Interest in Oil (as indicated through search volume) is Abnormally High at the Moment Due to Recent Price Decline

Interest in Oil (as indicated through search volume) is Abnormally High at the Moment Due to Recent Price Decline.

Looking at the google trends chart above, we can see Interest in Oil (as indicated through search volume) is abnormally high at the moment.



 This data tells us more people are searching for oil using google, likely correlation to investment therefore we can assume that people are looking to invest in oil and are researching or looking to purchase shares and futures commodities contracts online.



 Last time oil price was this low four years ago, price quickly rebounded and went in access of $150 US per barrel.

Gold looks to feature more prominently also the last few months, the Swiss Gold Referendum, Swiss Depeg (de-ceiling) and repatriation of gold by European central banks lately have all been popular news story's on-line.



By Joseph Gale

Euro Hits 11-year Low in Wake of Greek Election

Euro hits 11-year low in wake of Greek election

The euro hit an 11-year low versus the US dollar on Monday as Greece's anti-austerity Syriza party swept to victory in a snap election, putting Athens on a collision course with international lenders.

The single currency dropped to $US1.1098, a level not seen since September 2003, as official projections showed Syriza was set to win 149 seats in the 300-seat parliament, taking 36.3 per cent of the vote.

The euro fell to as low as ¥130.16, its lowest level in more than 11 years. The euro also fell against sterling, hitting a seven-year low of 74.06 pence.

In the near term, traders are looking to whether Syriza will secure an outright majority, which would raise the risk of a standoff with Greece's European lenders over austerity measures as well as the stance of Syriza leader Alexis Tsipras.

"Usually politicians say populistic things before an election. So now the question is how much they are going to stick to the promises made to the Troika," said Ayako Sera, market strategist at Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Bank.

Market participants saw the risk that euro selling would pick up during the Asian session if Syriza secures an outright majority.

Such a scenario could trigger a test of $US1.10, where large options lay, according to several research notes.

But some analysts also said long-term impact may be more nuanced as most investors expect Tsipras to work with the European Union and other international lenders at the end of the day.

"The market was largely anticipating a victory," said Sebastien Galy, senior foreign exchange analyst at Societe Generale in New York.

"At the moment, the market believes that if there is any (debt) restructuring it would only involve the official sector and for now, the possibility of Greece leaving the euro zone even with the incoming government is small," he added.

The euro also remained on the defensive after Thursday's announcement of quantitative easing by the European Central Bank.

It has sold off dramatically from $US1.21 at the start of the year and lost more then 3 per cent against the US dollar last week, in the wake of aggressive asset-buying measures announced by the ECB to shore up the region's struggling economy.

Losses in the single currency provided a broad boost to the US dollar, with dollar index rising to 95.186, near 11-year high of 95.331 hit on Friday.

Against the yen, which benefitted from safe-haven flows after Greek election, the dollar stood little changed at ¥117.77.

Meanwhile, the Aussie sank as low as $US0.7850, its lowest since mid-2009, while the kiwi fell to more than three-year trough of $0.7407. 

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Miners to Reveal Impact of Iron Ore Price Slump

Miners to reveal impact of iron ore price slump

It is well and truly a buyer’s market in iron ore and this week we should find out the extent of the damage for some of the smaller players.

With iron ore prices now below $US70 a tonne after falling by half and still threatening to go lower, there are serious doubts that the full complement of miners will survive the downturn.

While the big, low-cost players Rio Tinto and BHP Billiton are still ramping up production, the smaller operators are struggling, with Atlas Iron admitting it was losing money in the December quarter until oil prices dipped and returned it to slim profitability.

Chinese Government-backed Citic has announced it will be writing down the value of its Sino Iron project in Western Australia by up to $2.2 billion and further writedowns of up to $2.3 billion have already been flagged by Atlas, Mount Gibson Iron, Gindalbie Metals and Grange Resources.

On Thursday it is the turn of number three player Fortescue Metals to outline its December quarter production figures and perhaps give some guidance as to its profitability at current prices.

Fortescue chief executive Nev Power has already been critical of WA government plans to offer a 50 per cent iron ore royalty rebate to smaller players while prices are below $US90 a tonne, a move designed to keep them going in a really tough market.

BC Iron’s second quarter production is also out on Friday.

Other struggling commodities may also produce some surprises with copper/gold miners OZ Minerals, PanAust and Sandfire Resources all reporting quarterly production on Wednesday, along with oil and gas companies Beach Energy and Oil Search.

While copper and oil have both been dropping, at least gold has been heading in the other direction, which may become apparent with struggling gold giant Newcrest’s quarterly production on Friday.

The focus will also be on continuing reaction to the European Central Bank’s more than €1 trillion stimulus package, and also inflation figures due on Wednesday.

