Silver Doctors articles.....
and.....
http://harveyorgan.blogspot.com/2013/01/a-massive-4326-tonnes-of-gold-standing.html
JPMorgan must have panicked when the news came out that silver production for 2012 fell to only 33 million oz instead of last year's 36 + million. With silver eagle sales of over 40 million oz and counting, one can just imagine JPMorgan's dilemma. Also remember that the USA needs silver for industry such as solar panels
hydroelectric conductivity wires, pharmaceuticals, and of course hoarding.
In paper stories, we again have more problems for Italy as the world's oldest bank (orig. 1472)
again is in hot water as the Italians scramble to save this bank. These guys are owned by a foundation connected to Mr Bersani who heads the center left party in the lead to become Premier of Italy. Bersani is the ECB's choice to win as he is pro EU. The center right party of Berlusconi seems to be advancing in the polls as is comedian Beppo Grilli. Both Grilli and Berlusconi want to exit the monetary EU. As I reported to you yesterday, the Central Bank of Italy was well aware of Monte dei Paschi's problems but they decided to bury the problem. The central bank of Italy allowed tax payer money to bail out MPS (Monte dei Paschi i di Siena) 3 times in the last 3 years. The head of the ECB at this time, none other than Mario Draghi. And who ousted Berlusconi in 2011: none other than Mario Draghi. Thus Berlusconi would like nothing better than to throw Draghi under the bus!!
popcorn anyone... Spain has problems as unemployment continues to rise, GDP continues to falter and now we have another scandal to report, where the party received bribes for public work projects.
Israeli bombed Syria yesterday as Syria was trying to load missiles to the Hezbollah in Lebanon.
Now Syria and Iran are threatening Israel and the USA.
How will China and Russia react?
this is a dangerous situation!!
We will discuss these and many other stories but first let us head over to the comex and assess trading today............
The total comex gold open interest rose 425 contracts to settle at 431,137 from Wednesday's level of 430,712. We now have the number of contracts for gold standing as today is first day notice. The total number of contracts standing for gold is a whopping 13,910 contracts or 1,310,900 oz of gold which translates to 43.26 tonnes of gold I am sure that Blythe will be one busy girl these next few weeks as she tries to entice some longs standing to accept paper instead of metal. More will be discussed on this issue in the body of my commentary. The next non active contract month is March and here the OI rose from 1087 up to 1211 for a gain of 124 contracts. The estimated volume today at the gold comex was fair at 161,916. The confirmed volume yesterday was quite good at 245,696.The total silver comex defies all odds by rising another 3154 contracts to settle today at 151,680. Yesterday's level came in at 148,526. When the bankers saw the numbers last night, no doubt emergency calls went out to muster a raid in order to liquidate some of our silver longs. I doubt very much if these raids will have any effect on our silver players as they immune to price.
The total number of contracts standing for the non active February contract month is represented by 85 contracts or 425,000 oz of silver. We will no doubt see this number price appreciably as the February month advances to its conclusion. The next active delivery month will be March and here the OI rose by 1944 contracts from 76,675 up to 78,619. After witnessing the gold first day notice, I am really excited to see what will happen when silver has it's first day notice on Thursday, Feb.28.2013.
GOLD RUN? 43 TONNES OF GOLD STAND FOR FEBRUARY DELIVERY ON 1ST NOTICE DAY
Today was first notice day for February delivery in gold, and as usual, we 
Gold and silver have been hammered throughout COMEX trading today, with waterfall declines erasing the gains made yesterday on the large pops ahead of the FOMC statement on the GDP disappointment. 
Submitted by AboutAG:and.....
http://harveyorgan.blogspot.com/2013/01/a-massive-4326-tonnes-of-gold-standing.html
THURSDAY, JANUARY 31, 2013
A massive 43.26 tonnes of gold standing for delivery/Japanese gold hits record levels./Japanese citizens flock to gold/silver production drops to only 33 million oz./ More troubles for Monte dei Paschi/More troubles for the head honchos in Spain/
Good evening Ladies and Gentlemen:
Gold closed down $20.10 to finish the comex session at $1660.60. Silver also fell by 81 cents to finish the day at $31.34. As I promised to you, the bankers decided that it was necessary to blast the price of silver and gold down. They were not worried as the regulators were well paid not to pay attention. Generally when you see gold/silver equity shares falter the day before, it is a good sign that the raid is on. The bankers do not use the telephone to orchestrate their moves. The big honchos start shorting the equity shares as the signal to raid the precious metals the next day. The second reason for the raid was the high OI in silver.
