- the dollar waffles but looks to be in BIG trouble
- Short-n-sweet this morning…
Good Day… And a Marvelous Monday to you!. This will be very short-n-sweet this morning, as I have an appt. To see the doctor that did my heart procedure, and they will scan it and see if there are any leaks, if no leaks, then maybe, just maybe I can get off the blood thinners… I had forgotten to tell you last Thursday about today, so here I am in the middle of the night writing to keep you abreast of the markets… The O’Jays greet me this morning with their song: Love Train…
Well, the dollar on Friday last week hemmed and hawed, but as the week came to a close, the BBDXY was down and ended the week at 1,246… I guess the dollar bugs haven’t gotten the memo that there’s a 100% chance of a Fed Heads rate cut in a few weeks… All the talk last week about an emergency rate cut have abated, and so now we’re back to the Sept FOMC meeting to see a rate cut…
I say that about the dollar bugs, because one would think that if a country’s Central Bank is going about debasing its currency with rate cuts, then you would think that the backers of the currency would be running for hills… And maybe they are waiting for the actual announcement of a rate cut, before that take off for the hills… I’m just saying..
Gold found a bid on Thursday last week, and gained $40, while Silver gained 91-cents… Then on Friday last week, Gold gained another $3, and Silver lost 10-cents… So, Gold ended the week at $2,430.70, and Silver at $27.444…
I don’t know what the Gold bugs are waiting for with Gold taking off to higher ground, but one thing I’m sure is on their collective minds is that the short paper traders are always lurking in the dark alleys waiting to attack Gold & Silver… And for that part, all the precious metals… Platinum, Palladium and while we’re talking about metals that get short papered we might as well throw in Copper too!
The price of Oil ended the week trading with $76 handle, which is much stronger than it has been recently, when people were scared of the lack of demand and placing more importance on that than the fact that the Middle East is a tinder box, waiting for a spark… Maybe, the Oil folks have changed their minds… maybe, cause you never know (Andujar)
The latest auction of Treasuries didn’t go so smoothly, and actually the auction was weak… this is not a good thing, and is just another Jenga Block taken out of the dollar’s tower… Bad economic data, and bad auctions… And a Fed/ Cabal/ Cartel about to cut rates, and debase the currency even more… Got Gold?
In the overnight markets last night… The dollar, at first looked to be in trouble, with the BBDXY losing 2 index points, but as the night when along, the dollar recovered and starts the day/ week at 1.246… No change from Friday… When going through the currency screens, I noticed that some of the currencies are really beginning to show some strength VS the dollar… So I amend my previous statement! Gold is off $6 to start the day/ week this morning, and Silver is up 88-cents… I suspect that there has been some profit taking in Gold, and that it will turn around that negative figure soon… I just look at the surrounding facts, folks… For Gold to move higher we need to see the Fed Heads cut rates, the foreign Central Banks to continue to buy physical Gold, and that the flows into the ETF Trusts, continue to turn around and be positive… Check, Check, Check! See what I mean with Gold’s price?
And I read this past weekend that some observers believe that all of the physical Silver that’s available will be used up with industrial needs… That’s when the short paper traders will see a squeeze the size of a Everest! And that’s wen Silver finally gets the upward move it deserves… I really, really, really, want the short paper traders to get caught in a short squeeze, so that they go away… They don’t have to go away mad, they just need to Go Away!