Gold Will Appreciate 30% in Line with Swiss Franc, As Inflation Plays out in Fiat currencies

Gold Will Appreciate 30% in Line with Swiss Franc, As Inflation Plays out in Fiat currencies

Gold Will Appreciate 30% in Line with Swiss Franc, As Inflation Plays out in Fiat currencies - the Swiss Franc represents gold and a monetary standard that is more prudent than the rest of the western central banks which have been engaging in quantitative easing incrementally in an increasing fashion.

We will see the result of easy money, which has recently been bought to light by the Swiss (who quit the game mid hand exposing the rest of the players playing with extra cards in the deck!) flow into gold as more easy money chases finite money like gold and silver, the price will rise accordingly.

The Swiss Franc is 30% more scarce than the euro (Symbolically - or as interpreted by the free market), so in turn will gold be - albeit in a delayed fashion.

Joseph Gale

View Inspiration Articles

http://blogs.wsj.com/moneybeat/2015/01/15/gold-spikes-on-swiss-franc-stunner/

Gold Spikes on Swiss Franc Stunner

http://www.investing.com/analysis/swiss-franc-surges-as-restraints-are-lifted-238955

Swiss Franc Surges As Restraints Are Lifted

Also - James Rickards Currency Wars

Speculators Looking for Havens from Slowing Growth are Piling Into Silver

Speculators Looking for Havens from Slowing Growth are Piling Into Silver

Silver headed for a bull market in its best start to a year in more than three decades, supported by speculation that slowing global economic growth will spur demand for havens.

Holdings in exchange-traded products backed by the metal have posted three straight weekly gains, while U.S government data show money managers raised their net-bullish wagers to the highest since August. An ounce of gold bought 71.4 ounces of silver on Thursday, compared with an average of about 58 over the past decade, signaling the white metal is inexpensive relative to gold.

Investors are returning to precious metals amid concern that U.S. growth won’t be enough to offset weakness in other countries. A collapse in oil prices has boosted the appeal of gold amid the threat of economy-damaging deflation, and prices this week topped $1,300 an ounce for the first time since August. Policy makers at a European Central Bank meeting Jan. 22 are expected to announce new stimulus measures.

“The drumbeat of stimulus across the globe is bringing people to silver and gold,” Dan Denbow, a portfolio manager at the $1.1 billion USAA Precious Metals & Minerals Fund in San Antonio, said in a telephone interview. “Also, the ratio between gold and silver got very, very inexpensive, indicating that silver had some catching up to do.”

January Rally

Silver for immediate delivery climbed 0.7 percent to close at $18.127 on Jan. 21, according to Bloomberg generic pricing. A settlement at $18.4064 would leave the metal up 20 percent from the recent closing low of $15.3387 in November, meeting the common definition of a bull market. Prices are up 15 percent this month, the best start to a year since 1983. It traded at $18.0197 at 2:24 p.m. in Singapore on Thursday.

Gold for immediate delivery fell 0.4 percent to $1,287.43 an ounce on Thursday, after advancing a day earlier to $1,305.25, the highest price since Aug. 15.

“Silver will benefit from all the stimulus measures and rate cuts being announced aggressively by the central banks,” Caroline Bain, a commodities economist at Capital Economics Ltd. in London, said in a telephone interview. “Also, the stimulus measures will at some point boost usage of the metal.” Bain said she expects silver to rise to $20 by the end of the year.

Consumption is forecast to grow to almost 680 million ounces by 2018, up 142 million ounces from 2013, as demand in industries ranging from appliances to solar energy will rise, CRU Consulting said in a report on December 10, 2014

Physical Market

A tighter physical market will provide some support to prices this year, Philip Klapwijk, managing director of Hong Kong-based Precious Metals Insights Ltd., said at a conference in London on Jan. 21.

The consulting firm expects global silver supply from mine production and scrapping to fall 2 percent in 2015, and physical demand for uses including industry, photography and jewelry to grow 2 percent. The physical silver-market surplus will shrink by 40 million ounces to 211 million ounces in 2015, according to Precious Metals Insights.

“Silver is rising along with gold as a hedge against uncertainties,” George Gero, a New York-based precious-metal strategist at RBC Capital Markets LLC, said in a telephone interview. “Also, some funds are betting on future growth with so much money being pumped into the system.”

Will China Pull a "Switzerland" on the U.S. Dollar?

Peter Schiff Poses and attempts to answer the question, Will China Pull a "Switzerland" on the U.S. Dollar?


 

#PeterSchiff  #China  #Switzerland  #centralbanks  #gold  #economics  #monetary  #policy

Swiss Central Bank Defends Franc Move Despite Turbulence

Switzerland’s central bank on Saturday stood by its shock decision to let the franc soar, insisting the subsequent turbulence rocking global markets and the Swiss economy since the move would eventually subside.

