OPTIMISM FOR GOLD: RSBL

 By Mr. Prithviraj Kothari, MD,RSBL

Those who began to completely disown gold for the past four weeks have now once again been captured by imagination. Gold typically acts as a safe haven – or a hedge – for investors during volatile periods or uncertainty in global markets and it so appears that the precious metal is not quite so useless after all when things get turbulent on the markets.

On July 24, spot gold touched $1,077.50 per ounce, the lowest price since April 2010. Prices remained at that level for a short period before climbing over the past few weeks.

But the tables have turned. Gold prices are preparing to close its second consecutive week in positive territory, showing gains of more than 5% after the market hit a six-week high in overnight activity Friday.

Gold prices surged during Thursday’s US trading session as the multi-year lows seen a month ago have evaporated as short covering boosted the entire precious metal’s complex.

The spot gold price was seen at $1,150.5/1,150.9- around its highest in more than a month.

Trade has ranged from $1,150.3 to $1,168.4 – it’s highest since July 7 – so far.

The past two sessions have seen the yellow-metal jump to the highest price in over a month upon the release of the Federal Open Market Committee (FOMC) July meeting minutes.

Investors read the statement – especially the concern over the slowdown in the Chinese economy – as a dovish tone heading into the oft-discussed September FOMC meeting. Apart from this there were some other factors that contributed to this rally-

Equities- Equities were in retreat once again as Chinese data added to concerns about global economic growth.

Investors looking to rotate out of strong markets are now looking for oversold asset classes, such as gold, to park their profits while corrections are underway. This demand for gold helped push its prices higher as investors shifted focus from equities to the yellow metal.

China- Gold is finally attracting safe-haven demand as concerns over the fallout from China’s devaluation spreads and the market is waking up to the likelihood that emerging market economies are entering another tough time and that could spread to mature economies.

In China, flash manufacturing PMI undershot expectations at 47.1 – below the 50 contraction level. It was the lowest reading since March 2009 and follows the previous poor reading of 48.2.

China’s economic problems are only worsening as recent data showed that China’s manufacturing sector fell to its weakest point in six-and-a-half years.

Many analysts and economists are expecting that continued financial turmoil in China could delay the Federal Reserve from hiking rates as early as September, which would be U.S. dollar negative and gold positive.

U.S. economic data- In a heavy US data day, weekly unemployment claims were at 277,000, near the forecast of 272,000 and holding below the psychological 300,000 mark.

Meanwhile existing home sales in July were at 5.59 million, above the forecast of 5.45 million. The Philly Fed Manufacturing Index in August was at 8.3, besting the 6.9 prediction.

In Wednesday’s US data, CPI in July was up 0.1 percent over the previous month, below the 0.2 percent forecast.

Core CPI – excluding food and energy – was also up 0.1 percent month-over-month in July, again missing the consensus of 0.2 percent.

Over the last few months, various members of the organization have become increasingly hawkish with Federal Reserve chairwoman Janet Yellen expressing a desire to raise rates sometime this year (September), but once again a weak economic report has delayed investor’s expectations.

 Fed Interest Rate Hike-  The July 28-29 FOMC meeting minutes released overnight suggested that the Fed may resist raising rates in September.

However, inflation continues to fall below the Federal Reserve’s target of two percent which has afftcted the delay if a hike which was probable to happen in September.

The minutes of the US Fed’s July meeting showed a committee relatively content with domestic economic activity and labor market progress. The advance in gold prices was largely driven by the dovish Federal Reserve July meeting minutes and as traders scaled back their views on a US interest rate rise in September.

According to the Fed Fund Future, a rate hike in September has been virtually priced out, and a rate hike by year’s end is regarded as only 75 percent probable.

Federal Reserve Chairwoman Janet Yellen has expressed a desire to raise interest rates this calendar year after rates have been at near zero levels since December 2008 which once again set gold prices moving high.

ETF- Meanwhile, inflows in gold ETF holdings accelerated – holdings in funds tracked by Fast Markets have increased to 1,526.70 tonnes.

Greece- In news, rancorous disputes in Greece over an additional bailout and further austerity measures has forced Greek Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras to resign as he called for a snap election next month.

