Financial Communique » gold

New record prices for the gold

Viliyana Filipova — Mon, 25 Apr 2011 19:00:28 +0000

The gold prices have made new record levels under the influence of the weaker U.S. dollar and continuing tensions in the Middle East and North Africa. The gold for immediate delivery rose to a record 517.98 dollars an ounce during the trading session in Asia today, before its price to retreat back to 1517 dollars. The acceleration of inflation in the world in recent months has made investors look for precious metals as an alternative to paper currencies. The geopolitical turmoil in Arab countries in recent days also increased the interest in gold and silver. According to market analysts interviewed by the BBC, gold prices will probably go beyond 1520 dollars an ounce in the coming days. Today’s session was the seventh in a row in which the gold price sets a new record. The depreciation of the dollar this year is a major factor pushing up gold prices. Dollar grants for a fifth day against the euro and at 11:50 GMT the pair EUR / USD is quoted at around 1.46 dollars per euro. Since the beginning of today’s session, U.S. currency cheaper money by 0.3 percent against the euro, and earlier today they rate against the Australian dollar fell to a record low of $ 1.0774 per Australian. The Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke is expected to confirm the commitment of the U.S. central bank to maintain its zero interest rates on Wednesday this week. Moreover, foreign analysts believe that the Federal Reserve will implement fully its second cash injection of $ 600 billion.
Infusion of the additional liquidity in the banking system also tends to lower the value of the dollar and increasing concerns of inducing hyperinflation.
“The investors expect the Fed to keep interest rates low, which means that the dollar could become cheaper still, unless changing the game comments from Bernanke,” said a BBC analyst Phillip Futures in Singapore. The investors continued to react nervously and uncertain situation in the Middle East and North Africa. The escalation of violence in Yemen and Syria over the weekend also helped gold prices continue to go up. Furthermore, the gold is rising rapidly this year and silver. The price of silver for immediate delivery hit 49.79 dollars per ounce, which is their highest level since 1980.

South Korea with high level of gold-currency reserves

Viliyana Filipova — Mon, 04 Apr 2011 09:59:10 +0000

The Gold-currency reserves of South Korea rose to new record levels in March, surpassing its dollar equivalent of the previous two months. The main buffer in the country against possible financial turmoil lasting approaching $ 300 billion. In March, the dollar value of official gold-currency reserves amounted to 298.62 billion dollars. This is 950 million dollars more than the previous record of 297.67 billion set in February. South Korea’s reserves fell to just over $ 200 billion in November 2008 when the central bank is using some of them to combat the shortage of liquidity when credit dried up during the global financial crisis. Since then, however, foreign exchange reserves of South Korea are rising steadily. Foreign exchange reserves are a key instrument of economic and monetary policy to protect the currency from speculative attacks, while can be used to provide liquidity and strengthening the financial system. The central bank of South Korea indicate that the appreciation of the euro and other currencies in their reserve currency causes an increase in dollar equivalent of the reserves. The South Korean government sees its reserves a key tool for protection against financial instability. The Asian country is particularly sensitive after the Asian financial crisis of 1997-98, when received to be considered as degrading of the public international rescue.
The Gold-currency reserves of South Korea are largely invested in securities and deposits, according to central bank. A smaller percentage of them are placed in special drawing rights – special currency which is under the supervision of the International Monetary Fund (IMF). Gold has the smallest share. Asian countries are world leaders in the gold-currency reserves. South Korea’s reserves are the seventh largest in the world after those of China, Japan, Russia, Taiwan, Brazil and India in late February, according to central bank does not specify whether this list has changed in March. Seven of the top ten countries with the largest reserves in February were in Asia. China and Japan have the largest reserves in the world. China, which publishes data quarterly, has reserves 2.8 trillion. dollars at the end of 2010, international reserves of Japan amounted to 1.09 trillion. dollars at the end of February, according to the Ministry of Finance in Tokyo.
The other Asian economies among the first in the top ten reserves are Hong Kong and Singapore, according to central bank of South Korea.

