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Copper On Life Support After Shock Chinese Demand Drop Vincent Fernando, CFA Jul. 12, 2010, 3:56 AM Copper prices (for 3-month delivery) just fell from a 2-week high in London, after a surprise report of falling Chinese copper demand shocked traders. Bloomberg: Shipments of copper and products into China fell for a third month in June to 328,231 tons, the customs office said July 10. That’s 17 percent less than May and 31 percent less than a year earlier, according to Bloomberg calculations. Copper in London had its first quarterly decline since 2008 in the April-to-June period on concerns that...

China Hit By Liquidity Fears As Dollar and Gold Stage A Dual Rally Vincent Fernando, CFA Jul. 5, 2010, 6:04 AM Japan saves Asia from China malaise Chinese stocks ended lower today, potentially on liquidity concerns related to both the upcoming Agricultural Bank IPO and an issue of shares from Bank of China. Yet a strong Nikkei performance kept the MSCI Asia Apex 50 in the green: Asia: +0.5% (MSCI Asia Apex 50) Japan: +0.7% (Nikkei) China: -0.9% (CSI 300) Hong Kong: -0.3% (Hang Seng) Australia: -0.4% (ASX 200) Europe stumbles out of the gate So far European markets are...

Appetite For Commodities By The Mogambo Guru 07/02/10 Tampa, Florida – I am always worried that I am not ready for something, like “Do I have enough ammo to hold off a horde of desperate people storming the Excellent Mogambo Bunker (EMB)?” which I soon realized was a stupid question since there is no “correct” answer; it all depends on when the crowd of angry, starving people, destroyed by the Federal Reserve creating so much money and the government borrowing it and spending it, decides, “We better not rush the bunker and try to get all his gold and silver...

Gold Cheap At $1230, Why Wait Untill It Hits $10,000? Commodities / Gold and Silver 2010 Jul 02, 2010 - 11:09 AM By: The Gold Report Economic rebound? Not with 22% unemployment. Banking reform legislation? Loaded with pork. Bankrupt nations? Rock-solid, lead-pipe cinch. "We need to start all over," says the inimitable Bob Moriarty in this exclusive Gold Report interview. "And in the end, we will." Meanwhile, he's keeping an eye out for the few-and-far-between juniors that manage to get things exactly right. The Gold Report: Just in time for President Obama to meet with the leaders of the G20...

CHART OF THE DAY: Russia Is On A Crazy Gold Binge Vincent Fernando, CFA and Kamelia Angelova Jul. 1, 2010, 1:46 PM If anyone has been buying gold on strength, then it's Russia. The nation just bought another 22.5 million tonnes of gold reserves in May, after adding 27.6 million tonnes in April. This continues a long streak of gold additions since 2005, as shown in the chart below. If Russia kept up the April-May 2010 rate of gold additions in June, then Q2 buying will prove itself the largest quarterly accumulation of gold reserves for Russia in recent history....

Jim Rogers: Bond Market Bubble Headed for Disaster Thursday, 01 Jul 2010 08:33 AM By: Julie Crawshaw The bond market is a bubble ready to burst because central banks have flooded the world with cash and harmed the world economy, says investing guru Jim Rogers. "I'm watching the bond market, I have no longs and no shorts," Rogers told CNBC. "It is a bubble which is developing; it's one of the few bubbles in the world which is developing." "I think it's going to be a disaster and I plan to be selling them short sometime in the foreseeable future,"...

Gold Going to Parabolic Top of $10,000 by 2012 For Good Reasons Commodities / Gold and Silver 2010 Jun 13, 2010 - 03:05 PM By: Lorimer Wilson No wishful thinking here! As I see it gold is going to a parabolic top of $10,000 by 2012 for very good reasons - sovereign debt defaults, bankruptcies of “too big to fail” banks and other financial entities, currency inflation and devaluations - which will all contribute to rampant price inflation. Not surprisingly, I have company in that view: Money manager, Peter Schiff, told Business Week recently that, "Gold could reach $5,000 to...

Gold Prices Nudge $1250/Oz, Are You Prepared? Commodities / Gold and Silver 2010 Jun 09, 2010 - 06:44 PM By: Bob Kirtley We will kick off with a quick at the chart for gold prices and what a great chart it is. Despite the bears constantly jostling to be the first bear to call a major correction for gold prices to drop back to the depths of the last decade, gold is just not listening and continues to strengthen as the demand for real value grows. Gold prices popped up above the $1250/oz parapet today to survey the economic landscape...

Eric Sprott: Soon Someone's Going To Try Buy A Gold Bar, And It Won't Be There Vince Veneziani Jun. 9, 2010, 8:36 AM If anyone knows gold, it's Eric Sprott. We previously spoke with Mr. Sprott on the subjects of the IMF, GATA, and the Plunge Protection Team. Needless to say, he's a bull on gold. Sprott recently sat down with Eric Jackson of TheStreet.com for an interview and what he had to say should have investors concerned. He says that gold is more popular than ever before, which is fantastic for his fund. The problem is, there's a shortage...

Here's Why Governments Hate Gold Ron Paul Jun. 7, 2010, 4:51 PM(This guest post previously appeared at the Congressman's website) This past week several emerging and ongoing crises took attention away from the ongoing sovereign debt problems in Greece. The bailouts are merely kicking the can down the road and making things worse for taxpaying citizens, here and abroad. Greece is unfortunately not unique in its irresponsible spending habits. Greek-style debt explosions are quickly spreading to other nations one by one, and yes, the United States is one of the dominoes on down the line. Time and again it has...