The price of Oil this morning starts the day/ week with a $77 handle… And the 10-year’s yield starts today with 3.95% yield…
And this is a continuing story, but one that we should take note of… National banks continue to shut down branches at an alarming rate, with more than 30 locations being shuttered in just two weeks in July, the Daily Mail reports… Like I’ve said before the Big Casino Banks won’t need branches when digital currency is introduced and implemented…
This is going to be close to a datapalooza week… As we get inundataed with real economic data, and some made up in the back roon data from the Gov’t… For instance, July PCE (personal Consumption Expenditures) will print tomorrow, and then on Wednesday, we’ll see the STUPID CPI for July… I doubt either one will show that inflation has gone away… Then later in the week we’ll see the latest Retail Sales, Industrial Capacity, and Capacity Utilization… These last three are REAL Economic data folks, so pay attention to them when they print…
To recap… The dollar seems to be losing ground per the BBDXY, but we’re not seeing it play out in the currencies taking off… So, maybe it’s on a delayed basis… Chuck is strapped for time this morning, so other than that, he didn’t talk about much…
For What It’s Worth… This article came to me from longtime reader, Bob, of whom I thank for sending it along, because it’s something that I see all coming together, that I pointed out many years ago would eventually happen, and now it is… and you can find the article here: De-dollarization the path to global financial freedom – Asia Times
Or, here’s your snippet: “Economic and financial sanctions often backfire. The most notable example is the weaponization of the dollar against Russia. The measure has sparked a global movement to de-dollarize, the opposite of the punitive move’s strategic intent.
The historic miscalculation didn’t stop US Senator Marco Rubio of Florida from introducing a bill in Congress to punish countries that de-dollarize. The bill seeks to ban financial institutions facilitating de-dollarization from the global dollar system.
Rubio’s bill, ominously called the Sanctions Evasion Prevention and Mitigation Act, would require US presidents to sanction financial institutions using China’s CIPS payment system, Russia’s financial messaging service SPFS and other alternatives to the dollar-centric SWIFT system.
US policymakers and pundits in the financial media were initially dismissive of de-dollarization. They argued the dollar is used in some 80% of all global financial transactions. No other currency even comes close.
But financial sanctions against Russia, imposed after Russia’s military intervention in Ukraine’s Donbas region in 2022, became a turning point. The trend to de-dollarize expanded rapidly and has now arguably become irreversible.
In May this year, the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) announced plans to de-dollarize their cross-border trade and use local currencies instead. The announcement made few global headlines but ASEAN is a huge trading bloc comprised of ten countries with a combined population of 600 million people.
Other agreements to bypass the dollar system include barter deals. Iran and Thailand are trading food for oil while Pakistan has authorized barter trade with Iran, Afghanistan and Russia. China is building a state-of-the-art airport in Iran, to be paid for in oil.”
Chuck again… Yes… When the BRICs were first announced many years ago now, I pointed out that this would eventually take the dollar down… Boy did I hear it from pundits all over about how the BRICs were not a viable alternative to the dollar… Well, I guess they were wrong, and I was right! What else is new there?
Market Prices 8/12/2024: American Style: A$ .6599, .6027, C$ .7288, euro 1.0925, sterling 1.2760, Swiss $1.1516, European Style: rand 18.2267, krone 10.7633, SEK 10.5311, forint 359.67, zloty 3.9411, koruna 23.0421, RUB 90.91, yen 147.60, sing 1.3246, HKD 7.77941, INR 83.97, China 7.178, peso 18.82, BRL 5.5084, BBDXY 1246.66, Dollar Index 103.13, Oil $77.72, 10-year 3.95%, Silver $27.95, Platinum $939.00, Palladium $936.00, Copper $4.04, and Gold… $2,443.16
That’s it for today… So, a BIG appt this morning for me, fingers are crossed! Well, my beloved Cardinals could only win 1 of the 4 games they had with cross-state rivals the Royals… And then had a very rare Sunday off date! They had to lick their wounds, and come home… If I were the GM of the team, I would keep all the young guys, (non-pitchers) and trade all the old guys, and see how much pep the team has afterward… I’m just saying… The weather here in the Midwest has been Chamber of Commerce like, for sure, no hot dog days of August, but still warm, and that’s how I like it! So, in keeping with this being short-n-sweet… Dire Straits take us to the finish line this morning with their song: The Sultans of Swing… I hope you have a Marvelous Monday today, and please Be Good To Yourself!
Chuck Butler