Precious Metals Analysis

Taper talk from the Federal Reserve is back in focus. But for now, it’s all talk and no action. Last week, former New York Fed President William Dudley said the central bank will begin the process of tapering – winding down its monthly asset purchases – by year end.

Heading into Memorial Day weekend, American motorists will see the highest prices at the pump since 2014, according to the AAA. Gas prices now average $3.04 a gallon nationally – reflecting a jump of more than $1.00 compared to the same time last year.

This week has been truly brutal for the entire cryptocurrency sector, with the prices of major currencies like Bitcoin and Ethereum crashing at least 30%. The overall sector has shed trillions of dollars in value. The recent carnage for holders of digital currencies could be due to many factors including profit taking spurred by Elon Musk.

As the Biden administration showers the nation in debt-funded handouts and federal bailouts, new concerns are emerging as to the likelihood of a “Great Reset” in the value of our currency. However, this potential dollar rout has been in the making for many years.

The yellow metal gained over $20 per ounce on the news. The jobs report was a major piece of economic data-possibly the most important of the month.

Is it a temporary blip… or the beginning of a long-term trend? That’s the key question facing consumers, investors, and retirees when it comes to inflation.

Strong demand for bullion products amid tight market conditions and unprecedented “stimulus” measures from Washington have lots of people asking lots of questions. Here we will answer a few of the most pressing questions currently on the minds of precious metals investors.

Prices for the cryptocurrency have slid from a high of over $64,000 on April 14th to under $48,000 in trading this past weekend. The 25% sell-off would be akin to a crash in the S&P 500. But for crypto markets, that kind of volatility is fairly routine.

As top officials around the world convene this week for a “climate summit,” President Joe Biden’s administration is planning the most radical expansion of government’s role in the economy since FDR’s New Deal.

Gold rallied last week toward the top of a down-trending channel that has been in force since prices peaked last summer. A breakout attempt in early January failed. The gold market subsequently slumped to a potential double-bottom low in March around $1,675/oz.

Ignore what central bankers are saying; instead, watch what they are doing. While they poo-poo gold or pretend it doesn’t exist, global central banks have been quietly but aggressively accumulating gold bullion for several years now. The Central Bank of Russia, for example, has been a consistent buyer of gold.

Housing costs are skyrocketing. The median sales price of existing homes has spiked 16% over the past 12 months – the fastest pace in 15 years. The real estate market is being pressured not only by a low inventories of houses listed for sale, but also by rising prices for construction materials.

Rarely do markets move straight up or straight down. The stock market has, however, essentially moved straight up since the March 2020 mini-crash. As the market moves higher, an increasing number of “analysts” are calling for even higher equity prices.