So basically, its lot of uncertainty and turbulence in the world economies that has ignited up the rocket of gold prices and the same is expected to happen in the week to come.

Gold could continue to benefit next week as China’s financial crisis could have more weight on the Federal Reserve’s monetary policy decisions more than domestic economic data, according to some analysts.
Looking ahead, because of gold’s strong gains, optimism is high in the marketplace that this rally will continue in the near-term.

Continued weakness in equity markets, weakness in China and political uncertainty in Greece: all of these have the potential to boost gold higher next week which has recreated bullish sentiments in the market.

Although some economists are expecting U.S. economic data to take a back seat to global financial problems, some of the data that could attract some attention includes July’s durable goods report, housing sales data, and the preliminary reading of U.S. second quarter gross domestic product (GDP) all due for release in the week ahead.

Till then we wait for a new catalyst to push prices higher in the near term.

The primary purpose of this article by Mr. Prithviraj Kothari is to educate the masses of the current happenings in the Bullion world.

- Previous blog -

"This Time Its China v/s U.S.: RSBL"

http://riddisiddhibullionsltd.blogspot.in/2015/08/this-time-its-china-vs-us-rsbl.html

GOLD KEEPING INVESTORS PERPLEXED: RSBL

                                                               By Mr. Prithviraj Kothari, MD, RSBL

The gold market is preparing to end its fourth consecutive week in negative territory, as prices dropped to a session low at $1,129.60 an ounce, its lowest level since April 2010.

Gold prices remained under pressure after touching a four month low on Friday, as the dollar tumbled against the euro on signs of renewed optimism that Greece may secure fresh funding from its’ European creditors.

With regard to the Greek financial crisis and at the time of writing, after more than 17 hours of negotiations, Greece reached a deal with its European creditors on Monday, pledging stringent austerity to avoid an exit from the euro.
Let’s have a detailed look at what exactly the agreement states.

This agreement gives Greece a chance to obtain its third international bailout in 5 years. (A compendium of as much as 86 billion euros). Moreover it facilitates easier repayment terms on some of its existing debt of more than €300 billion and a short-term economic stimulus plan
But, it will require Greece to accept a wide array of measures, including pension cuts and tax increases, and effectively subject itself to intensive international oversight in order to qualify for the aid.

While the summit agreement averted a worst-case outcome for Greece, it only established the basis for negotiations on an aid package, which would also include 25 billion euros to recapitalize its weakened financial system.

With Greece running out of money and its banks shut the past two weeks, the summit was billed as its last chance to stay in the euro. Greece has been in financial limbo since the government missed a payment to the International Monetary Fund and allowed its second rescue package to lapse on June 30.

Apart from the Greece crisis, there was a vague picture that was put across by Fed Chair Janet Yellen on the interest rate hike.
On Thursday, she said the U.S. labor market had moved to a more normal state, a reason why the central bank is likely to raise short-term interest rates later this year. 

Analysts state that the biggest factor currently influencing gold prices is an expectation of rise in U.S interest rates. Wednesday and Thursday, Federal Reserve Chair Janet Yellen testified before Congress and reiterated that the Federal Open Market Committee feels it would be appropriate to raise interest rates later this year.

“Based on my outlook, I expect that it will be appropriate at some point later this year to take the first step to raise the federal funds rate and thus begin normalizing monetary policy,” stated Federal Reserve Chair Janet Yellen in a speech on Friday to the City Club of Cleveland.  She recommended that an interest rate hike may come before the end of the year. She further said “I want to emphasize that the course of the economy and inflation remains highly uncertain, and unanticipated developments could delay or accelerate this first step.”

By the first quarter of 2015, there was a string belief in the market that a rate hike would be happen in June, given the positive economic reports from U.S. However, the general consensus seems to be that the Fed will delay any rate hikes until January 2016, though many doubt it will take that long.

Although most economists had expected that the US central bank would raise interest rates as early as June and then September, an increasing number of analysts and traders doubt any rate hikes will happen until January 2016.

