What’s The London Silver Fix, And Why’s It Going Away? [9:52 am ET May 14, 2014 COMMODITIES Wall Street Journal]

Article by: Francesca Freeman and Ben Winkley on MoneyBeat

Link: http://blogs.wsj.com/moneybeat/2014/05/14/whats-the-london-silver-fix-and-whys-it-going-away/

Silver Fix Gone, Is Gold Next? - Jeff Christian | [Kitco News Published on May 14, 2014]

JPMorgan defeats appeal in U.S. silver price-fixing lawsuit 27.Mar.2014

JPMorgan defeats appeal in U.S. silver price-fixing lawsuit

http://www.reuters.com/article/idUSL1N0MO13E20140327

Trader Dan's opinion on gold manipulation

"Keep this in mind - specs drive our modern markets - when they are buying, price rise. When they are selling, prices fall. Specs have had no reason to buy gold until apparently the start of this year but more so apparently since the start of this month of February. It has nothing to do with backwardation claptrap, lease rates, JP Morgan, and all the usual BS that so regularly pollutes the web in the gold bug community." Trader Dan Norcini.

SOURCE:http://traderdannorcini.blogspot.sg/2014/02/commitment-of-traders-info.html

Eric Sprott: 10 Billion In Precious Metals Assets

When will gold and silver resume a sustained uptrend? 03.January.2014

Gold and silver are like an insurance policy keeping them "safe" against unforeseen events and protecting their wealth during times of distress or distrust in the US dollar (currency debasement). If the market views the US economy is looking healthy and they have confidence in the Fed with no imminent threat of economic and financial calamity, then it will feel less need to own gold and silver. For instance, the data from the Commerce Department showed US 3Q GDP increased to a surprising 4.1%. Until the perception/sentiment changes to that of "needing" to own and gold and silver as insurance to protect their purchasing power because of a loss of CONFIDENCE in the US dollar, gold and silver is going to have a tilt to the downside and struggle.

A hedge against growth with inflation pressures. The Goldman Sachs Commodity Index being sharply lower is not an indication of inflation pressures yet.

Is Asian demand going to be strong enough to absorb Western based selling of the metal?

Commitment of Traders (COT) report- "There can be no capitulation in gold and thus no end to the selling as long as speculators REMAIN AS NET LONGS in the gold market" Trader Dan Norcini

Until there is a change in the factors stated above, looks like we may be able to buy gold and silver at cheaper levels than at the levels we are today because we would expect a continuation of the down trend.

Why silver got knocked down at 23.00

It was momentarily encouraging to see silver rally to slightly above 23.00 as the Fed keeps stimulus in place. However, it didn't stay up there for long and drifted right back to the 50dma around the 22.50 level. Perhaps flirting with the down trend line drawn in red gave the hedge funds another opportunity to short the silver market. The MACD is also rounding down so this current technical posture does not look good for the bulls. I'd like to see the red down trend line broken to the upside so that we can have some renewed buying interest and a chance at touching the 200dma at around the 24.00 level.

Billionaire Eric Sprott: Gold is going to $2400 by next summer 13 Sept 2013

Silver Technical Chart 15 September 2013

Would like to see silver go above 26 and stay above it to get more excited and encouraged. This would prove to us that the down trend which has lasted more than 26 months has most probably come to an end. Like gold, we have to wait and see what comes out of the FOMC meeting in the next few days.

Gold technical chart 15 September 2013

All eyes are on FOMC meeting scheduled on September 17-18 due to Fed's decision on Tapering. Technically, on the charts, we seem to be at an important juncture also. I would like to see the 1300 level hold next week and preferably move up to 1350 and above so as to give a sigh of relief. 

James Rickards, opinion on Fed Tapering...

http://www.multimillionairehouseholds.blogspot.sg/2013/08/will-us-fed-reserve-end-money-printing.html

Ask the Expert - Eric Sprott - Sprott Money News [Recorded on August 14, 2013]

Silver clears 50 day moving average- Silver, Spot, Daily. 12.Aug.2013

Will silver continue it's grind higher and kiss the 200 day moving average which appears to converge at the stout resistance around the 26.00 mark before another reaction occurs? Too optimistic? Then perhaps it will fail at the 22.00 mark which is the top of the down trending line. However, if it breaks to the upside from here and gets out of this down trend range, then I suppose that there will be a higher chance of challenging the 26.00 zone (previous strong support turned resistance level).

Why primary silver mining is so much more expensive today is due to several factors [By Steve; from http://srsroccoreport.com]

1) Declining ore grades: As I mentioned in a prior article, the top 6 silver companies & primary mines were producing silver at 13 oz a tonne in 2005. However, in 2012 this fell to 8.1 oz/t. I don’t have the data for 2000, but I can tell you that more than likely the top primary miners were producing silver at 15-16 oz/t at least

So as you can see, from 2000-2012, the top primary silver miners have seen their silver yields decline 50%. This means that their costs just to extract the silver have more than doubled due to falling ore grades alone. And, this does not factor in the price of energy.

2) Energy prices have quadrupled: Since 2000, the price of a barrel of oil has increased from $28 to $111. We must remember when the energy price doubles the costs down-stream can triple or quadruple. As energy costs increase, so do materials, labor and equipment. So, not only are the mining companies paying 4 times the price for liquid energy, they are also paying much higher prices for everything else.

3) Hecla’s Total Production Cost was $5.49 an ounce in 2000. According to Helca’s 2002 Annual Report, their total production cost for silver was $5.49 in 2000, which means they were losing money as the average price of silver in 2000 was $4.95. Now, we must remember, total production costs do not include ALL COSTS.

Hecla actually got their production costs down in 2002 to about $4.00, but the average price of silver was $4.60… so they still were barely making money. Hecla had a net income loss for 2000 as well as 2001. So, even though the prices of the metals were very cheap back then, many companies were not making profits.

Steve

Silver-- A review of the monthly chart. Has the new up trend already started? 9.Aug.2013

Mark Mobius: Gold Prices to Rise in Long Term 30 July 2013 [Bloomberg]

Dennis Gartman likes owning gold

Ask the Expert - Marc Faber - Sprott Money News

http://multimillionairehouseholds.blogspot.sg/2013/07/marc-faber-does-not-think-fed-will-end.html

The Secret World of Gold Part 3, featuring Eric Sprott

Silver Technical Analysis Chart- Weekly Chart.