Crude oil price with strong increase

Viliyana Filipova — Mon, 21 Feb 2011 11:07:04 +0000

The crude oil prices rose sharply to their highest levels since 2008, and gold continued to become more expensive for the sixth straight day, going over 1400 dollars an ounce for the first time in seven weeks. The occasion is the expansion of civil unrest in the Middle East and North Africa. Escalating violence in the third-largest oil producer in Africa – Libya made several major oil companies to suspend their operations in the country and to evacuate their foreign staff. The shares in European and Asian companies operating in the Middle East, fell heavily in today’s session. Stock markets in the U.S. will be closed for national holiday. U.S. light crude for delivery in April, rising by 4.2 percent to 93.49 dollars a barrel in electronic trading on the New York Petroleum Exchange today. Brent crude, meanwhile, dealt with an increase of 2.4% to nearly 105 dollars a barrel, its highest price level for the past two years. The gold, meanwhile, rising by 1% to 401.60 dollars an ounce as investors sought refuge in it against the backdrop of political uncertainty in the Middle East and North Africa. Earlier today the price of gold for delivery in April jumped to 1,404 dollars an ounce. The silver hand rose to 33.5175 dollars per ounce, exceed 33 dollars for first time in 30 years.
Today, the pan-European Stoxx Europe index 600 with a 0.6% decrease against the background of clashes between security forces in Libya and anti-government protesters. Civil unrest in the Islamic world began with Tunisia, moved to Egypt and then brought up in Libya, Bahrain and Yemen. This has led to rising oil prices because the Middle East and North Africa produced 36 percent of world oil production.

Would the gold baloon burst?

Viliyana Filipova — Tue, 23 Nov 2010 11:16:26 +0000

The gold has appreciated by 24% this year and is about to celebrate its tenth consecutive year of growth because of increased interest of investors to it as an alternative to paper money and means of protection against inflation. The strong jump in price in recent years does not seem to interfere with speculators like George Soros and John Paulson, who actively increased their investment in gold. Gold occupies the largest share in investment funds managed by them Soros Fund Management and Paulson & Co. at the end of the third quarter. The exchange traded funds that bet on gold, have 2088 metric tons of gold which is approximately equal to its extraction from the mines in the U.S. for nine years. According to investment firm BlackRock is more official gold reserves of any country except the U.S., Germany, Italy and France. Meanwhile, Goldman Sachs forecast that the precious metals will be the most profitable assets next year. The rapid increase in gold prices over the past three years undertaken since governments and central banks worldwide, led by the U.S. Federal Reserve, money supply grew strongly in their efforts to cope with severe financial crisis. Significantly, gold has appreciated by 87% since September 2007 when the Fed started lowering interest rates and financial markets have begun to feel the effects of mortgage crisis. The broad U.S. stock index S & P 500 in the standing with 21% below their levels of September 2007. According to analysts of Euro Pacific Capital, which successfully predicted the gold price records in the last two years, its rapid appreciation will end when real interest rates become positive. They point out that instead the Fed print more money to stop the rise in real interest rates and stimulate the economy.
The base rate in the U.S., Britain, Canada, Switzerland and Japan is in the range from 0% to 1% from December 2008 onwards. For the appreciation of gold can help the decision of the Federal Reserve to inject another 600 billion dollars in U.S. financial system by June next year by buying government securities. The expectations for a new injection of liquidity in the U.S. dollar index fell 8.5 percent in the third quarter, its strongest decline for the past eight years. Through its first cash injection the U.S. central bank merged over 1.7 trillion. dollars through purchases of mortgage bonds and government securities. Gold has only income for changes in market price, unlike most other assets such as stock dividends and coupons on bonds. Its price, however, jumped to a record 1,424.60 dollars per ounce on November 9, shortly after the announcement of the new financial injection in the U.S. Other precious metals such as silver, for example, provide even better than gold this year. Silver has appreciated by 61%, and the price of palladium has risen by 72%. The strong performance of silver is due partly to the fact that it is regarded as a cheaper alternative to gold. Moreover, silver is used more actively in industrial production – about 50% of the demand comes from this sector, while gold it is a source of 9% of demand. This shows that the increasing price of silver could also reflect investor optimism about economic recovery.
George Soros, who won $ 1 billion through speculation in the British pound in 1992, called gold “the perfect bubble” during the World Economic Forum in Davos in January. “To buy when a bubble starts to inflate, it is prudent,” he said. According to him, deflationary pressures and the fear of inflation now are ideal conditions for the appreciation of gold. The gold price rose more than eight times in the 1976-1980 period, reaching a record $ 850 an ounce before plunging 67% to just 284.25 dollars per ounce over the next five years. This peak, adjusted for inflation, amounts to 2266 dollars an ounce today on the basis of the calculator on the website of the branch of the Federal Reserve in Minneapolis. According to the analysis of Euro Pacific gold price will jump to 1800 dollars an ounce in 2011. The price of the metal, however, may stop its rise, if the debt crisis subsides in Europe and China control the acceleration of inflation without harming growth.

