Gold Shoots Higher Amid Chaos on the Street
Oct 7th, 2008 | By Doug Casey | Category: Financial News, Gold MarketGold soared from the beginning of London trading through to the second hour of the New York session on Monday, pushing as high as $875, fell into the noon hour, then rolled up and down through the Globex, finishing at $856.90, up $22.10 from Friday. Overnight, gold is sharply higher.
Platinum busted back over $1,000 by mid-morning, but then followed gold lower and traded sideways through the Globex, ending at $965/oz., up only $3. Overnight, platinum has pushed higher.
Silver was up sharply overseas, but plunged at the start of COMEX trading, rallied from mid-morning through the COMEX, then got slapped down again on the Globex, closing at $11.03/oz., down 13 cents. Overnight, silver is steeply higher. (Click here for charts)
It was an oddly mixed day for the precious metals as gold rose against the massive worldwide selloff in equities, but its sister metals were unable to develop any sustainable traction whatsoever.
Gold aficionados, in fact, were probably a bit disappointed that the object of their affections didn’t do even better, because if there were ever a day to set sail for the safest harbor out there, yesterday was it.
“This is truly a financial panic,” said Leonard Kaplan, president of Prospector Asset Management in Evanston, Illinois. “It’s obvious safe-haven buying for gold. One bank after another is going under in Europe. And what’s scaring people is that they don’t have all the safeguards that we do in this country.”
What’s going on in the gold market right now defies explanation, as the price has moved only modestly on the spot market, at the same time that physical gold is in such demand that suppliers are out.
The bullion page at Kitco, for example, notes that: “The following products have been temporarily removed from our Precious Metal Store until further notice due to production and delivery delays that retailers are currently facing; 1 oz Gold bars, 1 oz Kitco Gold bars, 10 oz Gold bars, 1 oz Silver Eagles, 1 oz Silver Maples, 1 oz Silver Philharmonic coins, 1 oz Olympic Silver Maples, 100 oz Silver bars and 1 oz Palladium Maples.”
Nor are any 1 oz. Eagles or Maples listed for sale.
Will spot begin accurately reflecting demand? That’s anyone’s guess, but it will happen only after the banks and funds that control futures prices become aggressive buyers. And there’s no predicting when that will happen.
Source: Gold shoots higher amid chaos on the Street – But silver, platinum fail to follow.
Advertisement
You can't turn on the news today without hearing about another bank that has been sold or needs to be bailed out by the government. Why put your money at risk when you could open an account and let the Swiss government refill it every morning with stable and rising francs…and withdraw it whenever you want using your ATM card?
Billionaire television analyst Peter Schiff will show you exactly how to save your cash, and add to it too – by as much as 5 times over the next 9 months. Click here to get started.
Doug Casey is a contrarian investor, sought-after public speaker and author of several books. His work "Crisis Investing" held the position of # 1 bestseller on the New York Times list for 26 consecutive weeks. Doug's unusual views on the economy - and just about everything else - have gained a huge following in the investment community, and it certainly helps that his stock recommendations of undervalued junior exploration companies have made his subscribers millions. Now in its 27th year, Doug's monthly newsletter, the International Speculator, is one of the most established and esteemed publications on gold, silver and other natural resource investments. Together with the Casey Energy Speculator, it covers a broad range of carefully selected stocks with the very real potential of double- and triple-digit returns within 12 to 24 months.