Shutting Down…

  • Currencies remain in their respective sick beds…
  • Western investors are buying Gold…. now…

Good Day… And a Wonderful Wednesday to you! I apologize right here, right now for Monday’s very late Pfennig…  Good thing good friend, Dennis Miller, notified me that he hadn’t received a Pfennig to wake me up and get it out! I told you Monday that there would be no Pfennig yesterday, so that leaves us with two days to get caught up with! I had an eye appt. Last Friday, and in it, I was told my nearsightedness was worse, so a new prescription… UGH! I just got new glasses 6 months ago! Last time (6 mos ago) I had Kathy help me pick out my frames… And after viewing them all, I put my old glasses on, and she said, “Those! I like those the best!”… See, what I get to work with? Crowded House greets me this morning with their song: Dream On…  (80’s song!) 

Well, it does appear to me that traders have put their trading books away, and are waiting for the election results… The BBDXY didn’t budge yesterday, and remained at 1,261 all day… Gold was down $1, and Silver was up 1-cent! So, no movement there either….   I’ve got something that helps explain this situation in the FWIW section today, so keep dialed in to read that later in the letter…

But you’re not getting off so easily this morning… I have a snippet of an article that appeared on www.moneymetals.com  that I’ll share with you here: “In a recent interview, Dr. Ron Paul engages with Jp Cortez, Executive Director of the Sound Money Defense League, the national public policy project of Money Metals which seeks to remonetize gold and silver, primarily by removing taxation around the sale, use, and purchase of the assets.

Dr. Paul and Cortez explore the historical context of the U.S. dollar, particularly the tragic shift away from the gold standard during Nixon’s administration, and the resulting inflationary pressures that have followed.

They advocate for gold as a stable asset and emphasize the need for a private monetary system grounded in physical assets. This approach would help shield the economy from the detrimental effects of government money printing, runaway spending, and currency debasement.

Dr. Paul and Cortez discussed the growing distrust in fiat currency, noting how BRICS nations and various U.S. states are adopting measures to hedge against dollar depreciation by turning to gold and other tangible assets.”

Chuck again… Yes, I recall a meeting at a place outside of Atlanta years ago, where I explained to the bond traders there that we wouldn’t be anywhere near the economic growth if we had remained on a Gold Standard… But I also explained to them that we wouldn’t have the debt problem we have, nor would we suffer from inflation bouts… There’s also a funny story about that trip to Atlanta….  I was walking out of the terminal looking for Frank Trotter to come around with the car, and I was with Michelle Boshert, and Jane Dulle, and the road was a good 50 yards away… When a car pulled up, rolled down the window, and a guy yelled, “Hey! Aren’t you Chuck Butler?”  I yelled back, “yes”, and he said, “I love the Pfennig!” and drove off….  To this day, Michelle still tells that story, because she still can’t believe it and she was there! 

The price of Oil remained in the $67 handle yesterday…. And the 10-year’s yield saw a dip to 4.27%… 

Yesterday, Gold & Silver broke free of the doldrums that have affected the dollar traders, who saw the BBDXY gain just 1 index point yesterday…. Gold gained $34, to close at $2,776.00, and Silver gained 75-cents to close at $34.50…. So, the traders putting their trading books away until the elections, didn’t apply here with the metals… 

The 10-year’s yield had risen to 4.32% at one point yesterday, before it settled back at 4.25%…  it had to be the Fed/ Cabal/ Cartel in buying the bond to keep the yield from getting away from them…  

In the overnight markets last night…. Nothing much happened with the dollar, as the BBDXY trades this morning at 1,263… The index has picked up 2 index points this week… Big Whoop!  The price of Gold is up in the early trading today by $6… But Silver is getting whacked by the short paper traders and is down 40-cents to start the day today… The short paper trader still pummels Silver whenever they can, because…. They can….  And that’s the end of that story….  Dirty b($*#((&s. They’ll get their comeuppance one day… I can feel it my bones… But for now, we hve to deal with their whackings and taking the metals to the woodshed… 

The 10-year’s yield is 4.26% this morning…   back to rising… Hmmm….

OK, this was one funny video that was going around…  Treasury Sec. Janet Yellen was at a podium taking questions, when a reporter asked her “”How concerned are you about the potential impact of the dollar’s status as the world reserve currency?” But before she could answer the question, the seal of the U.S. Treasury / dollar,  fell off the podium!  I would say that that was an ominous omen…  wouldn’t you? 

I personally don’t feel like this is something that will occur in the next 5-7 years… But beyond that, I wouldn’t bet against it…  The BRICS are not yet ready for Prime Time, but give them time… And their asking other BRICS members to join them in the dedollarization push, didn’t really gain any traction, this time… But remember, all these countries are very aware what the U.S. did to Russia, and that it could do it to them, so they are quite aware of the vulnerability with holding U.S. dollars in reserve…. 