“This was not an easy decision... (but) we are convinced it is the right one,” Swiss central bank chief Thomas Jordan said in an interview published in Swiss dailies Le Temps and NZZ on Saturday.

The Swiss National Bank (SNB), he said, had determined that by continuing to artificially hold down the franc, “it risked losing control of its monetary policy in the long term.” Jordan’s comments came after the bank stunned markets Thursday with its decision to abandon the minimum rate of 1.20 francs against the euro that it had been defending for more than three years.

This Swiss currency has since gained around 20 per cent against other currencies and is currently trading at around parity with the euro.

The soaring franc caused panic on global markets, bankrupted foreign exchange traders as far away as New Zealand and was seen as a significant threat to Switzerland’s export-dependent economy.

The Swiss stock exchange’s main SMI index has plunged more than 14pc since Thursday’s announcement.

Swiss banking giant UBS said the SNB’s decision would deliver a severe blow to economic growth, slashing its forecast to just 0.5pc expansion this year from its previous estimate of 1.8pc.

The yield on Swiss 10-year bonds on Friday meanwhile entered negative territory for the first time, slipping to -0.031pc, meaning lenders will now have to pay to lend money to the country.

THREATENING ENTIRE SWISS SYSTEM: “The strong franc is threatening the entire Swiss system,” the Tribune de Geneve (TdG) daily lamented on Saturday, adding: “The future looks dark.”

Jordan said Switzerland’s central bankers, who unanimously agreed to scrap their long-drawn efforts to hold down the value of the franc, “were aware that this decision could have a major impact on markets.”

“The markets should gradually stabilise,” he said, admitting though that “it could take time.”

The SNB had been defending the exchange rate floor since September 2011 in an effort to protect the country’s vital export and tourism industries, even buying massive quantities of foreign currencies to do so.

The rate was introduced as the eurozone crisis sent investors scurrying to the safe haven currency. More recently, the Russian rouble crisis put renewed pressure on the franc.

Jordan insisted the efforts to rein in the franc were no longer justified, insisting the Swiss economy was in a much better place than it had been when the cap was introduced.

“We gave the Swiss economy time to adapt to the new situation. A period of three years is not negligible,” he said, stressing that “the currency cap from the beginning was supposed to be an exceptional and temporary measure.”

“It was always meant to be abandoned.”

SNB NOT ALL-POWERFUL: Now that the cap was gone, Jordan acknowledged that “following this decision, the economic situation in Switzerland is more difficult.”

But, he pointed out, “SNB cannot fulfil all wishes with its monetary policy. It is not all-powerful.”

His comments were unlikely to win over Swiss businesses bracing to see exports plunge and shoppers at home flood across to neighbouring eurozone countries for cheaper goods.

“Making products in Switzerland and selling them abroad is currently the worst possible scenario,” Syz analyst Jerome Schupp told TDG.

Silver Investment News: Short Term Silver bottom?

Has Silver hit a Short Term bottom? 

Gold and silver mining stocks will likely bottom before the price of the underlying metal. Are mining shares telling us that a bottom is near?

#silver #silverbullion #silvermining #bullion #miningstocks #commodities

Iron Ore Dips Back Below $US70 a Tonne

THE price of iron ore has again dipped below $US70 a tonne as investors continue to fret about Chinese demand.

At the end of the latest offshore session, benchmark iron ore for immediate delivery to the port of Tianjin in China was trading at $US69.80 a tonne, down 1.1 per cent from its previous close of $US70.60 a tonne, but still 6 per cent above the five-and-a-half-year low of $US65.70 reached just prior to Christmas.

The fall below $US70 a tonne casts doubt over the latest rebound in the commodity’s price after a horror 2014 where several minor recoveries quickly fell flat.

Iron ore lost about 50 per cent over the course of last year, but a near 10 per cent lift off recent lows to levels around $US72 a tonne had raised optimism for a better 2015.

The latest losses come as investors continue to worry about the Chinese economy, with concerns that demand growth will continue to stall over the coming 12 months as Beijing looks to restructure the world’s second largest economy.

China is the world’s largest consumer of iron ore and any further signs of softening demand will cause pain for the commodity as major suppliers such as Vale, Rio Tinto and BHP Billiton continue to ramp up production.

The latest decline comes as former Morgan Stanley strategist and well-known bear Gerard Minack told Fairfax Media the price of iron ore was poised to halve in US dollar terms.

“In the boom all the other commodities went up six- or sevenfold, while iron ore went up 15 times.

“So, sure, it’s halved already, but it has further to go.”