The bankers are desperate to force some of the silver leaves to fall. They have been unsuccessful as of late.
The final reason for the bashing was the jobs report tomorrow as the bankers always smash gold on the day before the event and sometimes on the day itself.
Today we had first day notice and what a surprise. We had a massive 1,391,000 million oz of gold stand or 43.26 tonnes of gold. I have been following the gold and silver comex data from the mid 1970's and I have never seen anything like this before. You will recall that this past December we had only 10 tonnes of gold delivered upon. Generally December is the biggest delivery month of the year. The comex is not a physical market. If one needs physical they generally head over to London at the LBMA and purchase the metal over there. The high amounts standing may mean that our gentlemen from Eastern persuasion are having difficulty finding metal and thus they are heading over to our neck of the woods to obtain this very valuable commodity.In other news, gold hit record levels in yen terms today at 153,000 yen per oz.
Gold closed down $20.10 to finish the comex session at $1660.60. Silver also fell by 81 cents to finish the day at $31.34. As I promised to you, the bankers decided that it was necessary to blast the price of silver and gold down. They were not worried as the regulators were well paid not to pay attention. Generally when you see gold/silver equity shares falter the day before, it is a good sign that the raid is on. The bankers do not use the telephone to orchestrate their moves. The big honchos start shorting the equity shares as the signal to raid the precious metals the next day. The second reason for the raid was the high OI in silver.
The bankers are desperate to force some of the silver leaves to fall. They have been unsuccessful as of late.
The final reason for the bashing was the jobs report tomorrow as the bankers always smash gold on the day before the event and sometimes on the day itself.
Today we had first day notice and what a surprise. We had a massive 1,391,000 million oz of gold stand or 43.26 tonnes of gold. I have been following the gold and silver comex data from the mid 1970's and I have never seen anything like this before. You will recall that this past December we had only 10 tonnes of gold delivered upon. Generally December is the biggest delivery month of the year. The comex is not a physical market. If one needs physical they generally head over to London at the LBMA and purchase the metal over there. The high amounts standing may mean that our gentlemen from Eastern persuasion are having difficulty finding metal and thus they are heading over to our neck of the woods to obtain this very valuable commodity.In other news, gold hit record levels in yen terms today at 153,000 yen per oz.
JPMorgan must have panicked when the news came out that silver production for 2012 fell to only 33 million oz instead of last year's 36 + million. With silver eagle sales of over 40 million oz and counting, one can just imagine JPMorgan's dilemma. Also remember that the USA needs silver for industry such as solar panels
hydroelectric conductivity wires, pharmaceuticals, and of course hoarding.
In paper stories, we again have more problems for Italy as the world's oldest bank (orig. 1472)
again is in hot water as the Italians scramble to save this bank. These guys are owned by a foundation connected to Mr Bersani who heads the center left party in the lead to become Premier of Italy. Bersani is the ECB's choice to win as he is pro EU. The center right party of Berlusconi seems to be advancing in the polls as is comedian Beppo Grilli. Both Grilli and Berlusconi want to exit the monetary EU. As I reported to you yesterday, the Central Bank of Italy was well aware of Monte dei Paschi's problems but they decided to bury the problem. The central bank of Italy allowed tax payer money to bail out MPS (Monte dei Paschi i di Siena) 3 times in the last 3 years. The head of the ECB at this time, none other than Mario Draghi. And who ousted Berlusconi in 2011: none other than Mario Draghi. Thus Berlusconi would like nothing better than to throw Draghi under the bus!!
popcorn anyone... Spain has problems as unemployment continues to rise, GDP continues to falter and now we have another scandal to report, where the party received bribes for public work projects.
Israeli bombed Syria yesterday as Syria was trying to load missiles to the Hezbollah in Lebanon.
Now Syria and Iran are threatening Israel and the USA.
How will China and Russia react?
this is a dangerous situation!!
We will discuss these and many other stories but first let us head over to the comex and assess trading today............
The total comex gold open interest rose 425 contracts to settle at 431,137 from Wednesday's level of 430,712. We now have the number of contracts for gold standing as today is first day notice. The total number of contracts standing for gold is a whopping 13,910 contracts or 1,310,900 oz of gold which translates to 43.26 tonnes of gold I am sure that Blythe will be one busy girl these next few weeks as she tries to entice some longs standing to accept paper instead of metal. More will be discussed on this issue in the body of my commentary. The next non active contract month is March and here the OI rose from 1087 up to 1211 for a gain of 124 contracts. The estimated volume today at the gold comex was fair at 161,916. The confirmed volume yesterday was quite good at 245,696.The total silver comex defies all odds by rising another 3154 contracts to settle today at 151,680. Yesterday's level came in at 148,526. When the bankers saw the numbers last night, no doubt emergency calls went out to muster a raid in order to liquidate some of our silver longs. I doubt very much if these raids will have any effect on our silver players as they immune to price.
