- the dollar was idle yesterday vut overnight it got sold
- Consumers get left holding the bag
Good Day… And a Wonderful Wednesday to you! Well, just as I suspected, my beloved Cardinals’ bats went silent last night in the Bronx, and they lost 0-2… The Yankees’ bats were exactly a murderer’s row, but they hit 2 homers and won. I said yesterday that the song : Just Once In My Life, could be the Cardinals’ song after hitting 5 home runs the previous night! I was battling my cold yesterday, but tried to get outside and see if the sun could heal me… I only lasted about an hour outside, as it had turned quite warm… The Amboy Dukes greet me this morning with their song: Journey To The Center Of The Earth…
Now, that’s a great 70’s song for sure, of which my playlist has quite a few of… The kids always cringe when I hook up my player to the Blue Tooth speaker outside and let ‘er rip!
I’m beating around the bush this morning, because yesterday the dollar ended up in the same clothes it went to bed in, with the BBDXY at 1,205… There was some rhetoric about how the POTUS is giving the folks of Iran warning what will happen if they don’t sign a peace agreement soon… Well, Oil traders took that to mean that peace is right around the corner, and sold Oil… The price of Oil ended the day with a $76 handle…
Gold / Silver had decent days, but without the dollar moving downward, the two metals’ moves were muted… Gold ended the day up $29 to close at $4,079, and Silver ended the day up $1.36 to close at $59.16… Ok, baby steps were taking here as the two metals inch closer to the lines in the sand the STPs had placed on the two.
Gold traders are like a young buck with a pickup Truck and pink carnation (McLean) and ready to take on the SPTS’s and their lines in the sand… So, will the young bucks get their cowboy hats handed to them? I guess, we’ll have to wait-n-see…
I for one think the SPTs are laying a trap, allowing Gold/Silver to rise and then they’ll pull the rug out from under the buyers… I know, I know, I’m jaded… But I’ve seen it happen on more than a few occasions… I’m just saying…
But if we garner enough physical buying, maybe the SPTs go away for a short time?
And the 10-year’s yield after hitting 4.70% yesterday, has been getting bought (By the Fed Heads) and it ended yesterday with a 4.62% yield…
In the overnight markets last night… Well, dollar traders finally got off their respective duffs and pushed the BBDXY down 1 index point to 1,204 to start the day… And… Metals traders pushed Gold/Silver past their lines in the sand, and said, ” take that!” to the SPTs… So, everything I just wrote is out of place now… UGH! Well, I’m not going to go back and change everything… You’ll figure it out…
The price of Oil remained in the $76 handle overnight, and the 10-year saw some additional buying and the yield on the bond sits at 4.61% to start the day…
Remember when I told you that Gold can still rally in higher rates (The 70’S)? Well, I was so happy to read this on Kitco.com that Analysts at Jefferies think the same as me… So, remember that!
I also found an article on Kitco.com that interviewed a historian, and asked him about revaluing Gold at today’s price… (For those of you at home that don’t know, we, as a country, hold physical Gold at a price of $42.22… That’s quite a bit lower than today’s price, eh? But the historian doesn’t believe that IF the Gold was revalued that it would be anything that helped individuals… “revaluation would help the Gov’t and not private holders” he based that thought on what happened the last time…
Frank talked about this on Monday in the FWIW section… FDR had taken back all Gold held by private holders, (There were a couple exceptions) and once in their hands they revalued Gold from $20 to $35, but that didn’t apply to private holders… So, there you have it… I was always under the impression if Gold got revalued that it would apply to all Gold under the sun and moon… I’ll have to think about this some more…
The current price the Gov’t uses for their Gold is $42.22, which was set after Nixon removed Gold from backing the dollar… And no one on the face of the Earth has been able to purchase Gold at that price since the dirty deed was done by Nixon…
I used to field calls from investors that would tell me that the deficit problem would go away if we revalued Gold… I then I would break it to them nicely that revaluing Gold wouldn’t make a dent in our deficit, which is now closing in on $40 Trillion…
I know, from time to time I get off on a tangent and then the next thing is that the letter is over and I didn’t touch on some things… And this was one of those times!
And there’s something in the air tonight (Collins) regarding Margin in stocks that’s got me wondering… Margin debt has reached 160 Billion… So, for anyone out there that follows this stuff, tell me how this doesn’t end up in tears?
