Silver futures trim gains after dismal German IFO data

                          Silver futures trimmed gains during European morning hours on Wednesday, coming off the highest levels of the session after data showed that German business confidence in April weakened to a four-month low.

On the Comex division of the New York Mercantile Exchange, silver futures for May delivery traded at USD22.94 a troy ounce during European morning trade, up 0.6% on the day.

Comex silver prices rose by as much as 2.1% earlier in the session to hit a daily high of USD23.31 a troy ounce. 

Silver prices were likely to find support at USD22.47 a troy ounce, the low from April 18 and near-term resistance at USD23.69, the high from April 22.

Futures trimmed gains as the euro fell sharply against the U.S. dollar after weak German business confidence data fuelled expectations for a rate cut by the European Central Bank.

Gold and Silver Continue to Snowball

                   Gold remains weak on Wednesday morning dropping over $7.00 to trade at 1379.95 while silver tumbles farther to trade at 23.425 down by 20 cents. Precious metals remain weak, unable to regain footing.  On Tuesday gold futures managed to score their first gain in 3-sessions, but wounds from the fierce selloff that dragged prices down by more than $200 per ounce in two days will take time to heal.

Gold holdings of SPDR gold trust, the largest ETF backed by the precious metal, declined to 1,145.92 tons, as on April 16 as the fund continues to selloff holdings deepening the wound. Silver weakening as precious metals decline and industrial metals tumble has seen silver holdings of ishares silver trust, the largest ETF backed by the metal, declined to 10,451.01 tons, as on April 15. The meteoric rise of exchange-traded gold products over the past decade has now exposed thousands of small investors to losses after years of gains in an asset previously the preserve of eccentrics, collectors and central banks.

Industrial metals prices rose yesterday helped by a weaker dollar and as upbeat housing data from the U.S. propped up hopes of more solid metals demand growth, prompting some buying after a sharp fall in the previous session, but is giving back those gains in this morning session as the US dollar gains some traction.

The US dollar and the Japanese yen dropped on Tuesday, as investors sold the safe-haven currencies and bought gold and US stocks a day after heavy selling in the yellow metal.

The dollar index fell to 81.781 in Tuesday afternoon trade from 82.318 on late Monday.

IMF in its World Economic Outlook said that the euro zone remains the weakest part of the global economy and warned that a long period of low growth in the currency area would weaken the potential for expansion in the neighboring economies of central and Eastern Europe, as well as further afield. Five years after the financial crisis started, the International Monetary Fund (IMF) has issued a warning about the increasing fragmentation of the global economy, the very visible split between the dynamism of emerging countries, the US’ resistance and the persistent weakening of the eurozone.

In figures, the grim picture painted by the IMF in its 16 April report, look like this: global GDP estimations have been lowered and it is now predicted to be 3.3% this year, compared with the 3.5% predicted in January. To no one’s surprise, the eurozone is still a major cause of concern for the Washington-based institution – which holds its general assembly this week. In the short term, risks mainly stem from the evolution of the eurozone, in particular “inconclusive elections in heavily indebted Italy and the problematic Cyprus bailout,” the IMF wrote.

Precious metals and industrial metals are expected to remain weak as traders are worried about the upcoming FOMC meeting in the US as speculators are thinking that the central bank might slow its asset purchase program. - fx Empire

Endeavour Silver posts record Q1 production

                    Endeavour Silver Corp (TSE:EDR) (NYSE:EXK) has said that it had significantly lifted bullion production and revenues for the first quarter ended March 31, but warned that some lost production days are anticipated in the second quarter during the re-commissioning of the El Cubo plant in Guanajuato State. 

The precious metals miner said it planned on strong first quarter production to compensate for a possible dip in second quarter output related to the plant and surface infrastructure rebuilding programs at El Cubo.

The company has three operating silver mines in Mexico: the Guanacevi mine in Durango State and the Bolanitos and El Cubo Mines in Guanajuato State.

Silver production in the first quarter was up 39% to 1.48 million ounces from 1.07 million ounces a year earlier and gold production more than doubled year-over-year to 15,032 ounces, from 6,3201 ounces.

Revenues increased 42% to US$69.9 million, from $49 million in the year-ago period, thanks to the increased metal production and some sales of accumulated concentrate, partly offset by lower metal prices, the company said.

In the first quarter, silver and equivalents production escalated 63% to 2.32 million ounces year-over-year.

"Endeavour's mining operations enjoyed a good start to 2013 with record quarterly silver and gold production in the first quarter,” said president and COO Godfrey Walton.