The total number of contracts standing for the non active February contract month is represented by 85 contracts or 425,000 oz of silver. We will no doubt see this number price appreciably as the February month advances to its conclusion. The next active delivery month will be March and here the OI rose by 1944 contracts from 76,675 up to 78,619. After witnessing the gold first day notice, I am really excited to see what will happen when silver has it's first day notice on Thursday, Feb.28.2013.
gold and silver data.....
Jan 31.2013 The February contract month
Ounces
Withdrawals from Dealers Inventory in oz
nil
Withdrawals from Customer Inventory in oz
nil
Deposits to the Dealer Inventory in oz
799.93 (Brinks)
Deposits to the Customer Inventory, in oz
nil
No of oz served (contracts) today
7588 (758,800 oz)
No of oz to be served (notices)
6322 (632,200) oz
Total monthly oz gold served (contracts) so far this month
7588 (758,800 oz)
Total accumulative withdrawal of gold from the Dealers inventory this month
nil
Total accumulative withdrawal of gold from the Customer inventory this month
nil
The CME reported that we had 7588 notices filed for 758,800 oz of gold on first day notice. The total number of notices so far this month is thus 7588 contracts x 100 oz per contract or 758,800 oz of gold. To determine how much will stand for February, I take the OI standing for February (13,910) and subtract out today's notices (7588) which leaves me with 6322 notices or 632200 oz left to be served upon our longs.
Thus the total number of gold ounces standing in this active month of February is as follows:
758,800 oz (served first day notice) + 632,200 oz (left to be served upon prior to Feb 28.2013 = 1,391,000 oz or 43.26 tonnes of gold.
In all the years that I have covered the comex I have never seen such a high amount of gold standing. The comex is a paper market and too see such a high level of gold standing seems to suggest that the gold investor boys (and sovereigns) are crossing the pond because physical gold is scarce. London must be out or close to it.
January 31.2013: The February silver contract month
Silver
Ounces
Withdrawals from Dealers Inventory nil Withdrawals from Customer Inventory 19,617.61 (Brinks) Deposits to the Dealer Inventory nil Deposits to the Customer Inventory 300,964.94 (Brinks) No of oz served (contracts) 65 (325,000 oz) No of oz to be served (notices) 20 (100,000 oz) Total monthly oz silver served (contracts) 65 (325,000 oz) Total accumulative withdrawal of silver from the Dealers inventory this month
Total accumulative withdrawal of silver from the Customer inventory this month 19,617.61
The CME reported that we had 65 notices filed for 325,000 oz of silver on first day notice for the February contract month. To obtain what is left to be served upon our longs, I take the OI standing for February (85) and subtract out first day notice deliveries (65) which leaves us with 20 notices or 100,000 oz left to be served upon our longs.
Thus the total number of silver ounces standing for delivery in silver is as follows:
325,000 oz (served) + 100,000 oz (to be served upon) = 425,000 oz
You can bet the farm that this number will increase as the month progresses.
* * *
Selected news and Views...
U.S. gold, silver production down in 2012—USGS
U.S. gold mine production declined slightly in 2012, although Nevada retained its status as the top U.S. metals producer with combined mineral production valued at $11.2 billion.
Author: Dorothy Kosich
Posted: Wednesday , 30 Jan 2013
RENO (MINEWEB) -
The “2013 Mineral Commodities Summaries” released by the U.S. Geological Survey Tuesday revealed that, in 2012, the estimated total value of U.S. mineral production increased for the third consecutive year.
The estimated value of mineral raw materials produced at U.S. mines was $76.5 billion, a slight increase from $74.8 billion in 2011, according to the USGS.
Estimated total value of U.S. metal mine production in 2012 was $34.9 billion, down 3% from 2011. Principal contributors to the total value of metal mine production last year were gold (36%), copper (27%), iron ore (15%), molybdenum (10%), and zinc (4%). Average prices for most domestically mined metals decreased in 2012.
