Although the press has now set gold aside for hotter stories, I can tell you demand for gold coins continues at unprecedented levels worldwide, and production is still struggling to keep up. Take a look at these recent reports:

***Sales of the Austrian Philharmonic gold coin soared 544% in the first two months of 2009 (vs. the same period the year before), with production at the country’s mint running quadruple its usual volume.

***The demand for Krugerrands is at its highest level since 1986. The South African refinery recently doubled production of blank gold coins to 20,000 ounces per week.

***China, now the fastest-growing market for gold, saw 2008 sales (measured in dollars) rise by 50% over the year before – and total sales in January 2009 were one billion yuan (US$146 million), 30% more than all of last year.

***The U.S. Mint sold 193,500 one-ounce gold Eagles in the first seven weeks of 2009 – equaling the number shipped in all of 2007 and about matching the first half of 2008.

***Russia’s Sberbank says it has “never seen such strong demand for investment coins.”

With this incredible interest in gold, it’s worth going over where to go for the best deals in bullion… and what the stated wait times and premiums are. Here are the dealers that have consistently treated their clients (and our readership) well over the years:

Kitco (Kitco.com; 1-877-775-4826). All bullion products are available at Kitco and can be shipped within 24-48 hours of a paid order. Premiums are slightly higher than our other dealers recommended below, but what’s particularly attractive at Kitco is that you can get silver for less than 1% over spot… Its pool account is currently charging only 14 cents over spot (premium fluctuates daily), which is a great way to build your silver holdings while waiting for physical premiums to come down.

The Coin Agent (thecoinagent.com; 1-888-494-8889, or email thecoinagent@gmail.com). Wayne Lemonier currently offers immediate delivery on paid orders for all gold coins except the Eagle, which takes two weeks.

Premiums for gold coins are 6% over spot for Maple Leafs, 6.5% for Philharmonics and Krugerrands, and 7% for Eagles (one of the lowest in the industry).

Silver bars are at the lowest premium we know of: A 10-ounce silver bar costs $1.75 per ounce over spot, and 100-ounce bars are only $1.50 per ounce over spot. American silver Eagles are spot + $4.50, and silver Canadian Maples are spot + $4. Shipping and handling for silver is $20 per 100 ounces.

Border Gold (bordergold.com; 888-312-2288, ext. 7). Both gold and silver Maple Leafs are readily available and can ship the day an order is paid. Border told us premiums are slightly higher this year than last because the Royal Canadian Mint raised its prices.

Premiums on gold Maple Leafs are only 5.5%, one of the lowest in the industry. Shipping and insurance is $25 for one or two coins. A one-ounce gold bar is spot + $25; 5-ounce and 10-ounce bars are available in limited quantities at spot + $22 per ounce.

The one-ounce silver Maple Leaf is $4 over spot for up to 99 coins and then $3.25 per coin. Both 10- and 100-ounce silver bars cost $2.50 above spot, with the 100-ounce silver taking a week to deliver.

ASI (assetstrategies.com; 1-800-831-0007). Gold Maple Leafs, Philharmonics, and Krugerrands can be shipped immediately upon a paid order, with American Eagles currently taking about three weeks.

One-ounce gold coins are 7.5% to 8% over spot; Eagles are 8.5% to 9%. One- and 10-ounce gold bars can be had at 6%. One-ounce silver Eagles are $4.30 over spot. A 100-ounce silver bar is $2.20 per ounce, and a one-ounce bar is spot + $2.50. Costs for junk silver vary but average about $2.20 per ounce over spot.
Some of our readers ask… why don’t we recommend any of the larger dealers?

Availability and premium are the primary considerations in selecting a bullion dealer. Some of the larger houses may match the prices of our recommended dealers; however, there’s an intangible issue: the hard sell.

Many of the big dealers push high-margin numismatic coins. So while you may get good prices and delivery on your bullion coin, beware the salesman who begins talking up rare coins. You won’t experience this with our smaller dealers, and it’s this no-hassle service that gets our business. If you start to hear, “Hey, my friend, I have a great deal right now on a rare Swiss coin…,” you might want to reconsider where you shop.