“Guanacevi rebounded from a slow start with better than planned silver grades and recoveries thanks to the commencement of production at the Porvenir Cuatro mine.

"Bolanitos continued to exceed expectations with higher than planned mine output, the extra ore being processed at the leased Las Torres plant near El Cubo and the extra concentrates being sold thanks to two new concentrate sales contracts.”

Indeed, the miner signed two new concentrate sales contracts for Bolanitos in the quarter, in order to facilitate higher production. Revenue is subject to adjustment upon final settlement in the second quarter, it said, including metal prices.

Endeavour said that the realized silver price fell 11% to $29.38 per ounce sold, two-per-cent below the average price for the quarter, while the average realized gold price fell four per cent to $1,686 per ounce sold, one per cent lower than the average price in the quarter.

As at the quarter’s end, the company said bullion inventory included 234,970 ounces of silver and 2,091 ounces of gold. Concentrate inventory included 321,487 ounces of silver and 5,589 ounces of gold.

Endeavour Silver is a mid-tier silver mining company focused on the growth of its silver production, reserves and resources in Mexico. - Bullion street

Your Gold & Silver Outlook: 2013

Your Gold & Silver Outlook: 2013

Silver prices have delivered the best gains since 2002, according to Lloyds TSB. But, of course, the key question for precious metals investors is whether gold and silver will continue to be a good performer for 2013.

What’s Happened So Far

The prices of gold and silver decreased slightly last week. This caused some notice from the media and investors. Even with the extremely concerning news coming out of Cyprus's, gold and silver didn't pull up from their downward price movement.

Gold has been trading at new lows for the year and Silver making multi-year lows. Some commentators are suggesting that the Gold/Silver bull market is over with.

The Real Deal

Although off to a rough start, we still believe Gold And Silver are paced to go higher.

Gold and silver investments may have shot up five years ago, but they have been extremely popular this year. 

In January, the United States Mint sold 7.5 Million American Silver Eagle Coins. Yet in all of 2007, the US Mint sold only sold 9.9 million American Silver Eagles. So in the first month of 2013, the US Mint sold 75% of what it did in 2007.

In fact, demand was so strong that the Mint temporarily ran out of stock and had to suspend sales for roughly 10 days. In addition, the premiums of American Gold Eagle Coins hit highs not seen since June 2010.

The US Mint is expecting to sell a record number of silver American Eagles in 2013. 

We know that to some investors, problems that surfaced during the recent recession, such as the collapse of the mortgage-backed securities market, prompted them to seek safety in tangible, versus "paper," assets. This is one of many factors boosting interest in owning physical gold and silver bullion.

Another trend that is surfacing is state legislation similar to the one passed in 2011 in Utah. This allowed Gold And Silver Bullion Coins issued by the US Mint to be used as legal tender. 

People place their gold and silver bullion coins in the Utah Gold & Silver Depository and receive a card that acts similar to a debit card which they can use to make purchases of up to 80 percent of the coins' current value. A dozen other states have been considering similar legislation.

The Outlook

Some commentators seem temped to call this gold and silver bull market dead and gone. We think differently.

The fundamentals of gold and silver have not changed. There are still Massive Amounts Of New Currency In Circulation. The United States Mint is selling record amounts of gold and silver. And most importantly, the role of gold and silver as monetary metal, not just another commodity, is beginning to resurface in states like Utah.

We haven’t seen nothin’ yet.  - Goldsilver.com

Speculators Continue To Sell Gold, Silver Futures, Options – CFTC

                            For the second week in a row, speculators shed bullish gold and silver futures and options contracts traded on the Comex division of the New York Mercantile Exchange, according to U.S. government data, with funds turning net-short silver in one of the reports.

For the week ended April 2, speculators in the Commodity Futures Trading Commission’s weekly commitment of traders report chopped the net-long position in gold, returning to levels seen in early March. That essentially wiped out most of the newly established bullish positions built during late March.

For silver, large speculators turned net-short for the first time in the disaggregated report, which dates back to September 2009. These traders are still net-long in the legacy report, but it is the smallest position since at least early 2007.

In the platinum group metals, large speculators returned as buyers for both metals, in both reports; meanwhile, they added to the ever-growing net-short position in copper.

Prices for the metals were mixed during the week to April 2, which is the timeframe covered by the report. June Comex gold fell $21.40 to $1,575.90 an ounce as of April 2. May silver fell $1.431 to $27.248. Nymex July platinum gained $4.40 to $1,574.20, while June palladium rose $8 to $769.40. Comex May copper fell 6.4 cents to $3.3785 a pound.