U.S. mine production of 15 mineral commodities was worth more than $1 billion each in 2012, including (in decreasing order of value) gold, crushed stone, copper, cement, construction sand and gravel, iron ore, molybdenum concentrates, phosphate rock, lime, industrial sand and gravel, soda ash, all types of clays, salt, zinc and silver.
Last year 11 states each produced more than $2 billion worth of nonfuel mineral commodities including (in descending order of value) Nevada, Arizona, Minnesota, Florida, California, Alaska, Utah, Texas, Missouri, Michigan and Wyoming. The mineral production of these states accounted for 64% of the total U.S. output value, said the report.
Number-one ranked mining state Nevada’s principal mineral production, in descending order of value, included gold, copper, silver, lime, sand and construction gravel for a total combined value of $11.2 billion in 2012. Second-ranked Arizona contributed total mineral production worth $8.05 billion including (in descending order of value) copper, molybdenum, sand and gravel, cement and silver, while third place Minnesota reported $4.5 billion of combined mineral production including (in descending order of value) iron ore, sand and gravel for both construction and industrial, crushed stone and dimension stone.
U.S. mine production of copper in 2012 increased by 4% to 1.15 million tons and was valued at $9 billion. Arizona, Utah, New Mexico, Nevada and Montana—in descending order of production—accounted for more than 99% of domestic mine copper production.
Thirty operations yielded more than 99% of the gold produced in the U.S. in 2012 with total gold mine production valued at $12.6 billion. Commercial-grade refined gold came from about two dozen producers.
U.S. mines produced 230 metric tons of gold in 2012, down from 234 metric tons in 2011.
Last year mines in Michigan and Minnesota shipped 97% of the usable iron ore produced in the United States with an estimated combined value of $6 billion. Eight mines operated by three companies accounted for virtually all of the production.
Six lead mines in Missouri, plus lead-producing mines in Alaska and Idaho, yielded a total of $843 million in U.S. lead output in 2012. U.S. mines also produced a total of $1.7 billion in moly last year at 12 operations.
In 2012, the United States mined 1,050 tons of silver with an estimated value of $1.01 billion, down from 1,120 tons in 2011. Alaska was the country’s leading silver-producing state, followed by Nevada. Silver was produced as a byproduct from 35 domestic base and precious-metals mines. World silver mine production increased to a new record of 24,000 tons, according to the USGS.
The value of zinc mined in the United States was $1.53 billion in 2012, produced in three states at 13 mines operated by four companies.
Mineral Commodity Summaries and the Minerals Yearbook are sold by the U.S. Government Printing Office.
Demand for silver jewellery exports picks up sharply in India
Steep growth in India's silver exports is outpacing its other trade in precious metals as world demand picks up, albeit for cheaper jewellery options.
Shipments are likely to rise by up to 30 percent this year, trade body officials said on Tuesday
"At such high prices, gold is going out of budget for many youngsters ... a wrist bracelet of white gold is now replaced with sterling silver as it is cheaper," said Pankaj Kumar Parekh, vice-chairman of the Gems and Jewellery Export Promotion Council (GJEPC).
Shipments of gems and jewellery constituted 14 percent of India's total exports, and employ 3.4 million workers, with the Middle East taking most of the market.
More bad news for JPMorgan et al. This must read Reuters story was filed from Mumbai late Tuesday afternoon India Standard Time...and I thank Elliot Simon for sending it our way. The link is here.
Swiss banks promote gold allocation to stop outflow of metal, von Greyerz says
Submitted by cpowell on Thu, 2013-01-31 19:58. Section: Daily Dispatches
2:53p ET Thursday, January 31, 2013
Dear Friend of GATA and Gold:
Swiss gold fund manager Egon von Greyerz today tells King World News that most economies and currencies are self-destructing. Most interestingly von Greyerz argues that the recent promotion by Swiss banks of their allocated gold accounts is aimed at stopping depositors from removing their gold from the banking system. But von Greyerz does not think that gold allocation at banks will be enough to protect gold depositors if banks fail and central banks want to grab their gold. An excerpt from the interview is posted at the King World News blog here:
CHRIS POWELL, Secretary/Treasurer
Gold Anti-Trust Action Committee Inc.
Japan gold rush amid weakening yen
01-31-2013 09:17 BJT
With the yen continuing to spiral downwards, gold is becoming a quick favorite in terms of investment options with gold prices in Japan hitting a 32 year high. That’s despite international gold prices going in the opposite direction trending lower since the beginning of this year.
With the Japanese currency weakening by 14 percent against the US dollar since last September, gold prices in Japan have soared over nearly 20 percent from the average level in December until now, alone bucking the trend seen in the global bullion market.