What came as a surprise or I should say rather say a “shock” to the bullion market was the disclosure by  China of an increase in its official gold holdings for the first time in 6 years.  
China last reported a figure of 1,054 tonnes in April 2009, and now says it sits at 1,658 tonnes today – an increase of 57%. The central bank’s gold holdings make it the fifth biggest gold reserve in the world, surpassing Russia.

Gold prices didn’t move up on the news rather the metal sold off, hitting a fresh 5-year low during the session.

After a broad- based commodity sell-off on Tuesday, which saw the price of gold fall more than 2% hitting a four month low of $1,145 an ounce, the price of the yellow metal ended up on the week to settle at $1162.80 per ounce.

The sell-off last Tuesday was precipitated by the collapse of Chinese equities. AndA, since China is the world’s biggest importer of raw commodities, weaker growth expectations is spooking the markets and there seems to be spillover effect into precious metals.
Once again, investors remain perplexed about the price action of gold, especially after Greece defaulted on its debt owed to the International Monetary Fund and imposed bank closures and capital controls amid its debt crisis.

But, it is unlikely that the price of the yellow metal will remain suppressed for too long as global demand for gold remains strong despite the recent price dip in US dollar terms.




The primary purpose of this blog by Prithviraj Kothari - MD, RSBL, is to educate the masses of the current happenings in the Bullion world.”

- Previous blog -

"Gold Directionless"

http://riddisiddhibullionsltd.blogspot.in/2015/07/gold-directionless-rsbl.html

GOLD DIRECTIONLESS: RSBL

By Mr. Prithviraj Kothari, MD, RSBL

 

The world economies are tumbling. Greece is trying to get more days…Chinese economy is foundering and there us downside pressure on the US markets too. A collapsing economy directly means that the money flocks to gold. But the markets have something else to say.

The precious-metals sector is enduring losses for the third straight week. Gold has also rallied yet remains dangerously close to making a new weekly low for the bear market.
The metals opened lower on Monday in the shadow of the Greek ‘no’ vote but ended the day mixed with average losses of one percent.

Precious metals closed down 0.7 percent on Monday, with gold holding value at $1,169.20 while on Wednesday, gold was last up $4.60 closed at $1162/ 1162.80 an ounce.
Precious metals prices moved away from recent lows in trading on Thursday morning after Fed minutes failed to provide a clearer picture on when the normalization of US monetary policy might begin.

There is more than one factor that is collectively responsible for the movement in gold prices. Let’s take a detailed look at them.

Greece- In Greece, negotiations will continue over the weekend after Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras presented a proposal that accepts many of initial cuts introduced at a June 26 meeting.
Investors seem to believe this latest chapter in the multi-year negotiations process will end in Greece remaining in the Eurozone – the euro was last up 0.8 percent to 1.1130 against the dollar.

The uncertainty over Greek debt crisis boosted the dollar, dampening demand for the precious metal as an alternative investment.
A $60 billion bailout plan is headed to the Greek parliament. It includes most of the austerity measures Europe has insisted upon and the gross dollar amount of the bailout is slightly higher. We shall see next week what happens and how it affects markets.


FOMC and Interest Rate Hike- “Based on my outlook, I expect that it will be appropriate at some point later this year to take the first step to raise the federal funds rate and thus begin normalizing monetary policy,” Yellen said in her speech in Cleveland.

“But I want to emphasize that the course of the economy and inflation remains highly uncertain, and unanticipated developments could delay or accelerate this first step,” she added.

US, Federal Reserve Chairwoman Janet Yellen predicted the timeframe for the initial interest rate hike, but also provided a hedge regarding the importance on inflation.
Friday, Yellen said, in a speech at an event in Cleveland, that she still expects interest rates to rise later this year but also acknowledged factors that continue to hold back the U.S. economy, including potential foreign threats.

China- GOLD BULLION prices rose Thursday against all major currencies, recovering all but $1 of the week's earlier $20 drop per ounce against the US Dollar as world stock markets gained following a hard bounce in China's main equity indices.

With trading still halted in around half the shares listed on the Shanghai and Shenzhen stock markets, the CSI300 index of the biggest companies closed 6.7% higher after the last 3 week's near one-third collapse.