Gold and Silver Show Little Reaction To Fed Decision

                                       Precious metals witnessed profit taking ahead of the US Federal Reserve Policy meet yesterday after gold traded as high at 1611.00. Gold prices registered marginal decline, however they held above the key level of US$1,600/ounce. US Federal Reserve stuck to its stance on bond buying and interest rates as well as its unemployment target. The FOMC stated that it would keep interest rates unchanged as long as the jobless rate was above 6.5%. It further elaborated that it does not expect the unemployment rate to fall below the specified levels until 2015 indicated that stimlus could remain ongoing for that period of time. The Fed did not mention any sort of roll back or exit strategy. On growth front, Bernanke stated that he expects moderate recovery, although downside risks to the economic outlook persists. The Fed reduced its growth expectations. During his press conference Mr. Bernanke noted the Cyprus situation but said that he does not see any effects on the US economy or recovery.

The uncertainty regarding Cyprus situation continue to linger, which is effectively providing some support to the gold prices. Cyprus has extended a bank shutdown to next week and considered nationalizing pension funds. Meanwhile, Cypriot leadership is seeking aid from Russia after rejecting European proposals. Cyprus’s finance minister met Russian counterparts and the meeting is reported to have made some progress. Gold prices were down as fears eased that the crisis in Cyprus may not spread further in the euro zone. EU Ministers are now downplaying the one time bank tax saying that Cyprus was a unique case, but commentators and analysts say that the EU leadership has permanently changed trust in banks. Savers may slowly look for more secure places to store their saving out of the control of governmental taxes and levies, especially in countries that might need bailout.

Gold holdings of SPDR gold trust, the largest ETF backed by the precious metal, increased to 1,222.16 tons, as on March 20. Silver holdings of ishares silver trust, the largest ETF backed by the metal, declined to 10,583.36 tons, as on March 20. The dollar index traded at 82.827 in recent action, little moved from 82.893 in late trading on Tuesday. TheUS dollar rallied against the yen on Wednesday, after a decision by the Federal Reserve to continue its aggressive monetary easing fueled optimism about the US economic recovery. The euro rebounded from a 4-month low against the dollar as fears about a financial meltdown in Cyprus eased, with the small island country pleading for a new loan from Russia.

Base metals managed moderate recovery, aided by US Federal Reserve persistence with bond buying program. The complex is expected to trade firm today, deriving cues from positive manufacturing numbers from China. The HSBC has reported that China Flash PMI for March has advanced to 51.7, as compared with a final reading of 50.4 in February. Silver advanced 36 points to trade at 28.853 while copper is trading in the green at 3.459. -FxEmpire

U.S. investment-manager guru says silver a good bet

                       Every few months, star U.S. investment manager Jeffrey Gundlach gives a webcast outlining where in the world he sees the best money-making opportunities.

In his latest webcast, Mr. Gundlach made three simple calls. Buy silver. Pick up 30-year U.S. Treasury bonds. And for stock investors, go to Japan. That Asian market, even though it's surging, could rise more than 20 per cent in U.S. dollar terms this year.

You could do worse than paying attention to Mr. Gundlach, who was once dubbed the King of Bonds for his winning ways in fixed-income markets, although he's been branching out quite a bit from his credit-market specialty.I listen to a lot of forecasts by investment gurus, and some are so dull and equivocating I often fear I'll need a trip to the office defibrillator to jolt myself back to consciousness afterwards.

Not so with Mr. Gundlach, who is always bright. He's founder of his own Los Angeles money management firm, DoubleLine Capital, which he set up after being abruptly fired in 2009 from Trust Company of the West. His main fund at TCW regularly ranked in the top 1 or 2 per cent in the performance sweepstakes and he's continued to outperform at DoubleLine.

Mr. Gundlach is going against the hedge-fund herd on his silver call, which is based on his bullish view on gold. In recent months, gold ETFs have experienced some of their largest outflows in years, and some noted hedge-fund operators, such as George Soros, have cut their positions in the yellow metal. By going on the other side of this trade, Mr. Gundlach is sticking his neck out in a high-profile way.

Gold and Silver Give Back A Bit Of Yesterday’s Gains

This morning in Asian trading precious metals are giving back some of yesterday’s gains, with gold trading down $2.20 at 1586.80 and silver at 28.813. On Wednesday gold prices started the trading day on a strong note, however the gains faded at the end of the trading session.