Rising gold prices are prompting owners of gold products to sell them. With a skyrocketing amount of gold sellers, many traders are imposing a limit on the number of gold items sold by each individual.
One Tokyo resident said, "I heard gold prices are up. So I came and sold some of my old gold jeweler. I came several times before, but there were too many people. So I came early this morning."
In another gold pawn shop, repurchase deals have doubled, with some deals hitting record high price levels. Driven by bullishness on the precious metal, some sellers have dumped their non-gold jeweler in order to buy gold bars, which they think would promise higher yields.
Another Tokyo resident said, "Gold bar prices are going up faster. I plan to sell some of my gold jeweler, and use the money to make investments in gold bars."
Yoshikawa Masao, Tanaka Precious Metals, said, "A lot of young people are currently buying gold bars. Lower priced gold bars are pretty popular right now."
Japan opened up its gold investment market to individual investors four decades ago. The country’s imports of gold reached a peak of more than 300 tons in 1990.
“Everybody in the Industry Knows the US Doesn’t Have the Gold”
In this week’s talk with National Numismatics’ Tom Cloud, he explains why Germany’s gold repatriation is just the beginning, the US Mint’s silver shortage will continue, and the big money is right about precious metals.
DollarCollapse: Hi Tom. It’s been an eventful few weeks in precious metals, though you wouldn’t know from the price action alone. Hit the high points for us.
Tom Cloud: Germany’s gold repatriation is obviously a game changer. They got all their gold back from France right away. But the US government put them off for 7 years, probably by offering them some kind of premium to take their gold back slowly. More gold, Treasuries, no one knows what exactly but clearly it was a big inducement. It’s also clear that Germany won’t be the last country to bring its gold home. The Netherlands is next and then probably Switzerland. It’s become a game of musical chairs. No one wants to be caught when the music stops. And make no mistake, it will stop. Everybody in the industry knows the US doesn’t have the gold and can’t deliver it. They’ve leased it all out.
It’s important to understand that there are two big stashes of gold in the US. Fort Knox supposedly holds the gold that belongs to us. And the New York Fed holds gold that has been deposited by other countries for safe keeping. That’s where Germany’s gold would be if the US hadn’t leased it out.
DC: Then there’s the US Mint running out of silver eagles.
TC: They sold out in the first three weeks of the year and had to stop taking orders. They’ve since started back up but demand is immense [editor’s note: silver eagle sales are now running at roughly 5 times the December rate – see US Mint silver coin sales in January climb to a record ]. Premiums are way up on silver eagles since a lot of customers are willing to pay up for the most recognizable coin. Others are either waiting for the premiums to go down or are buying maple leafs or silver buffalo or philharmonics, which have lower premiums.
DC: I thought buffalos were US government coins. Why aren’t they selling out too?
TC: The gold buffalo is made by the US Mint but the silver buffalo is not. It’s made by a private mint, which we shouldn’t name because we they don’t need people calling them and bothering them. They’re doing great though.
DC: So who’s doing the buying now?
TC: Right now the big money is moving and the little money is not. The little guy is gonna wait till gold jumps over 1700 to start buying. We’ve been in this channel between 1600 and 1700 for a long time, but we’ll break out pretty soon. Then you’ll see everybody pile in.
DC: And what do your clients want to talk about?
TC: It seems almost funny for a gold guy to spend a third of his time answering questions about interest rates. But big gold buyers have a lot of bonds too. Everybody knows the top [in bonds] will be soon if we haven’t already seen it. Just like people get the gold stashes confused, people also get confused on interest rates because they read about “no interest rate increases till 2014”. But can you borrow money from the fed at zero percent? Not if you’re not a bank. Interest rates aren’t stable in the real world and have actually been edging up for a while. The rate on ten-year Treasuries is up from 1.6% to 2% lately. Very soon everyone will discover that the Fed can’t control this.
Ounces
| |
Withdrawals from Dealers Inventory in oz
|
nil
|
Withdrawals from Customer Inventory in oz
|
nil
|
Deposits to the Dealer Inventory in oz
|
799.93 (Brinks)
|
Deposits to the Customer Inventory, in oz
| nil |
No of oz served (contracts) today
|
7588 (758,800 oz)
|
No of oz to be served (notices)
|
6322 (632,200) oz
|
Total monthly oz gold served (contracts) so far this month
|
7588 (758,800 oz)
|
Total accumulative withdrawal of gold from the Dealers inventory this month
|
nil
|
Total accumulative withdrawal of gold from the Customer inventory this month
| nil |
The CME reported that we had 7588 notices filed for 758,800 oz of gold on first day notice. The total number of notices so far this month is thus 7588 contracts x 100 oz per contract or 758,800 oz of gold. To determine how much will stand for February, I take the OI standing for February (13,910) and subtract out today's notices (7588) which leaves me with 6322 notices or 632200 oz left to be served upon our longs.