Gold is the safe-haven investment in times of crisis, and more and more investors worldwide realize this. But even though gold has risen more than 140% in the last five years, there is something that can give you even higher returns: we call it Toronto’s Secret Gold Investment.

Source: Where to Find the Best Deals in Physical Gold

Platinum pushed above $900 in Hong Kong and held above the mark all day, ending at $911/0z., up $20. Overnight, platinum has slipped lower.

Silver was in positive territory from overseas trading to the New York open, at which point it went vertical in the first half-hour, pushing past $11 to just above $11.20, but then fell sharply through the rest of the Comex before adding back a little on the Globex to close at $10.86/oz., up 20 cents. Overnight, silver is trending lower. (Click here for charts)

The precious metals started off the post-Christmas week in strong fashion, as gold especially gained off of its safe haven status in the midst of turmoil in Israel/Gaza and a looming showdown between Pakistan and India.

With Israelis massing tanks near the Gaza strip and calling up reservists, and Defense Minister Ehud Barak calling the action a war against Hamas, Kitco’s Jon Nadler commented that, “When a state of virtual or actual war is at hand, the world’s worried masses tend to turn to [gold,] the metal of ages.”

But all the metals gave back chunks of their early gains.

“The unfortunate circumstances in Israel and the Gaza Strip gave an early supportive role to the [metals] complex; however, these gains were slowly eroded through the day as the markets drifted on lackadaisical volumes,” wrote commodity analysts at Sucden Financial Research.

Trading is certain to remain thin as many traders take another week off or at least man their desks for only few days before the New Year’s break.

However, the bullish case continues to build.

“Aside from geopolitics, gold and oil are also boosted by a return to broadening U.S. dollar weakness, especially in the aftermath of last week’s jobless claims and personal consumption reports,” wrote Ashraf Laidi, of CMC Markets.

Source: Gold continues to push higher - Safe haven sought as international tensions increase

Platinum also fell off steeply from its European highs, and traded within a tight $10 range through the New York day, ending at $812/oz., down $7. Overnight, platinum has edged higher.

Silver soared in Hong Kong, rising as high as $10.20, but that was it as it dropped off sharply, falling below break-even late in the Comex and coming to rest in the Globex at $9.79/oz., down 7 cents. Overnight, silver is trending higher. (Click here for charts)

It was a very lackluster day for the precious metals yesterday, as early rallies in all of them got snuffed out, leading to minor losses across the board.

Gold got no help from the usual suspects, as the dollar continued its latest advance against the euro, and oil prices sank.

One positive note was sounded by Matt Zeman, a metals trader at LaSalle Futures Group in Chicago, who said that, “Gold took a very steep drop last month, so [we’re due for a] gold bounce on a technical basis.”

Zeman added that, “The dollar has strengthened so much in the past eight weeks that it’s just overdone … There are some buying opportunities here.” And he doesn’t mean in the buck.

As this is a fair and balanced presentation, we should note that at the other (far) end of the spectrum we find über-pessimist Jon Nadler of Kitco, who wrote that: “Investors should sell into rallies and only accumulate at $675, $640, $580, and $540 if those targets are reached … Gold lost some of its safe-haven attributes in this last crisis. Liquidations and deflation are alive and well.”

We agree that liquidations and deflation are alive and well, but they are temporary. Deleveraging will eventually end, and the truly staggering inflation in the monetary base over the past couple of weeks will overwhelm deflation. It is a matter of when, not if.

Overall, as Mark O’Byrne of Gold and Silver Investments notes, the recent rally in mining shares is significant, with the Amex Gold Bugs Index up 15% last week. O’Byrne sees this as “an indication that we are at or near a low in this sell-off,” as the stock indexes “tend to be a leading indicator of a trend reversal in the precious metals.”