 The gains were scaled back, as strong US retail sales number for February boosted the appetite for riskier assets. The retail sales registered an increase of 1.1%, substantially above the estimates. Effectively, US equity markets have ended higher on nine consecutive trading sessions. Gold prices once again shied away from the psychological resistance of US$1,600/ounce and in this process registered a high, just 0.5 cents below this level.

During the Asian session today, traders saw positive eco data as Australian employers boosted payrolls in February by the most in almost 13 years, sending the currency to a one-month high as traders wound back bets the central bank will keep cutting interest rates. While on its neighbors listened as New Zealand’s central bank expects to keep borrowing costs at a record low until next year and signaled it may reduce its benchmark rate if the local dollar rises more than the economy justifies. The kiwi fell.

Copper Advances on China Autos, U.S. Jobs: Commodities at Close

The Standard & Poor’s GSCI Spot Index of 24 raw materials rose 0.1 percent to settle at 649.62 at 3:59 p.m. New York time, led by industrial metals.

The UBS Bloomberg CMCI gauge of 26 prices advanced 0.3 percent to 1,551.55.

BASE METALS

Copper rose to the highest in more than a week as signs of strength in Chinese auto sales and gains in the U.S. labor market brightened demand prospects for industrial metals.

Wholesale deliveries of cars, multipurpose and sport- utility vehicles rose 20 percent in the two months ended Feb. 28 in the strongest start since 2010, according to a Chinese industry group. U.S. job openings climbed in January, and confidence among small businesses rose in February for a third month, reports showed.

On the Comex in New York, copper futures for May delivery advanced 1.1 percent to $3.5545 a pound. Earlier, the price reached $3.576, the highest for a most-active contract since Feb. 28.

On the London Metal Exchange, copper for delivery in three months gained 0.9 percent to $7,830 a metric ton ($3.55 a pound). Zinc, nickel, tin, aluminum and lead also rose.

PRECIOUS METALS

Gold rose, capping the longest rally in six months, as Europe’s slumping economy increased speculation that central banks will expand stimulus measures, boosting demand for the metal as a store of value.

On the Comex, gold futures for April delivery climbed 0.9 percent to $1,591.70 an ounce. The price climbed for the fourth straight session, the longest rally since Aug 21.

Silver futures for May delivery rose 1.1 percent to $29.171 an ounce.

On the New York Mercantile Exchange, platinum futures for April delivery fell 0.4 percent to $1,595 an ounce.

Palladium futures for June delivery dropped 0.5 percent to $775.50 an ounce.

CRUDE OIL

Crude oil advanced as the euro trimmed losses against the dollar and the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries increased production.

On the Nymex, oil futures for April delivery rose 0.5 percent to $92.54 a barrel.

Brent oil for April settlement dropped 0.5 percent to $109.65 a barrel on the London-based ICE Futures Europe exchange.

OAO Lukoil’s Litasco bought a cargo of Forties crude at the lowest differential in almost 11 months. Statoil ASA bid for Russian Urals blend at the highest spread in almost a month.

Daily exports of the 12 main grades of North Sea crude for loading in April will increase 8 percent to the highest in 10 months, programs obtained by Bloomberg News showed.

OIL PRODUCTS

Gasoline was little changed following wide price swings linked to volatile biofuel-credit prices.

On the Nymex, gasoline futures for April delivery slid 0.1 percent to $3.1502 a gallon. The price rose as much as 1.2 percent and dropped as much as 1.6 percent.

Heating-oil futures for April delivery fell 0.7 percent to $2.9484 a gallon.

Silver’s Industrial Demand: The Best Is Yet to Come(financialsense)

                                        As the price of silver searches for a bottom, and as many wonder if the precious metals’ bull is over, it is worth re-examining the other source of demand for silver: namely, from industry. This is also important if in fact the world is moving toward some kind of recovery, where you would think the price of silver would catch a bid from industrial users.

In recent years, the rise of the silver price has come almost exclusively from investment, or monetary demand (an important reminder for anyone who claims silver isn’t money, by the way.) But there have been periods of time when silver’s industrial demand drove the price of the white metal higher. In the period between roughly 1900 and 1970, industrial demand for silver increased over 4 times- from 100 million to 400 million ounces. The industrial revolution in silver was due largely to the urbanization and technological revolutions taking place in twentieth century life. Whether we are talking about indoor plumbing, electricity, cars, or aerospace technology, silver proved to be an indispensable metal. One of the largest industrial uses for silver came from photography, invented by Frenchmen Nicephore Niecpe in 1822, and made more popular by Daguerre in the 1840s. By the twentieth century millions of ounces of silver were needed just for photography. But in terms of silver demand, this was just the tip of the iceberg.

