Precious Metals End Week With Banner Day
Jan 19th, 2009 | By Doug Casey | Category: Financial NewsGold had an unusual day on Friday, as it rose slowly and steadily, in a most orderly fashion, from late Hong Kong trading straight through the Globex, finishing at $842.40/oz., up $25.70. For the week, gold lost 1.4%.
Platinum was up in the foreign markets, then traded near flat through the New York day, ending at $943/oz., up $24. For the week, platinum dropped 4.7%.
Silver started up at the London open, and shot higher more steeply but as determinedly as gold, closing at $11.22/oz., up 65 cents. For the week, silver was unchanged. (Click here for charts)
It was a nice cap to a week that had been mostly down for the precious metals, as they received a boost from all of the usual suspects, with oil rallying, equities moving higher, and the dollar slipping against the euro.
Kitco’s Jon Nadler summarized the day’s action, writing that, “Advancing global stocks offered some relief to gold buyers and the government guarantees on toxic bank assets gave further room to maneuver in riskier assets.”
The ongoing economic downturn and the threat of inflation “should prove highly supportive for gold” in 2009, said precious-metals consultancy GFMS, in its annual gold survey. Prices could move well above $1,000 during the course of the year, GFMS said.
GFMS also reported that gold production from South Africa plunged by an estimated 14% in 2008, the sharpest percentage drop in 107 years.
With South Africa’s output at its low point for the past century, the country declined to the #3 position among the world’s producers, falling behind the U.S. China claimed the top spot in 2007, and extended its lead last year, with an estimated 3% increase in output.
And Dan Norcini, of jsmineset.com, wrote that: “Gold was the recipient of ‘reflation’ flows as money flowed back into the commodity sector today on news that the remaining $350 billion in the TARP was going to be released. That served to undercut safe haven flows into the dollar and definitely into the bonds, with commodities as a sector generally benefiting … Hats off to those fund managers who actually bought into the weakness in gold for a change instead of selling downward momentum.”
Source: Precious Metals End Week With Banner Day
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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.