Gold has maintained a steady course for most of the week, save for a dramatic $40 surge on Friday that quickly reversed. This fluctuation seemed more a tug-of-war between bullish and bearish market players than a response to any specific events or press releases. Gold opened the week at $2,332.81 and closed at $2,321.98, marking a slight overall loss of $10.82. The market's mood resembles the calm before a storm, paralleling the onset of hurricane season. Uncertainty abounds as the Federal Reserve shows no clear signs of inflation control or plans to adjust interest rates, though a 0.25-point cut is anticipated for September. Gold enthusiasts remain unperturbed, attributing the metal's resilience and recent minor corrections to the summer vacation lull. Despite this, all fundamental indicators for gold remain robust, showcasing its enduring strength in the market.
Gold
Gold treaded water most of the week with the exception of a nearly $40 spike on Friday that disappeared literally as fast it appeared. There were no events or press releases that directly affected the move, only Bulls trying to break out for the week, and the Bears saying not so fast. Gold opened trading for the week at $2,332.81 and closed at $2,321.98 for a $10.82 loss overall. The mood in the markets feels eerily like the calm before the storm as coincidentally as Hurricane Season ramps up. There is no clear signal to the Federal Reserve that inflation is under control, and there is no clear signal from the Federal Reserve that they are ready to ease interest rates. The markets appear to have baked in a ¼ point cut for September so any deviation would from that “theory” would affect the stock market’s recent highs. Gold bugs are not worried as the only correction during this historic run since October coincides with the timing of the summer vacation season which causes the metals to slumber. All of the fundamentals for Gold remain intact and strong, and its resilience proves that.
Silver
Silver mimicked the lead provided for by Gold including a rally on Friday over the $30.00 mark only to give it back before the closing bell. Opening trading at $29.56 and closing at $29.54, the shiny metal gave the market its two cents worth. Like big sister Gold, Silver is hanging tough within striking distance of the $30.00 resistance level. Indications are that shorts are repositioning in the electronic market which is good news for physical buyers who are having to pay a little more premium to snuggle with the metal than they would like. There has been no significant pullback since breaching $30.00 and the consolidation should be finished by the autumn and election time.
Platinum And Palladium
Platinum and Palladium both had good weeks as the traders found them the easiest tools in the chest to make speculative moves. Neither metal has the necessary investment fundamentals to break out upward, and manufacturing demand is waiting on good news about the end of the global slowdown. So, in the interim, traders will continue buy, buy, buy, to run the spot price up, up, up and sell, sell, sell, to bring the spot price back down. Making money both ways. Palladium was up 6.3% for the week while Platinum followed with a 3.8% pop. This cycle makes the Platinum Family an electronic play unless you are willing to buy physical and patiently hold until the storm passes for new highs.
Conclusions
The good news is The Federal Reserve is doing nothing. The bad news is, The Federal Reserve is doing nothing. Unfortunately, the stalemate will have to come to an end at some point as we deal with the next wave of inflation. With the death of the Petrodollar countries are aggressively dealing in any variety of sovereign currencies for cross border transactions for the first time since World War II. The United States cannot export our inflation to the rest of the world anymore. De-dollarization was a word created about 18 months ago. It is now the word of the day. The inflation that we once were able to inflict on the world has now become a domestic problem as Trillions with a “T” of USDollars are currently repatriating to the shores of the United States. Our problem with inflation is nowhere near over. The current stubborn 36 months of inflation laughs at the brilliant minds at the Federal Reserve and the Treasury Department who comforted us three years ago with the description of “transitory” to describe the rapid increase in prices. Make no mistake. This current event has nothing to do with an overheated economy. It has everything to do with the economy digesting Two Trillion Dollars of stimulus money created during Covid 19. There are Twelve Trillion unneeded Dollars sitting in Sovereign Foreign Reserve Accounts around the world. Through De-Dollarization, these Greenbacks are being repatriated as we speak. How will we manage to digest half, three quarters, or even all, of that? There is never a bad time to buy Gold and Silver. But some times are better than others.
Sincerley,
Doug Pullen, President of GMR Gold