Source: Precious metals tread water -  Early rallies snuffed out

Maybe it had something to do with the 40 basis point fall in the US$ and Israel’s war games. But, in the end, nothing mattered. It nearly goes without saying that the party ended (regardless of the negative news) the moment that New York trading began…and although there was a smallish rally, it too got sold down. However, gold did close above $900…so I guess we should be thankful for small mercies.

Silver was similar, except its high of the day was at the New York open. And I see from the Kitco chart that the boyz got the silver price to close within pennies of the same price for three days in a row. I wonder if they had a contest to see how close they could get at the end of Globex trading each day? If they did, I hope the prize was worth it.

The open interest numbers from Thursday’s crushed breakout are no surprise. Gold open interest skyrocketed 12,714 contracts as the tech funds covered shorts and went long…while the bullion banks went short against them. As one well known NY gold commentator said yesterday…”There is clearly an aversion in certain quarters to a gold price rise.” And, for the same reason as gold, silver o.i. was up a more than substantial 3,497 contracts. The Commitment of Traders report was a yawner. Next Friday’s should be more educational.

Yesterday I mentioned the PPT…or Plunge Protection Team. I had an enquiry from a reader as to what PPT means. I keep forgetting that CDR+ is getting more readers all the time, and the newbies may not know what everything means. The Plunge Protection Team…or its real name, President’s Working Group on Financial Markets…has been in existence since President Ronald Reagan signed it into law the year after the crash of ‘87. Earlier this year, Treasury Secretary Hank Paulson said he was going to “re-invigorate the President’s Working Group on Financial Markets.” What he really meant is that instead of years of covert operations in the financial markets, they were going to become more active…and thus more obvious. And they are! You can read more about it here.

And, as GATA’s (Gold Anti-Trust Action Committee) secretary treasurer, Chris Powell said…”there are no markets anymore…only interventions.” I sit on the board of directors of this organization.

However, all the interventions in the world aren’t going to help the average American citizen as their individual net worths continue to plunge. Here’s a graph courtesy of the organization that got them into this predicament in the first place….the Fed. The graph goes back 48 years. Without doubt, this graph will show much worse before it’s all said and done…and I won’t live to see happy days return again…and I’m only 59. Doug Casey doesn’t call it the “Greater Depression” without good reason.

Today’s first story is from The Washington Post…and it’s a goody! The article is entitled “Wall Street Lobbies to Protect Speculative Oil Trades”. Is it just me or does this reek of complete and utter hypocrisy to you? Just asking. The link is here.

It’s (very) late Friday evening as I write this, and one of the ‘must reads’ before I start my Friday rant is David Galland’s weekly commentary at Casey Research…entitled “The Room”. This week David was commenting on the possibility that Al Gore may be Obama’s running mate because “he (Obama) immediately seals his bonds with those who pray at the altar of global warming.” That may be the case, but Obama/Gore ticket will be hoping this story about Al’s latest house renovations don’t get into the popular press. The scuttlebutt is linked here.

This week’s fun youtube.com video is a blast from the late 1960s. Mama Cass Elliott (of Mamas and Papas fame) does a cute skit with Tom Smothers on the Smothers Brothers Show. Turn up your speakers and enjoy. The link is here.

And enjoy the rest of your weekend…then gird your loins for battle next week…as all of Hank’s horses and all of Hank’s men couldn’t keep the Dow above 12,000 on Friday. My crash helmet is all polished up. See you Tuesday.

Casey Research correspondent-at-large Ed Steer is a keen observer of the financial scene and a board member of GATA.org.

Source: And Then There’s This…Saturday, June 21st, 2008

Platinum dropped below $1990 in Hong Kong, then rode a roller coaster through the day, to end at $2013/oz., down $24. Overnight, platinum is slightly higher.

Silver declined gently until the New York open, after which it fell off a cliff, dropping 40 cents in less than an hour, but it too pushed higher after noon to close at $16.44/oz., down 41 cents. Overnight, silver is sharply lower.
(Click here for charts)

The precious metals’ rally lasted all of a day, as they reverted to a downtrend yesterday with a pickup in the dollar.

