlying net asset value  (see How Wall Street Made Huge Profits On Silver ETF Crash As Small Investors Sold).

As measured by the closing London PM Fix Price, silver closed today at $35.91, up slightly from last Wednesday’s close of $35.26.  Silver has been consolidating in the mid 30 range after the early May sell off.

As of June 22, 2011, the SLV held 307.3 million ounces of silver valued at $11.0 billion.

 

SILVER - COURTESY KITCO.COM

Silver seems to be building a base in the mid $30’s and presents a buying opportunity for long term investors.

GLD and SLV Holdings (metric tonnes)

June 22-2011 Weekly Change YTD Change
GLD 1,209.14 +9.09 -71.58
SLV 9,559.38 -106.14 -1,362.19

Holdings of the SPDR Gold Shares Trust (GLD) gained by 9.09 tonnes on the week after a decline of 11.52 tonnes in the previous week.   The GLD currently holds 38.88 million ounces of gold valued at $60.3 billion.

As measured by the closing London PM Fix Price, gold closed on Wednesday at $1,552.50, a new closing high on the year.  The price of gold remains in a solid uptrend supported by huge physical demand from investors and central banks.

 

GOLD - COURTESY KITCO.COM

 

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