Thus the total number of gold ounces standing in this active month of February is as follows:
758,800 oz (served first day notice) + 632,200 oz (left to be served upon prior to Feb 28.2013 = 1,391,000 oz or 43.26 tonnes of gold.
In all the years that I have covered the comex I have never seen such a high amount of gold standing. The comex is a paper market and too see such a high level of gold standing seems to suggest that the gold investor boys (and sovereigns) are crossing the pond because physical gold is scarce. London must be out or close to it.
Thus the total number of gold ounces standing in this active month of February is as follows:
758,800 oz (served first day notice) + 632,200 oz (left to be served upon prior to Feb 28.2013 = 1,391,000 oz or 43.26 tonnes of gold.
In all the years that I have covered the comex I have never seen such a high amount of gold standing. The comex is a paper market and too see such a high level of gold standing seems to suggest that the gold investor boys (and sovereigns) are crossing the pond because physical gold is scarce. London must be out or close to it.
January 31.2013: The February silver contract month
| Silver |
Ounces
|
| Withdrawals from Dealers Inventory | nil |
| Withdrawals from Customer Inventory | 19,617.61 (Brinks) |
| Deposits to the Dealer Inventory | nil |
| Deposits to the Customer Inventory | 300,964.94 (Brinks) |
| No of oz served (contracts) | 65 (325,000 oz) |
| No of oz to be served (notices) | 20 (100,000 oz) |
| Total monthly oz silver served (contracts) | 65 (325,000 oz) |
| Total accumulative withdrawal of silver from the Dealers inventory this month | |
| Total accumulative withdrawal of silver from the Customer inventory this month | 19,617.61 |
The CME reported that we had 65 notices filed for 325,000 oz of silver on first day notice for the February contract month. To obtain what is left to be served upon our longs, I take the OI standing for February (85) and subtract out first day notice deliveries (65) which leaves us with 20 notices or 100,000 oz left to be served upon our longs.
Thus the total number of silver ounces standing for delivery in silver is as follows:
325,000 oz (served) + 100,000 oz (to be served upon) = 425,000 oz
You can bet the farm that this number will increase as the month progresses.
Thus the total number of silver ounces standing for delivery in silver is as follows:
325,000 oz (served) + 100,000 oz (to be served upon) = 425,000 oz
You can bet the farm that this number will increase as the month progresses.
* * *
Selected news and Views...
U.S. gold, silver production down in 2012—USGS
U.S. gold mine production declined slightly in 2012, although Nevada retained its status as the top U.S. metals producer with combined mineral production valued at $11.2 billion.
Author: Dorothy Kosich
Posted: Wednesday , 30 Jan 2013
With the yen continuing to spiral downwards, gold is becoming a quick favorite in terms of investment options with gold prices in Japan hitting a 32 year high. That’s despite international gold prices going in the opposite direction trending lower since the beginning of this year.
With the Japanese currency weakening by 14 percent against the US dollar since last September, gold prices in Japan have soared over nearly 20 percent from the average level in December until now, alone bucking the trend seen in the global bullion market.
Rising gold prices are prompting owners of gold products to sell them. With a skyrocketing amount of gold sellers, many traders are imposing a limit on the number of gold items sold by each individual.
One Tokyo resident said, "I heard gold prices are up. So I came and sold some of my old gold jeweler. I came several times before, but there were too many people. So I came early this morning."
In another gold pawn shop, repurchase deals have doubled, with some deals hitting record high price levels. Driven by bullishness on the precious metal, some sellers have dumped their non-gold jeweler in order to buy gold bars, which they think would promise higher yields.
Another Tokyo resident said, "Gold bar prices are going up faster. I plan to sell some of my gold jeweler, and use the money to make investments in gold bars."
Yoshikawa Masao, Tanaka Precious Metals, said, "A lot of young people are currently buying gold bars. Lower priced gold bars are pretty popular right now."
Japan opened up its gold investment market to individual investors four decades ago. The country’s imports of gold reached a peak of more than 300 tons in 1990.