Gold was also pressured early in the session by oil prices that were off sharply and a stock market that rallied strongly. Even though both reversed trend later in the day, gold was unable to recover.

“The market’s roller-coaster pattern continued amid the high-noon standoff developing between the Fed and the U.S. dollar’s morticians,” said Kitco’s Jon Nadler.

The tension between the dangers of letting inflation run vs. raising rates in order to head it off does seem to be ramping up. Observers are watching the dollar’s relationship to the euro as an indication of market sentiment.

At the moment, “The perception … is that there will be higher interest rates,” said Frank McGhee, of Integrated Brokerage Services in Chicago. “Another break in the euro, and you’ll just see the world step on gold.”

Source: Precious Metals take it on the Chin Again – Interest Rate Uncertainty Driving Market

Overnight, gold has been edging lower.

Platinum bounced between $2160 and $2200, with late day buying pushing it to just off its intraday high at $2201/oz., up $53. Overnight, platinum is sharply lower.

Silver matched gold’s chart to a T, pushing as high as $18.10 before easing in later Globex trading to close at $17.98/oz., up 32 cents. Overnight, silver has been flat.
(Click here for charts)

Precious metals investors had much to cheer about yesterday, as all appeared to be gaining momentum in their latest move higher.

It also didn’t hurt that the usual suspects also lined up in their favor, with oil seeking out ever more serious nosebleed levels, and the dollar sinking against the euro, yen, Swiss franc and British pound.

Peter Spina, of GoldForecaster.com is very positive, writing that, “Current market expectations are rather subdued and from a contrarian standpoint that is a rather bullish sign. Gold continues to have inter-market relationships which demonstrate the present gold price is highly undervalued. The possibility is quickly growing for gold to revisit the four figures area.”

However, he notes, “The other side of the short-term risk/reward equation is a sizeable pullback in the oil price as short-term gains appear overextended. The US Dollar’s prospects on the whole remain bleak and any short-term rebounds will be met with heavy selling. How will reversals in those short-term trends translate into the gold price going forward? They could inflict some damage into its renewed and growing momentum. Until the reversal in these pro-gold trends, I would be quite afraid to stand in front of this golden bull!”

Kitco’s Jon Nadler also weighed in on the oil effect, writing that, “If ever there was an oil-dominated trading day, today was it as far as gold was concerned … Trading focus remains on just how far up the value scale crude oil can be pushed by speculators before either demand simply dries up or a global recession is triggered.”

And Peter Grandich, editor of the Grandich Letter, chipped in with, “Oil is obviously leading gold and if the historical gold vs. oil ratio ever returns, we could see gold as high as $1,500.”

Source: Gold Tracking Oil Higher

It didn’t appear to have anything to do with either the dollar (which had been falling for hours)…nor oil (which had been rising for hours). And not the Dow either, as it was already well into the tank by then.

It’s hard to say if it was new buying…or someone covering their short positions. The open interest numbers due out later this morning will shed some light on this. I’d love it to be the ‘8 or less’ traders in both metals covering short positions, because they have never…ever moved to cover their short positions in a rising price environment…as they are always taking the short side on any major up-side price move. But we’ll find out soon enough. I just hope that Tuesday’s open interest numbers, whatever they may be, actually make it into Friday’s COT report.

Open interest on Monday did what it should have done…it went down in both metals. Gold o.i. declined 1,287 contracts…and silver fell 643 contracts.

So where do we stand at the end of Tuesday’s trading? Technically, we should move sharply higher as both gold and silver are sitting right on their respective 50-day moving averages…the last barrier before all (not just some) tech funds come pouring back into the market with long positions in hand…not knowing that their own bullion banks are going short against their trade.

