- The dollar gets bought a little overnight
- Is China hoarding Silver to control its price?
Good Day… And a Tom Terrific Tuesday to you! I told you my beloved Cardinals offense was unreliable, and last night they proved that, losing to the Padres… I’ve just about given up on their season… Yes, there’s still 35 games left, but, I don’t feel that’s enough even if they were on a roll, of which they are not… It was a lazy day for me yesterday, I really didn’t feel strong enough to do anything worthwhile, so, I didn’t! Mornings are the worst for me with the remnants of this cold… But no worries, I’ve already had my coughing attack this morning…. No excuses if I happen to bug out on you… Wait, What? C’mon Chuck, you’ve never bugged out on these dear readers! The Guess Who greets me this morning with their song: Share The Land…
Well, there was no follow up in the U.S. markets to the dollar buying that went on the night before, and so the dollar ended the day trading in the BBDXY at 1,225… The currencies didn’t budge either, and so we start our Tuesday as if yesterday didn’t happen… in the currencies that is… Gold lost its early $10 gain yesterday, as the short paper traders went after Gold again… Gold ended the day down $5 to close at $2,318.70… And Silver didn’t hold $30 too long yesterday, and lost 6-cents to close at $29.94… Darn short paper traders… You know, if the Gov’t wasn’t behind all that, I would say that if a candidate said they were going to shut down the short paper trading, they would get my vote, no matter what party they were in…. I’m just saying…
The price of Oil bumped higher by another buck and ended the day trading with a $77 handle… There was a story behind the upward movement yesterday, here’s Bloomberg.com with their view: “Oil advanced after Libya’s eastern government said it will halt exports, building on tensions in the Middle East after Israeli strikes on Hezbollah targets in southern Lebanon raised concerns of a broader conflict.”
The 10-year’s yield is just hanging out, which is surprising to me, but the yield at close yesterday was 3.82%… Again, I was a bond trader many years ago, and I used to think I had my thumb on the pulse of the Bond Boys, but not any longer…
In the overnight markets last night… The dollar got bought a little, as the BBDXY is up 1 index point this morning, at 1.226… Gold is seeing some selling to start the day today, and is down $9 in the early trading… The folks at Kitco, say it’s merely correction selling, a brief pullback if you will… I would think that in the end they’ll be right, but in the meantime, we have to deal with this weakness… Silver if flat to down a penny this morning, so no great shakes there… I don’t know if you’ve been watching in the currency roundup, but Copper is back on the rally tracks… The shortage of Copper is still there, folks… The short paper traders made mincemeat of the Copper price a couple of months ago, and it has taken the Copper traders this long to dip their toes in the water once again…
The price of Oil slipped below $77 overnight, and trades this morning with a $76 handle… And the 10-year got sold like funnel cakes at a State Fair overnight, and trades this morning with a 3.87% yield… Again, what the bond boys are doing, has passed me by like a parade…
I found this on www.Marketwatch.com this morning, and it’s quite interesting on the 10-year, let’s listen in: ” the 10-year Treasury is the linchpin of global finance. It’s the discount rate used in any stock price model, and it’s the benchmark for mortgages, corporate bonds and a whole host of other assets.
So it’s noteworthy when a Treasury dealer actually recommends shorting, or betting against it. That’s what the team at Deutsche Bank has done, giving a target of 4.1% on the 10-year, with a stop at 3.65%. The 10-year yield
TMUBMUSD10Y 3.860% was 3.84% early on Tuesday. As always with bonds: the higher the yield, the lower the price.
The Jackson Hole speech from Fed Chair Jerome Powell was notable for him drawing a line in the sand on the U.S. job market, saying any worsening of the labor market would be unwelcome. The Deutsche Bank strategists, led by Francis Yared, cast doubt on that happening.”
Chuck again… I’m not sure that shorting the Treasury market, especially the 10-year, is a prudent thing to do at this point with a rate cut coming, and who knows how many more will follow? But the boys at Deutsche Bank have deep pockets, I guess, so let ’em at it!
Proving once more that sanctions don’t work… Here’s the latest from Russia on their economy: “Empty promises for the sake of “ticking boxes” in national projects are unacceptable, Russian President Vladimir Putin said at a meeting on economic issues.