And that bothers me regarding the path that Gold/Silver are on… When push comes to shove with margin calls what will get sold to cover the deficit, certainly not their precious stocks… But if they hold any Gold/Silver it will get sold because they are very liquid assets… I’m just saying…
The U.S. Data Cupboard yesterday had the July Factory Order, which were forecast to be positive, but…. They printed a negative -.3%… That’s two consecutive months of negative prints for Factory Orders… Which is really confusing as Manufacturing keeps inching higher… I know, they are two different animals, but They party with the same folks…
The Trade Balance was a deficit of $73 Billion… Back to our old Tricks before tariffs…
Today’s Data Cupboard has the ADP Employment Report for July… Once again, I’ll say that this report is supposed to be a harbinger of what the BLS report that prints on Friday will reveal… But with no one really knowing what the BLS will add to the surveys, it doesn’t work that way…
To recap… it was a nothing day in dollar trading yesterday as the BBDXY went to be last night with the same clothes it had on the night before… Gold/Silver found a way to gain on the day, and close in on the lines in the sand that the SPTs had placed… Be careful here…
For What It’s Worth… my friends, Mike and Rich Checken wrote a great piece on Silver that I thought it would behoove you all to read, and it can be found here: Why Silver May Be One of Today’s Most Overlooked Hard Assets
Or, here’s your snippet: “Silver has long occupied a distinctive place in the precious metals market.
It appeals to investors seeking portfolio diversification and a hedge against inflation, but it also benefits from a broad set of industrial uses that tie demand to real economic activity. As a smaller market than gold, silver also tends to be more volatile, yet the volatility allows for some truly profitable highs and advantageous lows. That combination is one reason silver continues to deserve serious attention from long-term investors.
Despite the current pullback, silver is up roughly 55% year-over-year, and up nearly 130% over the past five years.
Even now, silver remains supported by two important pillars: physical investment demand and industrial demand. Even as some parts of the market have shifted midway through 2026, the broader case for silver remains intact.
Physical Investment Demand Remains Resilient
Despite changing market conditions, many investors continue to view physical silver as a good value and as a practical diversifier within a diverse portfolio.
While physical buying patterns varies by region, and sentiment has dampened in the time since silver hit all-time highs at the end of January, the broader takeaway is clear. Investor demand has not disappeared. It remains active enough to reinforce silver’s role as a hard asset for those seeking to hedge against inflation, respond to market uncertainty, and align metal mix within a disciplined long-term strategy.
For long-term investors, that is an important signal. Silver continues to attract buyers who want tangible exposure to hard assets rather than paper-only positioning. Does that include you?
If so, today’s lower spot prices are an opportunity.
Silver Is Not Driven by One Story Alone
One of silver’s most important strengths is that it is not dependent on a single source of demand. Unlike equities and other assets driven mainly by investor sentiment, silver also serves a practical role across the global economy. From electronics and automotive applications to grid investment and advanced technologies, silver’s industrial relevance helps give it a broader demand base.
Investment demand is only part of the silver story. Industrial demand remained substantial, with the survey reporting 657.4 million ounces of industrial demand in 2025.
Although that total declined modestly year over year, it still reflects a very large base of real-world use. Silver remains deeply embedded in important industrial and technological applications, and that supports the metal’s long-term relevance beyond cycles of investor enthusiasm.
This is why silver stands apart in a meaningful way. “
Chuck again… great piece boys… as it explains why Silver is so popular right now…
Market Prices 8/5/2006: American Style: A$ .7044, kiwi .5866, C$ .7118, euro 1.1542, sterling 1.3491, Swiss $1.2359, European Style: rand 16.3917, krone 9.5242, SEK 9.5124, forint 313.14, zloty 3.7314, koruna 20.9611, RUB 81.10, yen 157.68, sing 1.2822, HKD 7.8433, INR 95.18, China 6.7509, peso 17.22, BRL 5.1280, BBDXY 1,204, Dollar Index 99.93, Oil $76.18, 10-year 4.61%, Silver $61.65, Platinum $1,759.00, Palladium $1,395.00, Copper $6.63, and Gold…. $4,170
That’s it for today… I really needed a good night’s sleep last night, but I woke up with a coughing spell and that ruined everything! So, once again, I’m dragging the line (T. James) this morning… It’s a good thing I made some notes yesterday to use this morning… We’re supposed to get 2 days of rain here, so no going outside to let the sun heal me. UGH! But a clear weekend is in the cards! Uriah Heap takes us to the finish line today with their song: Stealin’ I sure hope you have a Wonderful Wednesday and Please Be Good To Yourself!
Chuck Butler