It’s certainly no coincidence to me that the price rises in both metals yesterday, were stopped dead in their tracks at their respective 50-day moving averages. Gold closed at $918.80 (Kitco) and its 50-day m.a. is $917.10. Silver closed at $17.66 (Kitco) and its 50 day m.a. is $17.70. So, are we going to take off from here, or are we going to see a ‘failure’ at the 50-day moving average? Of course, I (like you) will be praying for the former…but watching carefully for the latter. June is a big delivery month for gold, and options expiry is right around the corner. There have been a lot of longs put on since last Thursday, and the boys can pull the lever and harvest them any time they wish. The Wednesday before options expiry (after the COT cut-off) is one of their favourite times to start doing their dirty work. That’s today…and I’d love to be wrong in spades on this one.

News from Zimbabwe…again! Their central bank has just issued a new bill worth $500 million Zimbabwe dollars…a week after they issued the new $250 million dollar bill. Prices are now doubling every week. Here’s the photo of the $250 million dollar bill issued on May 2nd…as the ink was still drying on the new ones. Please note the expiry date. Why bother, one would think, when it will obviously be inflated to worthlessness long before the due date. So if prices are actually doubling every week, every bill out there is losing about 7% of its purchasing power a day.

A couple of stories today. The first is a short one from The Times in London about the ongoing problem with “house rage” in Las Vegas..and everywhere else in the USA…where ex-owners of foreclosed properties trash the place before they move out. This isn’t the first story I’ve seen about this…just the latest. It’s entitled “Las Vegas experiences spate of home rage” and is linked here.

However, the second story is of far greater significance. It’s the rebuttal that silver analyst Ted Butler makes against the CFTC report that the silver (and gold) price is not being artificially suppressed. I urge you to read it a couple of times…and I also recommend that you take the action he requests by contacting the Inspector General of the CFTC. It will only take a few minutes of your time to forward the letter and article…plus add a few personal comments of your own if you wish. Us silver (and gold) investors are on are own on this, as there is no one else out there who will help us. “We, the people….” are going to have to look after ourselves. In this article, Ted Butler is interviewed by Jim Cook of investmentrarities.com…and the link is here.

To see the Dow down 200 points (like it was yesterday) should be of no surprise to anyone. It should actually be down at least several thousand points by now, if the free markets were allowed to operate…which they aren’t. I haven’t a clue as to what today might bring, so it’s a Hobson’s choice of the blue pill or the red pill…and I’ll see you right here tomorrow morning.

Casey Research correspondent-at-large Ed Steer is a keen observer of the financial scene and a board member of GATA.org.

Source: And Then There’s This…Wednesday, May 21st, 2008

Platinum seesawed through a $40 range, winding up in the middle of it to end at $2151/oz., up $23. Overnight, platinum has been flat.

Silver peaked at $17.25 shortly before the New York open, was off precipitously from there until late morning, then rallied back to the $17 mark before being knocked lower in the Globex to close at $16.95/oz., up a penny. Overnight, silver has been trending higher.
(Click here for charts)

Although silver disappointed, gold held onto its gains from late last week and added a bit more, while platinum continued to soar. Gold’s rise to its highest point in three weeks was noteworthy in that it got no help from the U.S. dollar, which strengthened, although the rising price of crude was supportive.

“There is a definite air of the 1970s in recent economic data and the reality of falling economic growth and rising inflation or stagflation,” said Mark O’Byrne, of Gold and Silver Investments Ltd.

Because of that, “With the dollar having strengthened against the euro, the prime reason for gold’s early strength looks to have been inflation hedging buying due to oil going above $127 prior to a small sell off,” O’Byrne wrote.

Gold may not hold above $900, said O’Byrne, as “profit taking is to be expected.” In the near term, “Gold needs to consolidate between $885 and $915 before the next leg up in the bull market,” he concluded.

Perennial skeptic Jon Nadler of Kitco chipped in by writing that gold may be “on a possible route to tests of $915 and maybe $925,” as speculative fund buying gives the metal a boost.

But Nadler added that, as gold prices firmed overnight, “demand in India dipped once again and local prices went to a discount as buyers failed to materialize.”

Meanwhile, global platinum supplies weren’t enough to meet demand in 2007, platinum group metals refiner Johnson Matthey said yesterday. Demand climbed by 8.6% to 7.03 million ounces in 2007, but supply came in at only 6.55 million, leaving a deficit of 480,000 ounces.

