Clint Siegner

Consumer prices are rising at the fastest pace in 40 years. The official report for November showed an increase of 0.8% versus October (9.6% annualized) and 6.8% over the past twelve months. What’s more, the month-over-month increases show inflation accelerating.

The U.S. dollar and precious metals futures have one thing in common. The value of the greenback and a contract for future delivery of metal are completely dependent on confidence. When, or if, that disappears, neither will be worth the paper they aren’t printed on.

The large majority of the nation’s spending, and wealth, is handled by people who don’t have much in common with gold bugs – at least not yet. Let’s start with some data.

Strong Demand Pushing Bullion Premiums Higher Again. The best time to buy gold and silver was before the world began its slide into insanity. The second best time to buy metals may be now.

Washington DC politicians are busy cobbling together yet another bi-partisan bill to raise the federal borrowing limit. Congress imposed the debt ceiling on itself in 1917 – Democrats and Republicans have worked together to circumvent it ever since.

The gold and silver futures markets were designed to increase volatility and discourage physical ownership of precious metals, as revealed in 1970s-era disclosures. The futures markets have also created opportunities for manipulation.

Humans are emotional creatures and studies show most of us make poor choices when it comes to timing. If you are making a snap decision to sell (or buy) based upon a surge of either fear or greed, odds are you will regret it.

Fed watchers found some hints about interest-rate tightening in the just-released FOMC’s July meeting minutes. That was all it took to rattle Wall Street. Stocks have since recovered some of the initial losses, but it looks like history is about to repeat.

It is often excruciating to own metal when the short run price action is completely disconnected from fundamentals. The price smash in the last couple trading days is a case in point. Nobody can make a coherent fundamental case for the move lower. It is best to simply remember there are very good reasons to own physical metal…

Despite the effort to “squeeze” the bullion banks, silver has yet to push through the $30 barrier, and gold remains below the high put in nearly a year ago. The effort has been valiant. Demand for physical bullion is unprecedented. However, the paper markets, where price discovery is purportedly done, remain untethered…

“We don’t know who’s using a $100 bill today and we don’t know who’s using a 1,000 peso bill today. The key difference with the CBDC is the central bank will have absolute control on the rules and regulations that will determine the use of that expression of central bank liability…

The halfway point of the year is quickly approaching. Dwindling confidence and concern over the direction of the country along with rising inflation expectations continue to drive strong demand for physical gold and silver…

The typical investor buys stocks for the long haul. It might be because financial advisors are just as unquestioning, knowing they are rarely criticized for following the herd. Sadly, mainstream advisors still snicker whenever a client brings up gold – even though the naysayers have been wrong about gold for 20 years.

Unless they secure a requested extension, European banks will have to comply with Net Stable Funding Requirements by the end of June. Along with other effects, these regulations could make trading in the gold and silver derivatives markets less profitable to them.

Many traders, investors, and momentum players will closely examine the market trend to determine if and when to enter or exit the market. A market with a strong technical foundation can launch to dizzying heights, while a market displaying weak technicals will have a tough time putting together any sustainable upside.

William Watts with MarketWatch sees the “biggest Inflation scare in 40 years” on its way. Bullion.Directory precious metals analysis 12 April, 2021 By Clint Siegner Director of Money Metals Exchange […]

The Fed’s Open Markets Committee met last week and left policy unchanged – at least for the moment. No one expected central banking officials to make rate adjustments last week with equity prices rubbing up against all-time highs and the economic recovery narrative still dominant.

The last year has been extraordinary. There have been COVID lockdowns, a disputed presidential election, and multi-trillion-dollar federal deficits and bailouts. The Federal Reserve has injected more money into markets than ever before.

It is an extraordinarily dangerous time for bullion banks to continue selling silver they don’t have. Their play is to destroy sentiment and shake investors out of the market. Thus far, at least on the physical front, this effort appears to be backfiring.

In recent months, the numbers of people standing for delivery of the metal on their futures contracts has spiked. If that trend continues in March, which is the next delivery month, it may be a bigger “Come to Jesus” moment than the shorts had in March of 2020.

America will face an increasingly authoritarian federal government ruling over a largely apathetic populace… Gold bugs aren’t betting on bridges being built any time soon – demand for physical metal ratcheted up to a new all-time high in January.

Last year provided extraordinary challenges to Americans as well as people around the world. Hundreds of thousands of deaths were attributed to the Chinese coronavirus. The economic carnage and the attendant death and suffering along with the loss of civil liberties was grossly underreported.

The world’s largest gold exchange traded fund (ETF) seems to be having a lot of trouble when it comes to accounting. There’s little good reason to put any trust in GLD’s parade of CFOs or in shady HSBC bankers.

Americans may start the New Year without certainty as to who will be sworn in as president on Inauguration Day. President Donald Trump and his supporters can’t find courts willing to consider their evidence of widespread voter fraud. Trump is not likely to concede.

While we may never know how deep and wide the political elites’ effort to gain control over our government goes, it appears to be vast. Although it’s still unknown whether fraud altered the overall election outcome, the evidence of fraud is real.

The U.S. election system, once sacrosanct, is losing the trust of half the country. Which half will depend on the outcome of Donald Trump’s efforts in the courts to demonstrate widespread fraud.

If results are contested, the fiscal and monetary response would be the same; more stimulus, more debt, and more money creation. There is no uncertainty with regards to these policies and, long term, they will be key drivers in the precious metals markets.

Metals broke out earlier in the year because there has likely never been so many fundamental reasons to buy gold and silver. We’ve seen economic turmoil, political strife, social unrest, a $3 trillion federal deficit, and a dollar weakened by fiscal and monetary stimulus – all happening at once.