No one knows where is gold is heading. Presently there is no call for safe haven investments beyond the solid currencies, namely the dollar, yen and Swiss franc.
Global market tensions may ease out next week with Greece expected to find some resolution to its ongoing credit crisis and Chinese leaders expected to keep a tight grip on equity markets to prevent another major market selloff.

Despite the negative weekly close, optimism is creeping back into the gold market. After five consecutive weekly bearish outlooks, retail investors have finally turned bullish, while market professionals remain mixed.

Nobody would want to buy in an extremely uncertain market. Investors would buy or sell gold once they get a clear signal and know what is happening with the Federal Reserve. The uncertainty in Greece and China is creating a lot of uncertainty and fear because nobody knows what the Fed is going to do.

Apart from the Global markets, there are others things that need to be watched by the investors next week. It’s a big week for US markets economic data.
 

• Markets will receive retail sales data for June
• Regional manufacturing data for July
• Consumer inflation data at the end of the week

However, the highlight will be Fed Chair Janet Yellen’s semi-annual testimony before Congress. She will testify before the house Financial Services Committee Wednesday and the Senate Banking Committee on Thursday.
Market participants are expected to go through her indication extremely careful to find any hints on when the central bank will pull the trigger on an interest rate hike.


The primary purpose of this blog by Prithviraj Kothari - MD, RSBL, is to educate the masses of the current happenings in the Bullion world.”

- Previous blog -"Will Gold Create The Safe Haven Magic"

http://riddisiddhibullionsltd.blogspot.in/2015/07/will-gold-create-safe-haven-magic.html

WILL GOLD CREATE THE SAFE HAVEN MAGIC?

                                                  

                                                                                  By Mr. Prithviraj Kothari, MD, RSBL

 

Considering the ongoing Greece crisis, there was a global assumption that gold would rise in a flight to safety- in fact it happened the other way round- it has fallen around two percent this week, around 1.5 percent in June and more than six percent from its May peak of $1,232.50 per ounce.

Gold prices slumped to their lowest since March as back-and-forth developments over Greece’s debt talks are providing an incentive for investors to disassociate with the Eurozone and its currency.
The gold price tested three-and-a-half-month lows on Thursday morning ahead of the release of the monthly US jobs report.

Spot gold was last at $1,165.20/1,166.00 per ounce, down $2.70 on the previous session’s close – earlier it came within 20 cents of matching it’s lowest since March 19 and is heading for its fourth consecutive lower session.


Thursday’s non-farm payrolls report showed that the US created 223,000 new jobs in June against consensus of 231,000, which has lent some support to precious metals towards the back end of the week.

The gold price made modest gains on Friday after US labor market data came in slightly weaker than expected in the previous session, lending support to precious metals.

In the US jobs report on Thursday, released a day early due to Independence Day celebrations the unemployment rate dropped to its lowest since April 2008 at 5.3 percent, a level the US government considers to be ‘full employment’, average hourly earnings were stagnant, missing predicted growth of 0.2 percent.
A negative jobs reports means and slowly progressing economy which in turn no make majority of the market participant believe that interest rate hike by the US Federal Reserve won’t come in soon. 

Apart from the interest rate hike the market is also closely watching al movements regarding the Greek Debt crisis.
Greek Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras’ aggressive decision to exit negotiations and announce a referendum for Sunday seems to be backfiring. German Chancellor Angela Merkel has reportedly put off a decision until the referendum is voted on by the Greek citizens.

A yes vote would display a total lack of confidence in Tsipras and his left wing-coalition party, Syriza, likely resulting in a reelection. A rejection of the creditor’s proposal would continue the months-long impasse and could signal the end for Greece in the bloc.

The tit-for-tat fails to answer why gold remains in a suppressed state, as the yellow metal is historically viewed as a safe haven for investors during periods of uncertainty.

Gold is failing to make anything of its supposed safe-haven qualities this week despite Greece’s grip on Eurozone membership now at its weakest.   Despite the uncertainty and heavy pressure on global equity markets as a result of the situation in Greece, gold is confounding the widely held assumption that it would rise in a flight to safety.  