Silver to recover faster than Gold from present slump (Bullionstreet)

Silver could come back anytime even though it is in the same sinking boat with gold at the moment, analysts said.

The white metal dropped 0.6 percent in the first week of March and is down 5.8 percent so far this year, which is approximately 42.3% from its high 22 months ago.However, the silver price outlook still remains bright, according to the forecasts of major financial and investment firms.

According to Swiss America Trading Corporation, silver will keep its robust investment rate. A massive demand is expected to lead to an oversold moment. And when that time comes, there will be a great number of investors ready to pour money into the white metal.

Swiss American believes that at the very moment silver is being oversold more than in the past decade. In respect, prices are projected go grow in relation to the supply shortage and rising industrial demand.

Morgan Stanley sees the white metal averaging to $35 per ounce next year. According to its analysts, silver is gold’s cheaper proxy. Therefore Morgan Stanley expects the metal to outperform gold in 2013.

UBS also signaled improvement ahead stating the firm was keeping its three month target for silver at $37 per ounce.

Twenty Reasons to Buy Silver for the Long-Term!

I believe that silver could go to $60 per ounce from today’s price of just $30 by the end of 2014. That would be double from today’s current prices in just a little over two years! I also believe silver will be the best single investment of this decade. The following article is focused on why I think that you should seriously consider having a significant percentage of your investment portfolio in silver.

 

Many gold investors deride silver as the "poor man's gold" because of its low relative price to gold. They also don't like the fact that it because it is used primarily as an industrial metal it can be negatively affected by a cyclical downturn in the economy. This is opposite of gold which is viewed almost entirely as a precious metal. Many years ago, the silver market was so oversupplied because there were huge artificial inventories of silver. This was because the US took currency (coins) out of circulation due to its physical silver content. Because of this artificial situation, huge surpluses hung over the market until these excess inventories were depleted. This led to silver prices crashing as low as $2 and then traded around $5 for years. Because silver had so decoupled from the price of gold during this period, it began to be thought of as just another industrial metal and not a precious metal.

 

There are still skeptics who think of silver as just another industrial metal. However after a 600% rise in price from $5 to $30 since 2003, it has begun again to be viewed as a precious metal. I think that silver has only completed about fifty percent of that process. As this transformation continues there will be additional significant moves higher in price. That will attract more investors to silver again until it once again retains its true status as a precious metal.

 

1) The amount of silver consumed annually and bought for investment exceeds currently exceeds total annual mining output and has for years. That gap has been filled by sellers willing to sell from existing inventories and as prices rise. As time passes this will naturally push prices significantly higher until this fundamental imbalance reaches a true equilibrium price where supply is closer to demand.

 

2) Both industrial and investment demand for silver is growing in excess of the annual increase in mining production growth. The available inventory is low and will get even tighter over time. These two factors will lead to a continued tighter supply-demand situation going forward. 

 

3) The lower price of silver at $32 appeals more broadly to small investors relative to the more expensive gold at $1705, especially if gold prices continue to rise.

 

4) Most silver is not found in mining sites in any significant concentrated form. It is usually chemically bound to other metals; much of it is actually the byproduct of mining for lead, copper, etc. In the last few decades this made it less attractive from a profitability standpoint to invest in pure silver mine. Now prices have finally recovered enough to make new projects feasible again. So there is new investment in the sector but it is a lengthy multi-year process to bring on significant new production. .

 

5) The last time silver was found in huge concentrations or veins that dramatically affected the amount available and therefore significantly lowered prices was in the Comstock Lode in Nevada in the late 1800's. The Comstock Lode produced tons of ore that was very pure with concentrations of 25-50% silver. Silver mines today have much lower concentrations, usually always less than two ounces per ton of refined ore.

 

6) Silver is the most conductive metal on earth. Gold is also conductive but is prohibitively

Silver is next best thing in Pakistan

          Silver jewelery sales in Pakistan gained momentum after higher gold prices along with higher tax levied on buying gold.
According to All Sindh Sarafa Association sale of silver items at jewelery shops soared to a new high and keen business in silver was also seen in select parts of the country.

Consumers are forced to buy silver as it is considered “the next best thing”, they said. Similar to big neighbor India, silver prices in Pakistan climb steeply at the beginning of the festive season and also during the wedding season.
The main reason behind this is