Commentary for Friday, March 7, 2014 (www.golddealer.com) – Gold closed down $13.60 at $1338.10 on positive economic news. Expectations for new jobs created in February were 150,000 and the actual number exceeded expectations (175,000).
The average reader might say “So what?” and you would be correct for my money but the street watches these numbers carefully each month and uses the relative momentum to gauge further Federal Reserve action relating to monetary policy. Now also consider that everyone is looking for good news as opposed to the usual “bad weather” excuse and you have a nice formula for traders to square up the books before the weekend.
Was this jobs number really significant? No. But gold is looking for a reason to trade lower and touched $1327.00 before rebounding to finish the day off $1360.00 and higher on the week by $17.00. But the dollar was surprisingly weak so we should have done better and any gains produced by the unrest in Russia were given back the next day which makes no sense at all.
Some commentators have discounted the Ukrainian problem. Without further Russian aggression the situation moves from a global to a regional mess and is of little consequence for gold. This is a mistake as the entire region could become unstable so until things settle down tension will support gold prices.
Silver closed down $0.64 at $20.90. We got our first mint box containing the 2014 Chinese Silver Panda (1 oz). The coins are the usual China Mint production being beautiful with excellent surfaces and definition. Their Monster Box however is a little different than most Monster Boxes being that it contains 20 sheets of 30 coins each or a total of 600 coins. The standard Monster contains 500 silver ounces and this box comes sealed from the China Mint and is bullet proof. It took shipping 20 minutes to open it so you will need a few extra tools. The workmanship on these silver bullion coins is extraordinary and figure opening numbers are about $7.00 over spot but this number should decrease as more product in distributed.
Platinum closed down $3.00 at $1483.00 and palladium closed up $1.00 at $781.00. Platinum and palladium faired well this week on talk that abundant supplies have dwindled during the ongoing strike. Also economic restrictions on Russia could limit supply of palladium from the world’s largest producer. And like I said yesterday the US Mint is once again producing the American Platinum Eagle which should be good for the physical market.
(Kitco News) – Participants in the Kitco News Gold Survey are split in their views on price direction for gold next week. Nominally participants see higher prices, but the group doesn’t have a simple majority. In the Kitco News Gold Survey, out of 33 participants, 21 responded this week. Ten see prices up, while six see prices down and five see prices trading sideways or neutral. Market participants include bullion dealers, investment banks, futures traders and technical-chart analysts. Last week, most participants were bearish. As of noon EST, Comex April gold prices were up about $14 an ounce on the week. Those who see higher prices said gold’s trend remains upward. “Trend remains up, so path of least resistance is the same,” said Jim Wyckoff, technical analyst at Kitco. Mark Leibovit, editor VR Gold Letter, said he also sees higher prices next week. “(I’m) liking platinum and palladium more than gold, but will still give gold the benefit of the doubt for further gains, especially (if) a currency war could be unfolding between Russia and the U.S.,” he said, referring to the tensions between Ukraine and Russia over the Crimea. Those who see weaker prices said gold is due for a retreat for now. “Gold made the week’s high on Monday on a flight-to-safety bid for potential Ukraine problems and then spent the rest of the week steady to lower waiting for those problems to escalate and for the employment report today. The employment data will not stop the Fed (Federal Reserve) from tapering (its quantitative easing program) and was negative for gold, but the Ukraine situation remains an unknown. Gold made a higher high, a higher low and looks to post a higher close to keep the uptrend intact, but seems to be losing momentum. I expect gold to consolidate next week – as long as Ukraine remains intact – and look for a steady-to-lower market,” said Frank Lesh, broker at FuturePath Trading. A number of survey participants said they were neutral on prices next week, saying there was little reason to put on positions. “It’s very choppy and rangebound between $1,355 and $1,325. Despite the Russian news we couldn’t close over $1,355 and despite the payrolls we couldn’t get under $1,330,” said a bullion dealer.
The walk-in cash trade was fairly steady today but not hurried. The phones were also steady and we did see a new round of interest in Silver Monster Boxes so the public is watching price.
The GoldDealer.com Activity Scale is a “3” for Friday. The CNI Activity Scale takes into consideration volume and the hedge book: (last Monday – 4) (last Tuesday – 4) (last Wednesday – 3) (last Thursday – 3). Our scale (1 through 10) is a reliable way to understand volume numbers. For those who asked it is possible to have a lower Activity Scale and higher walk-in or phone traffic. When such a metric shows the public is asking questions but not buying or selling. So we are busy but not writing any orders which happens from time to time especially when the metals are conflicted.
On the new GoldDealer.com site: Comex closing prices are posted on the home page and individual product landing pages. Live pricing on the site moves all bullion products up or down during the day. The change number included next to the live pricing uses yesterday’s Comex closing prices as a reference. So if the change number is green and shows up $3.00 this is in reference to yesterday’s close. You now don’t have to visit several sites to find the Comex close relative to live trading numbers which are independently verified.
We reworked the All Bullion Products link on the home page. It now includes our Bid (blue) and Ask (green) prices. When you hover over it with your cursor the text is highlighted.
Premium quotes vary with product and look like this – “spot plus $15.00” or “spot plus $50.00” and bullion products list them under the live prices on their respective landing pages. This makes product comparison easy and GoldDealer.com is the only precious metal site on the net with this transparency. For example click on the link American Gold Eagle and under Our Live Buy Price and Our Live Sell Price you will see: our Buy Premium Spot + $15.00 and our Sell Premium Spot + $50.00 – Easy.
Live Chat is doing well and new customers like setting up their own encrypted accounts. Improvements will continue through the 1st quarter of 2014. Let us know what you want. We recommend upgrading old browsers to Google Chrome (free/secure) especially as our site becomes more advanced.
Sign up for our daily Gold Newsletter on the Gold Newsletter page if you are so inclined and remember this is now live for you too so why not sound off? Reader insight is interesting and varied.
Email confirmation when you are buying or selling is functional. A PDF file will be added which will create a picture invoice identical to the store invoice. This invoice will include information like wiring instructions.
The four flat screens downstairs with live independent pricing (BullionDesk.com) are a big hit with the cash trade. This live stream moves all the buy/sell prices on each product so the cash buying public can see the markets move on a real time basis. Our site uses the same pricing model so no more guessing.
Our best price guarantee (buying or selling) remains famous so call Kenny toll free (1-800-225-7531). We have guaranteed complete satisfaction for 30 years, same place, same people, no changes in management, immediate delivery and no nonsense. Like us on Facebook and follow us on Twitter @CNI_golddealer. Thanks for reading and enjoy your weekend.