What this suggests is that investors either do not value gold’s credentials as a safe haven or do not yet regard this situation as a crisis yet – even though the country is going to the polls on Sunday.

The market is focused on Sunday’s referendum on its creditors’ proposed cash-for-reforms deal. Greece requires additional bailout funds of around 50 billion euros until 2018 under the existing bailout conditions, the IMF claimed, cutting its Greek growth prospects for 2015 to zero from 2.5 percent previously.

Opinion polls released as voting ended suggested a slight lead for the "No" vote.
No exit polls were published. The first official results are expected in the coming hours.
The government had urged people to vote "No", while the "Yes" campaign warned that this could see Greece ejected from the eurozone

Usually such crisis renders support to precious metals. But in this case precious metals haven’t received much lift in spite of the ongoing uncertainties. But markets still remain very much focused on the Greek Debt crisis. 

The Greek people will go to the polls on Sunday to decide whether or not to accept its creditors’ apparently final proposals. No talks on debt relief are likely until after the referendum takes place.

Without additional lending, Greece will default on its July 20 repayment to the European Central Bank (ECB) after missing a payment to the International Monetary Fund (IMF) on Tuesday.

This story may help gold on two grounds- a default on its payments in Tuesday and the risk it will exit the Eurozone. Both these results are strengthening safe-haven demand for gold. Moreover, there is a mounting risk that this will start to struggle on the currency bloc and then the global economy, providing another reason for the FOMC to stay its hand over rate rises.




The primary purpose of this blog by Prithviraj Kothari - MD, RSBL, is to educate the masses of the current happenings in the Bullion world.”

- Previous blog -
"It's A Greece Game For Gold"
http://riddisiddhibullionsltd.blogspot.in/2015/06/its-greece-game-for-goldrsbl.html

IT'S A GREECE GAME FOR GOLD:RSBL

                                                         By Mr. Prithviraj Kothari, MD, RSBL

A very boring week for Gold and rest of the precious metals complex. An extremely tight price range trading showing no clear indication for the next move in price. The $1200 level remains significant for Gold while for Silver it is $16.20, where it continues to place selling pressure.

During the last week it rallied well to move from a two month low near $1160 back up to above $1190 again before easing back to the $1180 level. The key $1170 level has consistently provided solid support and has held it up now for a couple of months.

Somehow the important data released from the US:

• US unemployment claims were in line with forecasts at 271,000.
• US GDP released on Wednesday showed that the retraction in Q1 was just -0.2% better than the expectation of -0.7%, increasing the necessary confidence in US economy growth.
• University of Michigan Consumer sentiment was 96.1, besting forecasts of 94.6, while inflation was rose 2.7 percent.
• Personal spending month-over-month in May was up 0.9 percent, above forecasts of 0.7 percent.

While recent positive US economic data strengthened the dollar and led to speculation over interest rate hike this year, the Greece negotiations have gone haywire.

Talks between Athens and its creditors have failed completely. Still there have been some signs of hope being shown by either parties. But if I understand, tomorrow being Greece's payment date to IMF, I feel they would default. Euro-zone rejected Greek's request for a one month extension to its bailout creating a non-payment type of scenario.

Greek prime minister Alexis Tsiparis called a referendum on July 5 for the Greek bill to approve the bailout demands. Like expected, Greece announced capital controls and will keep its banks closed on Monday until further notice. I feel it is the darkest hour in Greek's economy. 

Even when I see the potential Grexit, there are more chances that gold will be on a bearish side for the week to come particularly if Thursday’s nonfarm payrolls report shows the labor market is gaining strength. Positive data will provide the Fed the reason they need to raise interest rates in September.

So now it all depends on the Greece Game and the important US data.

The primary purpose of this blog by Prithviraj Kothari - MD, RSBL, is to educate the masses of the current happenings in the Bullion world.”

- Previous blog -

"An Important Week For Gold: RSBL:

http://riddisiddhibullionsltd.blogspot.in/2015/06/an-important-week-for-gold-rsbl.html

BULLS AND BEARS TO CLASH

                                              By Mr. Prithviraj Kothari, MD, RSBL

 

Over the past year and to be precise, lately, there has been a strong belief in the market that the U.S. is on it way of raising its rates. While evidence of continued improvement in the US economy is not gold-friendly and ultimately acts as an obstacle for the price rise in yellow metal.