Regarding Gold…  Gold seems to be bucking the trend… That is when the dollar goes down, Gold goes up… And vice versa… Gold rise this year has corresponded with a rise in the dollar….  I think most of Gold’s rise has been about how the general public and Central Banks around the world, don’t believe for a minute that inflation has been defeated… 

For years I told you dear readers that inflation was a personal thing…  You may or may not experience any inflation, based on your spending habits….  If you don’t buy tickets to games, you don’t experience the inflation in game tickets… Or, if you don’t drive any longer, and therefore don’t need car insurance, you don’t experience the price inflation of car insurance….  This could go on forever, but I think you get the gist… 

I found this on Bloomberg.com this morning regarding Gold… “Global gold demand swelled about 5% in the third quarter, setting a record for the period and lifting consumption above $100 billion for the first time, according to the World Gold Council.

The increase — which saw volumes climb to 1,313 tons — was underpinned by stronger investment flows from the West, including more high-net-worth individuals, that helped offset waning appetite from Asia.”

Chuck again… Now that’s interesting, isn’t it?  Investors in the West hitching up their pants and finally getting on the rally truck that is Gold…. That’s typical of Western investors… Jump on the band wagon after it has travelled miles… In other words,… They buy at high levels, when they could have bought at much cheaper levels if they had gotten of their duffs and not listened to their stock jockey, who told them that Gold was a “barbaric rock” with no yield… 

Well, even if the dollar is drifting, it’s still very strong, and keeping the currencies confined to their sick beds… The Price of Oil bumped higher to a $68 handle overnight… But even still, that’s a cheap price for Oil, given that it costs the Oil producers about $70 to get Oil out of the ground….  That’s a figure that was given to me by an Oil industry guru, and so I go with it! 

The U.S. Data Cupboard has the Case/ Shiller Home Price Index (HPI) for Sept. For us today… Big Whoop!  In addition, we’ll see the Stupid Consumer Confidence report for this month…  This report is nothing more than a heart beat of the stock market… So that’s why it’s so STUPID!   And finally, Job Openings will print for Sept.  No great shakes here in the Data Cupboard today, so move along, for these are not the droids we’re looking for… 

To recap… Traders have decided to shut down until the election, it does appear to Chuck… The dollar hasn’t budged from 1261 in the BBDXY in two days… Gold and silver are basically trading in the same clothes as yesterday… And the price of Oil remained in the $67 handle…  Ron Paul visits the Pfennig today, and Chuck looks back at a time in Atlanta years ago….

For What It’s Worth…. Here’s your answer to the question, What has slowed Gold’s upward price movement down? And it can be found here: Gold & Silver Are Consolidating Ahead of the U.S. Presidential Election (moneymetals.com)

Or, here’s your snippet: “Gold and silver trading remained subdued this past week, with traders holding back from significant moves as they await the upcoming U.S. presidential election.

With only seven trading days left until the U.S. presidential election, financial markets have become quiet as they anticipate the outcome. In this environment, traders are hesitant to make large bets, often resulting in slowed, range-bound trading until the results are announced.

This behavior, known as a “volatility squeeze,” has been particularly evident in gold and silver over the past week. The encouraging news is that gold and silver are poised to resume their upward trends soon, once they break out of their consolidation ranges.

Gold has performed so steadily over the past few months that its orderly ascent has almost become predictable—talk about a good problem to have! COMEX gold futures recently closed above the critical $2,700 level, issuing yet another bullish technical signal.

Over the past week, gold has traded sideways and now sits just $18 shy of its all-time high reached on Wednesday. Interestingly, gold’s consolidation over the past week is forming what looks like a bull flag—a continuation pattern that suggests further gains once gold breaks out on strong volume.

Now, we’re just waiting for the breakout, which could be triggered by the U.S. presidential election results or potentially even sooner. I anticipate gold reaching $3,000 fairly soon—a gain of just 9.2% from its current level.

Similar to gold, silver also seems to be forming a bull flag pattern following its strong breakout above the critical $32.50 level on Friday, October 18th.

As I stated after that breakout, silver is on the verge of a powerful bull run that should push it to roughly $50 quite quickly.”

Chuck again… Well, that’s pretty much how I see all this going too… So there’s that! 

Market Prices 10/29/2024: American Style: A$ .6573, kiwi .5975, C$ .7162, euro 1.0810, sterling 1.2940, Swiss $1,1503, European Style: rand 17.7507, krone 10.9869, SEK 10.7053, forint 377.58, zloty 4.0169, koruna 23.4663, RUB 97.03, yen 153.37, sing 1.3252, HKD 7.7716, INR 84.08, China 7.1249, peso 20.01, BRL 5.1249, BBDXY 1,263.95, Dollar Index 104.28, Oil $68.64, 10-year 4.26%, Silver $34.10, Platinum $1,028.00, Palladium $1,161.00, Copper $4.33, and Gold… $2,782.07

That’s it for today… Well, I’m going back to the basics, and attempting to remind the folks at MD Anderson that I used to be a patient there… It’s been nearly 10 years since I’ve last been there…  The tumor in my mouth is beginning to make eating difficult, which for weight loss is good…. But not for nutrition…  It’s always something with me, eh? I hate that it’s like that, but what is a poor boy, like me, to do?  I had a dear reader write to me and tell me his calculation for inflation was 23%…  That seems about right to me!   Alvin Lee  (whom I loved to hear play his guitar!) and Ten Years After, take us to the finish line today with their song: Choo, Choo Momma…  That song will get you dancing in your seat! I hope you have a Wonderful Wednesday today, and please Be Good To Yourself!

Chuck Butler