The president noted that the country has a record-low unemployment rate, and real wage growth for January-May 2024 amounted to 10.1%.” that info can be found here; National projects and wage growth — Vladimir Putin holds meeting on economic issues – Business & Economy – TASS
The President of Russia went on to talk about how beating inflation is of utmost importance… Inflation in Russia is running around 7.75%, and the internal interest rate is 16%… I’d say that the Russian Central Bank has control of inflation… I’m just saying…
The U.S. Data Cupboard has the Case/ Shiller Home Price Index for June this morning… I would suspect that home prices continued to weaken in June, but with a rate hike on the horizon, that will be corrected soon… I’m just saying…
he U.S. Data Cupboard yesterday has a BIG SURRISE data print… July Durable Goods grew at 9.9%, after printing negative in June at -6.9%… Now, here’s where I have to question the validity of this print… A Gov’t agency was just proven last week to have lied and cheated on jobs data, whey wouldn’t they lie and cheat on this, I mean IT IS AN ELECTION YEAR! So, take with as many grains of salt that you wish to, for I’m not going to even acknowledge the print as being valid…
To recap… The dollar didn’t see any follow up to the overnight buying the night before, yesterday, and so it ended the day flat as a pancake (Head East)… Gold saw the short paper trader enter the markets, and there went Gold’s early gain of $10 to end the day down $5… Chuck has no idea what’s going on in bonds right now… And China is trying to hoard Silver to gain pricing of the metal…
For What It’s Worth… This article came to me from the good folks at GATA, and it’s about China and a thought that they may be trying to corner the Silver market, and it can be found here: China’s strategic silver takeover: A calculated move to drain the west – The Jerusalem Post (jpost.com)
Or, here’s your snippet: “A Hidden War for Economic Dominance
While the world has been focused on the geopolitical tensions between China and the West, a more subtle battle has been unfolding in the global financial markets. China, through a series of calculated moves, has been quietly accumulating vast quantities of gold and silver. This move has signaled a potential shift in the global economic landscape and highlights the developing countries’ need for exorbitant amounts of resources.
Silver: China’s Secret Weapon
In addition to its gold hoarding, China has also been strategically increasing its silver reserves. The Shanghai Metals Exchange has seen a significant surge in silver trading volume, with prices consistently higher than those on Western exchanges. This suggests that China may be deliberately driving up the price of silver to drain the West’s resources.
In 2023, China reportedly had a silver reserve of 71,000 metric tons, second only two the silver-producing powerhouse country of Peru, which boasted 98,000 MT in reserve. The U.S. came seventh on the list of top silver reserves, with a stockpile with 23,000 MT, behind Poland (65,000 MT), Russia (45,000 MT), Australia (27,000 MT) and Chile (26,000 MT). “
Chuck again… Well this could end up being good for you and me, Silver owners… The price of Silver yesterday in China was $32.77….
Market Prices 8/27/2024: American Style: A$ .6775, kiwi .6226, C$ .7423, euro 1.1152, sterling 1.3209, Swiss $1.1827, European Style: rand 17.7573, krone 10.5141, SEK 10.1946, forint 352.40, zloty 3.8362, koruna 22.4259, RUB 91.52, yen 144.33, sing 1.3038, HKD 7.8015, INR 83.91, China 7.1252, peso 19.44, BRL 5.5021, BBDXY 1,226.77, Dollar Index 100.88, Oil $76.76, 10-year 3.87%, Silver $29.93, Platinum $959.00, Palladium $976.00, Copper $4.28, and Gold…$2,509.82
That’s it for today… a little late this morning, I had to get the bleeding in my mouth stopped… Darn blood thinners… I have to take them for another couple of months, and then no more… November is my most hated month, but I can’t wait for November this year, for that’s when I can ditch the blood thinners… I think I need to get back to S. Florida soon… Don’t know why, just that I hear it calling me… It was embarrassing watching my beloved Cardinals last night… They were flat as a pancake (Head East) and the Padres ran roughshod over them… Oh well, that’s baseball, tonight the Cardinals get to try again… Nazareth takes us to the finish line today with their song: Holiday… A great 70’s song, that I’m sure you would like if you YouTube it… I hope you have a Tom Terrific Tuesday today, and please Be Good To Yourself!
Chuck Butler