Posted: Wednesday , 30 Jan 2013
RENO (MINEWEB) -
The “2013 Mineral Commodities Summaries” released by the U.S. Geological Survey Tuesday revealed that, in 2012, the estimated total value of U.S. mineral production increased for the third consecutive year.
The estimated value of mineral raw materials produced at U.S. mines was $76.5 billion, a slight increase from $74.8 billion in 2011, according to the USGS.
Estimated total value of U.S. metal mine production in 2012 was $34.9 billion, down 3% from 2011. Principal contributors to the total value of metal mine production last year were gold (36%), copper (27%), iron ore (15%), molybdenum (10%), and zinc (4%). Average prices for most domestically mined metals decreased in 2012.
U.S. mine production of 15 mineral commodities was worth more than $1 billion each in 2012, including (in decreasing order of value) gold, crushed stone, copper, cement, construction sand and gravel, iron ore, molybdenum concentrates, phosphate rock, lime, industrial sand and gravel, soda ash, all types of clays, salt, zinc and silver.
Last year 11 states each produced more than $2 billion worth of nonfuel mineral commodities including (in descending order of value) Nevada, Arizona, Minnesota, Florida, California, Alaska, Utah, Texas, Missouri, Michigan and Wyoming. The mineral production of these states accounted for 64% of the total U.S. output value, said the report.
Number-one ranked mining state Nevada’s principal mineral production, in descending order of value, included gold, copper, silver, lime, sand and construction gravel for a total combined value of $11.2 billion in 2012. Second-ranked Arizona contributed total mineral production worth $8.05 billion including (in descending order of value) copper, molybdenum, sand and gravel, cement and silver, while third place Minnesota reported $4.5 billion of combined mineral production including (in descending order of value) iron ore, sand and gravel for both construction and industrial, crushed stone and dimension stone.
U.S. mine production of copper in 2012 increased by 4% to 1.15 million tons and was valued at $9 billion. Arizona, Utah, New Mexico, Nevada and Montana—in descending order of production—accounted for more than 99% of domestic mine copper production.
Thirty operations yielded more than 99% of the gold produced in the U.S. in 2012 with total gold mine production valued at $12.6 billion. Commercial-grade refined gold came from about two dozen producers.
U.S. mines produced 230 metric tons of gold in 2012, down from 234 metric tons in 2011.
Last year mines in Michigan and Minnesota shipped 97% of the usable iron ore produced in the United States with an estimated combined value of $6 billion. Eight mines operated by three companies accounted for virtually all of the production.
Six lead mines in Missouri, plus lead-producing mines in Alaska and Idaho, yielded a total of $843 million in U.S. lead output in 2012. U.S. mines also produced a total of $1.7 billion in moly last year at 12 operations.
In 2012, the United States mined 1,050 tons of silver with an estimated value of $1.01 billion, down from 1,120 tons in 2011. Alaska was the country’s leading silver-producing state, followed by Nevada. Silver was produced as a byproduct from 35 domestic base and precious-metals mines. World silver mine production increased to a new record of 24,000 tons, according to the USGS.
The value of zinc mined in the United States was $1.53 billion in 2012, produced in three states at 13 mines operated by four companies.
Mineral Commodity Summaries and the Minerals Yearbook are sold by the U.S. Government Printing Office.
Demand for silver jewellery exports picks up sharply in India
Steep growth in India's silver exports is outpacing its other trade in precious metals as world demand picks up, albeit for cheaper jewellery options.
Shipments are likely to rise by up to 30 percent this year, trade body officials said on Tuesday
"At such high prices, gold is going out of budget for many youngsters ... a wrist bracelet of white gold is now replaced with sterling silver as it is cheaper," said Pankaj Kumar Parekh, vice-chairman of the Gems and Jewellery Export Promotion Council (GJEPC).
Shipments of gems and jewellery constituted 14 percent of India's total exports, and employ 3.4 million workers, with the Middle East taking most of the market.
More bad news for JPMorgan et al. This must read Reuters story was filed from Mumbai late Tuesday afternoon India Standard Time...and I thank Elliot Simon for sending it our way. The link is here.
Swiss banks promote gold allocation to stop outflow of metal, von Greyerz says
Submitted by cpowell on Thu, 2013-01-31 19:58. Section: Daily Dispatches
2:53p ET Thursday, January 31, 2013
Dear Friend of GATA and Gold:
Swiss gold fund manager Egon von Greyerz today tells King World News that most economies and currencies are self-destructing. Most interestingly von Greyerz argues that the recent promotion by Swiss banks of their allocated gold accounts is aimed at stopping depositors from removing their gold from the banking system. But von Greyerz does not think that gold allocation at banks will be enough to protect gold depositors if banks fail and central banks want to grab their gold. An excerpt from the interview is posted at the King World News blog here:
CHRIS POWELL, Secretary/Treasurer
Gold Anti-Trust Action Committee Inc.
