Trading of spot bullion of 99.99 percent purity on the Shanghai exchange exceeded 20 tons every day between April 16 and May 6. That’s more than four times the daily average in 2012. Volume reached a record 43.27 metric tons on April 22.
China’s net gold imports from Hong Kong increased 40% in May from a month earlier as the metal’s deepening slump continued to attract bargain hunters to bullion shops in China and Asia.
Trading volumes for gold and silver on the Shanghai Futures Exchange (ShFE) jumped to record highs today a week after the bourse launched after-hours trading, driven by a surge in investment and hedging demand, according to Reuters.
Gold surged 3.3% or nearly $50 from $1,248/oz to $1,298/oz after Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke admitted that the U.S. economy continues to need a highly accommodative monetary policy and will do for the “foreseeable future”.
Gold climbed for a fourth day to the highest level in more than two weeks due to safe haven buying after Bernanke also admitted, what many more realistic analysts have been saying for some time, that the 7.6% unemployment rate probably "overstates the health of the labor market."
Since 1694 and the ensuing three centuries’ of Bank of England history, the base rate has never been this low (see chart). Draghi, emulated his fellow Goldman Sachs banker, Carney and kept rates at 0.5%. Ultra loose monetary policies involving record low base rates have been in place in the UK since March 2009, a lengthy 4½ years. In the Eurozone 0.5% record low rates have been seen since May this year.
The volatility of recent weeks is but a mere small taste of the volatility in store for all markets in the coming months and years. The global debt crisis is likely to continue for the rest of the decade as politicians and central bankers have merely delayed the day of reckoning. They have ensured that when the day of reckoning comes it will be even more painful and costly then it would have been previously.
Physical demand remains robust internationally especially in China and India where premiums are moving higher again. In China, physical demand remains robust and premiums remain at elevated levels near $35/oz. In India, premiums charged shot to $20 an ounce overnight from $8-$10 on Tuesday.
"Well you know if you look at the last 13 years it was up 12 out of 13 and this year isn't even over yet, so I would say its responded pretty well. But you might say well yeah what about in the last year why hasn’t it? Well, markets do these things they go up sharply and sometimes they take a rest. But the long term is something you can get a handle on, but I was never very good on short term, whether it’s the stock market or whatever, or what government will do, they are just all over the place.
Bonds, shares plus gold and silver fell sharply around the world this morning after the U.S. Federal Reserve again suggested an end to their easy money policies. Data also showed China's economy slowing down amid growing concerns that a credit crunch in China is worsening.
This was clearly seen in 1980 when silver rose from $6.08/oz on January 2nd 1979 to $50/oz on January 21st 1980 or more than eight fold in less than 13 months (see chart).
Given silver’s volatility, dollar, pound or euro cost averaging into position remains prudent. Similarly, when prices have had a parabolic gain - dollar, pound or euro cost averaging out of a position will be prudent as it will be nigh impossible to time the top.
A record deficit in platinum supplies is set to push prices higher, as unrest sweeps the South African mining industry and demand is boosted by the auto sector and a new exchange traded fund (ETF), according to HSBC, as covered on CNBC
The Vietnamese Central Bank sold another 25,700 taels (37.5 grams, 1.2 troy ounces) at a gold bar auction on Friday in order to try and satiate the massive public demand for gold in Vietnam.
The Central Bank hopes that the sale of gold into the market will reduce the very high premiums paid by gold buyers in Vietnam, the largest buyer of gold in Southeast Asia after Thailand and one of the largest physical buyers of gold per capita in the world.
Vietnamese people hold gold as a store of wealth for protection against war, inflation and currency depreciation. In recent months, the bursting of bubbles in the stock market (see chart) and property market and the continuing devaluation of the dong has led to record demand in Vietnam and a surging premium over the spot price of gold.
Today, the premium was close to 5.5 million dong which is the equivalent of a very high premium of $217 per ounce over spot.
James Steel, chief commodities analyst at HSBC in New York continues to be constructive on gold in the medium and long term and sees gold rising to $1,600/oz in the second half of 2013.
France Prohibits Sending Currency, “Coins And Precious Metals” By Mail
France has prohibited the sending of currency, “coins and precious metals” by mail.
In new legislation which was enacted May 23rd, the French government decreed that it is forbidden to send all forms of currency - coins and cash and all forms of precious metals – coins, bars and jewellery by mail.
India should monetise their huge gold stockpiles of over 20,000 metric tonnes according to the World Gold Council (WGC) as reported by Bloomberg this morning.
“In the long term gold could be monetized as a financial asset," Aram Shishmanian, the CEO of the WGC said in India overnight.
The World Gold Council has approached the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) to work with it so that bullion could be used as a financial asset, rather than just a physical asset.
