- the dollar continues to be quite strong….
- Retail Sales should be strong today….
Good Day… And a Tom Terrific Tuesday to you! Well, front and center this morning, I have to apologize for the typo yesterday when reporting where Gold closed last Friday. My darn fat fingers rise up again! I guess I shouldn’t be so harsh on them… At least they are not bony! I tested that theory years ago, that went like this: If you work, you’re fingers to the bone, you get bony fingers…. I worked for hours upon hours, and my fingers remained fat! It’s unseasonably not so cold here this week, so I’ll get outside a bit more… This weekend though the temps get back to normal according to the weather people…. I’m starting to get geared up for my trip to Houston this week…. I’m wishin’ and hopin’ and prayin’ they have a solution to my problem…. John Denver greets me this morning with his version of the song: O Holy Night….
Well, the dollar gave back its 1 index point gain it had yesterday morning, during the day yesterday… The euro rallied back over the 1.05 figure, but the rest of the currencies were confined to their respective sick beds, and will have to remain there, probably through the end of the year…. You see, the dollar bugs have run up the price of the dollar and will keep there through Year-end, so that that their year-end bonuses reflect the return on the dollar this year. That’s all I have to say about that! It will be interesting to see where the dollar goes after we turn the calendar to 2025…. I still contend that the dollar has too many skeletons in its closet, and that they will all be exposed to the dollar bugs when the calendar changes years….
I read on Bloomberg last night that Hedge Funds and Asset Managers are warming to the appeal of the dollar now…. Well, that remains to be seen if they begin to buy, but I thought the info was interesting…
Gold, which was up $14 in the early trading, gave back some of that gain during the day, but ended up $5 to close at $2,653.40 (no worries I double checked!) And Silver gave back its 7-cents gain yesterday to finish the day flat as a pancake (Head East) and close at $30.60…
I found this on Kitco.com this morning: “In her 2025 precious metals outlook, Nicky Shiels, Head of Research & Metals Strategy at MKS PAMP, said she expects gold to trade within a fairly wide range between $2,500 and $3,200 an ounce, with the precious metal’s fate largely determined by the Federal Reserve. At the same time, MKS forecasts gold prices to average $2,750 an ounce for the year, up 14% from this year’s current annual average.”
Chuck again… Now that’s some wide range of prices, isn’t it? But in the end, she believes that Gold will average $2,750 an ounce, so that’s not too shabby….
The price of Oil remained trading with a $70 handle yesterday…. And the 10-year added back the 3 basis points it lost the night before and closed the day trading with a 4.40% yield….
In the overnight markets last night…. Well, once again, the overnight markets bought the dollar and the BBDXY gained back the 1 index point, to send the euro back below the 1.05 figure. I just don’t get it…. But, it is, what it is…. And I carry on despite the looniness of these dollar bugs….. Gold has seen some selling this morning, in the early trading… I read where Gold traders are squaring up their books ahead of the FOMCE meeting tomorrow…. Whatever! Gold is down $10 to start the day, and Silver is down 21-cents. C’mon Gold & Silver, make it a turn-around Tuesday!
The price of Oil slipped just below the $70 handle overnight and starts today at $69.97…. And the 10-year Treasury’s yield bounced higher again overnight and starts today at 4.43% I told you yesterday, that I believe the 10-year’s yield will go higher…. So…. There’s that!
Well, this news is disheartening, but not surprising to me…. It appears that the Chinese will do something that will make their exports even more attractive… According to Reuters, Beijing policymakers are mulling letting the yuan depreciate, possibly to around 7.5 per dollar, in response to the threat of a trade war with the U.S. That should do the trick! And you can blame the POTUS’s plan to charge China large tariffs… An eye for an eye, eh? Recall that past Presidents banged on China to get their currency stronger to give the U.S. a fighting chance with exports to China and their exports to us…. But this devaluation, if it comes to fruition, will erase all the gains the renminbi has made through the years….
And once again we have the media using the easy form of the Chinese currency, while Chuck uses the official name of the Chinese currency…. Yuan VS renminbi…. Sort of like here in the U.S. we say the buck sometimes, when referring to the dollar…. Just a reminder to you al that the media will always use the easier form of the Chinese currency, because it’s easier to say and write!
Here’s some news that should brighten your day…. this is on kitco.com so go find it there to see the video of how it all works, but here’s the gist: “This realization has sparked much interest in alternatives to the current fiat system. “People are buying into Bitcoin and gold. Also, the level of interest in Goldback has exploded over the last few years.”
Goldback solves a 2,600-year-old problem in that gold can be spent in small, interchangeable increments, Cordon pointed out, as he shared the details behind the company’s Florida launch.