Gold Anti-Trust Action Committee Inc.
Japan gold rush amid weakening yen
01-31-2013 09:17 BJT
With the Japanese currency weakening by 14 percent against the US dollar since last September, gold prices in Japan have soared over nearly 20 percent from the average level in December until now, alone bucking the trend seen in the global bullion market.
Rising gold prices are prompting owners of gold products to sell them. With a skyrocketing amount of gold sellers, many traders are imposing a limit on the number of gold items sold by each individual.
One Tokyo resident said, "I heard gold prices are up. So I came and sold some of my old gold jeweler. I came several times before, but there were too many people. So I came early this morning."
In another gold pawn shop, repurchase deals have doubled, with some deals hitting record high price levels. Driven by bullishness on the precious metal, some sellers have dumped their non-gold jeweler in order to buy gold bars, which they think would promise higher yields.
Another Tokyo resident said, "Gold bar prices are going up faster. I plan to sell some of my gold jeweler, and use the money to make investments in gold bars."
Yoshikawa Masao, Tanaka Precious Metals, said, "A lot of young people are currently buying gold bars. Lower priced gold bars are pretty popular right now."
Japan opened up its gold investment market to individual investors four decades ago. The country’s imports of gold reached a peak of more than 300 tons in 1990.
“Everybody in the Industry Knows the US Doesn’t Have the Gold”
In this week’s talk with National Numismatics’ Tom Cloud, he explains why Germany’s gold repatriation is just the beginning, the US Mint’s silver shortage will continue, and the big money is right about precious metals.
DollarCollapse: Hi Tom. It’s been an eventful few weeks in precious metals, though you wouldn’t know from the price action alone. Hit the high points for us.
Tom Cloud: Germany’s gold repatriation is obviously a game changer. They got all their gold back from France right away. But the US government put them off for 7 years, probably by offering them some kind of premium to take their gold back slowly. More gold, Treasuries, no one knows what exactly but clearly it was a big inducement. It’s also clear that Germany won’t be the last country to bring its gold home. The Netherlands is next and then probably Switzerland. It’s become a game of musical chairs. No one wants to be caught when the music stops. And make no mistake, it will stop. Everybody in the industry knows the US doesn’t have the gold and can’t deliver it. They’ve leased it all out.
It’s important to understand that there are two big stashes of gold in the US. Fort Knox supposedly holds the gold that belongs to us. And the New York Fed holds gold that has been deposited by other countries for safe keeping. That’s where Germany’s gold would be if the US hadn’t leased it out.
DC: Then there’s the US Mint running out of silver eagles.
TC: They sold out in the first three weeks of the year and had to stop taking orders. They’ve since started back up but demand is immense [editor’s note: silver eagle sales are now running at roughly 5 times the December rate – see US Mint silver coin sales in January climb to a record ]. Premiums are way up on silver eagles since a lot of customers are willing to pay up for the most recognizable coin. Others are either waiting for the premiums to go down or are buying maple leafs or silver buffalo or philharmonics, which have lower premiums.
DC: I thought buffalos were US government coins. Why aren’t they selling out too?
TC: The gold buffalo is made by the US Mint but the silver buffalo is not. It’s made by a private mint, which we shouldn’t name because we they don’t need people calling them and bothering them. They’re doing great though.
DC: So who’s doing the buying now?
TC: Right now the big money is moving and the little money is not. The little guy is gonna wait till gold jumps over 1700 to start buying. We’ve been in this channel between 1600 and 1700 for a long time, but we’ll break out pretty soon. Then you’ll see everybody pile in.
DC: And what do your clients want to talk about?
TC: It seems almost funny for a gold guy to spend a third of his time answering questions about interest rates. But big gold buyers have a lot of bonds too. Everybody knows the top [in bonds] will be soon if we haven’t already seen it. Just like people get the gold stashes confused, people also get confused on interest rates because they read about “no interest rate increases till 2014”. But can you borrow money from the fed at zero percent? Not if you’re not a bank. Interest rates aren’t stable in the real world and have actually been edging up for a while. The rate on ten-year Treasuries is up from 1.6% to 2% lately. Very soon everyone will discover that the Fed can’t control this.
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