Let’s have a quick glance to the important highlights during the last week:

Non farm payrolls data: 
       The most awaited or rather the most influential factor this week was the jobs report. The US created 280,000 new jobs in May, significantly above analysts’ estimates of 222,000 and the highest climb in jobs figures seen in months. US indicators have increased in importance at the moment as the Federal Reserve specifically identified US jobs data as one of the key factors on its decision when to raise interest rates from near zero.
      The unemployment rate was essentially unchanged at 5.5 percent. Private sector job growth has increased 63 straight months, a US record.

EUROZONE:
      In the Eurozone, French trade balance in April was a negative three billion, above forecasts of four billion, while German factory orders month-over-month in April was up 1.4 percent, beating consensus of 0.6 percent. With investor sentiment for gold so weak gold prices may well continue lower, but we do feel this is leading to a better buying opportunity and given developments in Greece and with potential for corrections in other asset classes, it may not be too long before the markets start looking for a safe-haven again.

DOLLAR:
    The dollar jumped to a 13-year high against the yen and gained against most major currencies, cutting the appeal of precious metals as alternative assets. The expectation of an interest rate hike has benefited the dollar and it has enjoyed a dramatic and sustained rally. 

GREECE: 
      Meanwhile in Greece, the country delayed a 300-million-euro repayment to the IMF until the end of June and bundling all the payments together, increasing the risk of a Greek exit from the bloc. 
      Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras reportedly rejected proposals put together by its lenders, arguing that any deal to unlock crucial bailout funds must be based on his own side’s conditions. But the two sides remain “very close” to agreeing a deal, after creditors supposedly proposed lower primary surplus goals.


Geopolitical Tension:
       Ukrainian troops and pro-Russian separatists on Wednesday fought their first serious battles in months and Ukraine's defense minister said an attempt by rebels to take the eastern town of Maryinka had been thwarted.

Post the US job data release, gold prices tumbled as the economy showed strong signs of recovery after a lackluster first quarter. Investors have been barring gold on signs that the economy has grown enough adhesion to damp the need for haven assets, encouraging worry that better progress will push policy makers to raise rates. 

It’s not possible to give a clarity to what exactly the price of gold is going to be tomorrow. Nor it is easy to take a buy call in Silver as the metal continues to follow gold with the risk to the downside. There are many factors that support and upper drive and a contrary lower drive for gold prices.

First, we think about international geopolitical tensions. Second, the uncertainty coming from Greece is still lingering in the minds of traders and captains of industry. Third, strategic or policy-related bullion purchases by central banks remain significantly high: After eight quarters of capital outflows from the ETF industry, the first quarter of 2015 saw a rebound in gold purchases.

However, two factors might hamper the bullion’s technical ascent, reducing the precious metal’s value over time. The first element comes from long-term charts: Gold is still in a long-term bearish trend, which has caused the precious metal to drop 30% in value from the peak reached during the summer of 2011. Second obstacle to higher gold prices: the strong US dollar and the historically negative correlation between the American currency and the yellow metal. To add Hedge funds and money managers cut net long positions in gold and silver during the week ended June 2, U.S. Commodity Futures Trading Commission data showed on Friday.

A stimulating clash awaits for bulls and bears in the coming months! But, as usual, the final word rests with the markets.

TRADE RANGE:

METAL	INTERNATIONAL	DOMESTIC
GOLD	$1151 - $1191 an ounce	Rs.25,700 - Rs.27,300 per 10g
SILVER	$15.70 - $17.00 an ounce	Rs.36,500 - Rs.39,500 per kg

The primary purpose of this blog by Prithviraj Kothari - MD, RSBL, is to educate the masses of the current happenings in the Bullion world.”

- Previous blog -

"Calmness before the big move in Gold and Silver"

http://riddisiddhibullionsltd.blogspot.in/2015/06/calmness-before-big-move-in-gold-and.html