It is a functional, sound money option that allows individuals, for the first time, to spend physical gold on small items like a smoothie or large purchases like a home remodel. “We’re trying to skip the step where you sell your gold and go back into dollars,” Cordon said. “We want people to keep their gold and just circulate the gold itself.”
Cordon sees the trend toward gold as a long-term phenomenon. “This has been a trend for gold for 50 years,” he said. “The dollar’s lost over 99 percent of its value during that time.”
Goldback’s popularity has been growing exponentially. The company has introduced over a million first-time users to gold through its products.”
Chuck again… I’ve often been asked what will people do when they need to buy a loaf of bread and all they have is Physical Gold? Well, here’s your answer…. I sure hope it catches on….
The U.S. Data Cupboard today has the Nov. Retail Sales, which should be quite strong, given the rush by consumers to secure their Christmas gifts…. The BHI indicates to me that Retail Sales should be strong…. And that will get the rate hike folks all lathered up…. But to no avail…. The FOMC will cut rates tomorrow, no ifs, ands, or buts…. In addition, we’ll also see the color of Nov. Industrial Production and Capacity Utilization prints today…
To recap…. The dollar continues to be strong and adding to its strength each day…. The FOMC meets tomorrow, to cut rates, no matter what the data says…. China is thinking about a devaluation of their currency to offset the threat of the U.S.’s large tariffs… I don’t mean to crow here, but didn’t I tell you right from the starter’s blocks that the tariffs would cause global problems? And a company has launched a product in Florida that helps spread the use of Gold and eliminates the fear of having to break a 1-ounce coin for a loaf of bread….
For What It’s Worth…. Well, I think I have most of you thinking like me that the metals especially Gold & Silver have their prices manipulated by short paper traders…. Well, this will clear things up a bit more for you and it can be found here: REPORT: Gold Price Likely Suppressed by Concentrated Shorting, Could Explode
Or, here’s your snippet: “At long last, complaints of gold price manipulation and suppression got some respect this week from the Official Monetary and Financial Institutions Forum, a London-based group connected with central banks.
The group published a long paper heralding gold’s restoration to the center of the world financial system, “Gold and the New World Disorder,” and the paper’s chapter titled “Market Disruption — The Short Squeeze” has this to say about the topic at hand:
“With record demand for gold, much of it from BRICS-related countries, the risks of a squeeze are increasing. This could have several catalysts.
‘Bullion banks’ holding concentrated gold short positions might need to buy back the metal during another price run.
Analysts have long argued that these short positions suggest market manipulation, citing the disproportionate control held by a few entities.
Lawsuits against banks for manipulating the precious metals markets have yielded some success in recent years. During these lawsuits, some former ‘bullion bank’ traders have commented about how these gold market strategies might make the market vulnerable to a short squeeze — either by accident or design.
Academic and other studies provide evidence that ‘shorting gold’ has historically been used to suppress the gold price, often linked to central bank sales and futures contracts on commodity exchanges.
However, with suspicions rising that some BRICS countries could be considering ‘weaponizing’ gold against the West, financial markets could be in for a bumpy ride.”
Ya think? The Gold Anti-Trust Action Committee (GATA) has been documenting and screaming about this for 25 years. “
Chuck again…. I reported a copy of a communique between then secretary of state Kissinger, and a high-ranking member of Congress a couple of weeks ago…. if you missed class that day, I suggest you check out the archives at www.dailypfennigcom
Market Prices 12/17/2024: American Style: A$.6344, kiwi .5760, C$ .6996, euro 1.0495, sterling 1.2705, Swiss 1.1152, European Style: rand 18.0371, krone 11.2062, SEK 10. 9258, forint 389.95, zloty 4.0611, koruna 23.8786, RUB 102.70, yen 153.84, sing 1.3506, HKD 7.7707, INR 84.90, China 7.2842, peso 20.10, BRL 6.1266, BBDXY 1,289, Dollar Index 106.95, Oil $69.97, 10-year 4.43%, Silver $30.29, Platinum $933.00, Palladium $938.00, Copper $4.14, and Gold…. $2,643.04
That’s it for today, except to give a great big shout out to my former colleague, Jennifer Evens for it’s her birthday today! I first met Jen, as fresh graduate of college, and she was our assistant on the trade desk at Mark Twain Bank World Markets…. I would tell you what year that was, but that would tell her age, and I’m not about to go there! Happy Birthday, Jen, I hope your day is grand! I tried to watch the NFL game on TV last night, but became quickly bored, and went to my laptop to read stuff…. I have to get all my ducks in a row for my trip to Houston… Like I told you previously, they are treating me as a new patient, even though I had been there several times in the past…. Oh, well, que se ra…. John Denver’s Christmas album takes us to the finish line today with his version of the song: Away In The Manger…. I hope you have a Tom Terrific Tuesday today, and please Be Good To Yourself!
Chuck Butler