Dubai broke down the price of crude oil and gold

Viliyana Filipova — Sun, 29 Nov 2009 18:09:50 +0000

The price of oil dropped to its lowest level in over six weeks since the news that the government investment fund Dubai World in Dubai has requested postponement of payments on obligations, which exceed $ 59 billion. The decline in the value of the raw material was also supported by increased oil stocks in the U.S., indicating weak demand from consumers and industry. U.S. light crude for January delivery fell by $ 3.44, or 4.4 percent to 74.52 dollars per barrel in late Asian trade. For the last oil is sad at this level on October 14. Since the beginning of the week the raw material decreased from 2.8%. The dollar, which was one of the few winners from stall stock prices of raw materials and upload their values to levels of 1.4920 EUR / USD against 1.5019 EUR / USD yesterday. Rally index MSCI Asia Pacific, which monitors presentation of shares in the Asia-Pacific region fell by 3% to 114.08 points in Tokyo. This was his most potent decrease from August. Quotes of the indexes S & P and Dow Jones Euro STOXX 50 is accordingly decreased by 3.2% and 1.7%. Main DAX index of the Frankfurt Stock Exchange fell by 0.60 percent this morning after yesterday sank more than 3% Index CAC 40 of the Paris Stock Exchange lost 1.79 percent targets yesterday after a decline of 3.41% London FTSE-100 fell by 0.80%
Variety “Brent with delivery in January fell by $ 1.39, or 1.8% to 75.60. Yesterday’s contract fell by 1.45 dollars or 1.9 percent to 76.99 dollars per barrel. Gold that rise ever recorded, with an immediate dosktava decreased by 1.8% to $ 1167.90 an ounce in recent chastove of Asian trade. Yesterday the price of raw materials reached a record high of $ 1196.13 an ounce during trading.

Gold with highest drop of the price

Viliyana Filipova — Sun, 29 Nov 2009 10:51:33 +0000

The price of gold fell by more than 4 percent on the London Metal Exchange today after the appreciation of the dollar reduced the attractiveness of the precious metal as an alternative investment. Dollar increase after the news about the financial difficulties of the Dubai government investment fund Dubai World, which reinforced fears in financial markets. Dollar Index, which monitors the rate of the dollar against a basket of six major currencies, rose by 1 percent today, after earlier this week dropped to their lowest level in 15 months. As a result, prices of all precious metals fell, led by silver. Gold with immediate delivery fell to 50.28 dollars, or 4.2 percent, to 1 138.10 dollars an ounce. This is the strongest decline in the price from 12 January to date. The February gold futures cheaper by 2.1% to 1 163.60 dollars an ounce in electronic trading at the stock exchange in New York. Thursday marked the third straight gold price record only within the last week. Compared to last Friday the price of gold has risen by 1,1 percent. Precious metals will probably noted fourth consecutive weekly increase. Consulting firm Standard Chartered Plc today released a report which shows that central banks are likely to be net buyers of gold this year, which never happened in the past two decades. This week it became clear that Sri Lanka has purchased 10 metric tons of gold from the International Monetary Fund for 375 million dollars. Previously, India and the island countries of Mauritius, respectively, purchased 200 tons of gold reserves of the fund against 6.7 billion dollars and 10 tons of gold to 71.1 million.
Among other metals for immediate delivery in London Metal Exchange silver fell the most by 5.3 percent to 17.68 dollars per ounce, which is a record decline for the past three months. Platinum with cheaper 1.2% to 1 438 dollars an ounce and is not excluded to provide better than gold by the end of this year because of increased demand for metal from the industrial sector.