Investment demand for platinum climbed 170,000 ounces in 2007, with the launch of two platinum-based exchange traded funds contributing 195,000 ounces to demand for the first time, Johnson Matthey said.

Source: Gold Hangs Onto Its Gains

Silver rallied nicely and gold followed behind rather reluctantly. But both rallies came to an end at precisely the same time…just minutes before the NY lunch hour…and that was it for the day.

Silver punched through its 20-day moving average with ease ($17.35@Kitco) on the spike just before it got sold off hard by some not-for-profit seller, and closed at its 20-day m.a. The 50-day m.a. for silver is about 90 cents higher at $18.08. Gold closed about $12 below its 20-day m.a. Based on all of this, it will be interesting to see what’s in store for silver and gold today.

Friday’s open interest in both metals went their separate ways again…gold o.i fell 8,051 contracts despite the fact that it regained all its losses and ended up on Friday’s close. Silver o.i rose 1,954 contracts. Once again, don’t look to me for answers about this, because I don’t have any. The COT on Friday was strange enough as it was. This Friday’s report will be interesting as well, and the cut-off for that is at the end of today’s trading. By the way, I was interviewed by Al Korelin last Friday, and if you wish to listed to what I had to say, the link is here.

Two stories again today…the first from the International Business Editor of The Telegraph in London…Ambrose Evans-Pritchard. It’s entitled “The global slump of 2008-09 has begun as poison spreads.” The link is here.

The second piece is from my good friend James Turk over at goldmoney.com. It contains all the usual excellent graphs…is headlined “An Update on the Dollar”…and is linked here.

Please be assured that the financial powers that be, especially in the US, will do everything they possibly can to keep the Gold price below that US$1,000 level for as long as humanly…or inhumanly…possible. – Bill Buckler, the-privateer.com – 10 May 2008

Yesterday…MBIA, AIG and ResCap all had bad news…but the Dow was up 130 points nevertheless, so everything is fine. I see over the weekend that the Indonesian government said they might do the right thing and bow out of OPEC. No surprise there, as it’s been a net importer of oil for a number of years. Now let’s see what these clowns under the ‘big top’ have in store for us today!

See you tomorrow.

Casey Research correspondent-at-large Ed Steer is a keen observer of the financial scene and a board member of GATA.org.

Platinum also took a pounding, just coming off its intraday low to end at $1865/oz., down $68. Overnight, platinum has edged lower.

Silver’s decline was even sharper than gold’s, but it did bounce off the $16 mark and rebound up to close at $16.15, down 69 cents. Overnight, silver is trending higher.
(Click here for charts)

The bloodletting in the precious metals continued with a vengeance yesterday, but with gold finding support at $850 and silver at $16, is the worst over? It’s way too soon to tell, as yet.

One thing for certain is that this is entirely counterintuitive. The Federal Reserve’s quarter-point cut on Wednesday is inflationary, without question, which should be gold-positive. But traders seem to be grasping at the straw that the Fed may be done, based on little evidence.

If this is indeed the end of this round of interest rate reductions, then that could be seen as very slightly dollar- and equity-positive. But not to the extent we saw yesterday, with stocks booming and the buck strong.

The truth of the matter, though, is that the Fed wouldn’t have acted if it felt that the economy had been given enough of a cash infusion to perk it up. And it is also true that serious inflation is baked into the cake.

That the market can ignore those important factors in favor of a wispy hope that things maybe, possibly, might not be quite as bad as they seem is a good indication of just how daffy this market is.

Whatever, “gold will remain at risk to further corrections in the coming sessions,” wrote James Moore, of TheBullionDesk.com.

Perennial pessimist Jon Nadler of Kitco goes farther, saying that, “Despite the lack of a clear pause signal in yesterday’s Fed announcement, the markets are treating May/June as the pivot point beyond which they can no longer reliably depend on ever cheaper dollars to fuel speculative binges in commodities.”

But what then will they spend those eroding dollars on?