Gold $7,000! By Chris Mayer 06/07/10 Gaithersburg, Maryland – During a week when almost everything went wrong, the gold market went very right. In fact, gold has been going very right for more than a decade. The gold price has more than quadrupled during the last 10 years. So is it too late to buy the stuff? My short answer is, “No.” Admittedly, gold is not like any other investment. It is not merely a financial asset; it is the ultimate form of money. But that doesn’t mean it is always a good investment. Many investors make a case for...

Genuine Checkmark Economic Recovery Spotted - Guess Where? Commodities / Gold and Silver 2010 Jun 05, 2010 - 06:11 AM By: Mike Shedlock In response to Disputing the Alleged "Checkmark Recovery" reader Dave Bellamy informed me that I missed one. Dave writes ... Dear Mish, I read and heard you reports on the "checkmark recovery" - very good! Anyway, I found a checkmark! The chart is below. Keep up the great work. A dose of realism is so refreshing. It's strange, but whenever I hear you talking about the union workers in the USA it reminds me so much of...

China Has Begun Slashing Commodity Production On Overcapacity Fears Vincent Fernando, CFA Jun. 4, 2010, 10:19 AM China is bringing back production restrictions for select commodities, after removing such restrictions during the recent global crisis. The Ministry of Industry and Information Technology (MITI) announced capacity closures this week, and more will come via the National Development and Reform Commission, says Citi's Alan Heap. Citi: Coal – Further Closures — MIIT announced a target to cut 21Mt of coking coal capacity by 3Q 2010, following the 82Mt closed in 2009. Of this only 5Mt is in Shanxi, where most of the...

Fantastic Overview Of China And Its Death Grip On Rare Earth Metals Joe Weisenthal Jun. 3, 2010, 5:11 PM Image: U.S. Marines Yesterday the world was greeted with the news that China intends to tighten its grip over rare earth metals, the highly valuable commodities that are used in everything from defense to green tech. That China would do something like this has been fretted about for awhile, and it's why the US government sees rare earths as a matter of national security. However this plays out, we suspect the subject to get A LOT more attention going forward, so...

China Freaks Out The World By Announcing Restrictions On Export Of Metals Crucial For National Defense Joe Weisenthal Jun. 2, 2010, 10:11 PM China appears to be making moves that several folks had been fearing for some time: It is considering stricter limits on the export of so-called rare-earth metals. The metals, which are most abundant in China, are used in a range of high tech industries including green energy and defense, which is what most concerns the US government. Claiming that the mining of rare earths has been bad for the environment, the government is moving to restrict unauthorized...

Gold Coins Flying Off US Mint Shelves Show Highest Sales In 11 Years By Rocky Vega 06/02/10 Stockholm, Sweden – Demand for gold has again cleaned out the US Mint, even with the physical metal at record nominal price levels over $1,200 an ounce. In May, the Mint managed to ship out 190,000 one-ounce gold American Eagles. The sales number breaks a record for any single month going back 11 years to 1999. According to Reuters: “In January 1999, the U.S. mint sold 208,500 gold 1-ounce coins, with only five other months exceeding May’s gold coin sales since the program...

This Week Watch Australia Disappoint The Global Recovery Bulls Vincent Fernando, CFAMay, 2010, 2:35 PM Australia lead the world's rising interest cycle post-crisis, on the back of a recovering world economy which it was well levered too thanks too its commodities relationship with China and low unemployment. Other nations soon followed with their own rising interest rates, as their economies rebounded, even though the U.S. has yet to take part. Markets had even been pricing-in further rate hikes from Australia this year not too long ago. Unfortunately, that's no longer the case as previously highlighted by Joe Weisenthal. In fact,...

Traders Push Commodities Up As NOAA Warns Of A Nightmare 2010 Hurricane Season Vince Veneziani May 28, 2010, 9:02 AM Any commodities trader worth their name will have their eyes glued to The Weather Channel when June comes, marking the official start of the hurricane season. A piece in the Financial Times today discusses how commodity prices have surged this week as the US National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) warned of a strong 2010 hurricane season. Oil and natural gas prices have jumped since yesterday, along with orange juice, which will soar even higher should Florida get hit by...

12 Key Charts That Show The Savage Beating In The Commodities World Joe Weisenthal May. 20, 2010, 9:07 AM Image: Stockcharts.com One of the major themes we've witnessed in the recent selloff is the big attitude change towards commodities. Basically, they've been hammered for a few reasons: "risk aversion" Actual possible slowing of Chinese demand. The mining supertax. Australia has announced a big tax, and there's talk that other countries will follow. This Sydney Morning Herald article talks about mining supertax contagion. Peru and Chile may be the next to tax miners big. So, we've rounded up a quick look...

The Commodities Index Is About To Do A Death Cross Joe Weisenthal May. 19, 2010, 7:59 AM In technical speak, a death cross is when the 50-day moving average dives below the 200-day moving average for a given chart. It's seen as a VERY bearish sign.Anyway, we're about to see one in the well-known Reuters/Jeffries CRB index (a basket of commodities). Just a heads up. From Stockcharts.com: Image: Stockcharts.com Just for reference, here's what the death cross looked like in Shanghai, which presages its huge dive. Image: Stockcharts.com[snip]