Posted by AGORACOM
at 11:03 AM on Wednesday, April 29th, 2020
SPONSOR: Labrador Gold – Two successful gold explorers lead the way in the Labrador gold rush targeting the under-explored gold potential of the province. Exploration has already outlined district scale gold on two projects, including a 40km strike length of the Florence Lake greenstone belt, one of two greenstone belts covered by the Hopedale Project. Recently acquired 14km of the potential extension of the new discovery by New Found Gold’s Queensway project to the south.Click Here for More Info
We were already having a tough time getting the amount of physical that we require. I think it’s going to be that much harder – Sprott Inc CEO Peter Grosskopf
(Kitco News) Turbulent times of first trying to sell, then downsizing its bullion desk, Canadian Bank of Nova Scotia (Scotiabank) (TSX: BNS.TO) now appears to be closing its metals business, according to Reuters.
Reports came to light on Tuesday with Reuters citing two sources familiar with the matter. “Scotia had a global call with all its metals staff and said it was shutting down its metals business,†one source said. “The plan is to unwind the metals business,†said another one.
The goal is to reportedly wind down all existing metals business by the beginning of 2021, the sources added.
The move could mean more challenges for the gold market that has already seen a supply crunch and wide price spreads between spot and futures prices, analysts told Kitco News.
“The Scotiabank shuttering of its metals business is a sign of these historic times of markets upheaval. However, such is not a shock to the metals marketplace that has in recent weeks already seen many companies and mines so severely impacted by the Covid-19 pandemic,†said Kitco’s senior technical analyst Jim Wyckoff.
“From my perspective the Comex futures market has at least temporarily overshadowed the spot, or cash, gold market in terms of accurate daily price discovery, given the significant slowing of spot business and spot market-making. Thus, the gold market from a price perspective will take this news in stride,†Wyckoff noted.
One fear is that spot prices could become less reliable, which could be a a big hit for the gold market that has already been struggling with a wide spread between spot and futures prices due to all the logistical issues connected with all the COVID-19 shutdowns.
“It definitely will have an effect on price discovery. The less big banks that are participating in the metals markets, the less reliable those prices coming out of London will be, which we’ve already seen has been a problem in the past couple of weeks,†Gainesville Coins precious metals expert Everett Millman told Kitco News on Tuesday.
The problem could be made worse if more banks like this close their bullion businesses, Millman added. “A lot of people are worried that Scotiabank is just going to be the first of many banks right now to kind of exit the metals business. We have to see if there’s a domino effect that exacerbates the problem,†he said.
Another area of concern is some disruption on the client inter-phase side, said Kitco Metals global trading director Peter Hug.
“I would imagine Scotia has financing projects/lease agreements, metals accounts for their clients, as well as inventory financing deals with dealers. Scotia, I assume will attempt to sell these deals or handle them to maturity … Clients that may need new credit facilities, with other bullion banks or mines that have financing in place may be a bit nervous and are likely already looking for new options,†Hug said.
The news of Scotiabank winding down its bullion desk might also add pressure to the supply side, said Sprott Inc CEO Peter Grosskopf.
“We were already having a tough time getting the amount of physical that we require. I think it’s going to be that much harder,†said Grosskopf. “It’s almost the opposite of what’s happening in the oil market right now.â€
Other analysts said they believe that the nature of the physical market is not going to change.
RBC Wealth Management managing director George Gero said that the spot price was never really reliable because “it is not liquid and it is full cash, there is no margin.â€
“Lately I’ve seen a number of banks move their trading departments or close their trading departments. A lot of it has to do with other things like Brexit. The problem of the traders all having to work remote from home,†Gero added.
The character of investments has also been changing, he noted. “The problem with the trading of the gold is that it’s just changed a lot. But it will not affect anything because you have more central bank business and traditionally the central bank business is in the spot market.â€
Back in 2017, Scotiabank tried to sell ScotiaMocatta, the world’s oldest gold trader owned by Scotiabank.
Unable to finalize the sale, however, Scotiabank ended up keeping its precious metals trading business but downsizing it at the beginning of 2018.
Only around 15 people currently work in Scotia’s metals business, Reuters said. Seventy-five percent of the employees are on the precious metals side and the rest are on the industrial metals side. Just five years ago, the unit had about 140 employees with offices across the world.
ScotiaMocatta’s history goes all the way back to 1600s when Moses Mocatta partnered with the East India Co. to ship gold to India. The operations were set up in London in 1684. In 1997, Scotiabank acquired Mocatta Bullion by purchasing it from Standard Chartered.
Posted by AGORACOM
at 3:11 PM on Wednesday, April 22nd, 2020
SPONSOR: Labrador Gold – Two successful gold explorers lead the way in the Labrador gold rush targeting the under-explored gold potential of the province. Exploration has already outlined district scale gold on two projects, including a 40km strike length of the Florence Lake greenstone belt, one of two greenstone belts covered by the Hopedale Project. Recently acquired 14km of the potential extension of the new discovery by New Found Gold’s Queensway project to the south.Click Here for More Info
Ronald Peter Stöferle’s keynote speech at this year’s virtual World Gold Forum 2020.
Unlimited quantitative easing and fiscal stimulation. Central banks and governments are on the test bench. Learn why this is the perfect breeding ground for gold, commodities and mining stocks.
A golden future lies ahead!
Topics: Black Swan or Grey Rhino?
In recent weeks, the news filled with Corona, experts and governments have been throwing around the term Black Swan. The Black Swan is a metaphor that describes an unpredictable, rare event that causes great harm. Ronald Stöferle, on the other hand, is of the opinion that the corona virus is more like a grey rhinoceros. A rare but highly probable but neglected event.
Central banks and governments under scrutiny We are in the process of making history. Never before has there been a crisis in which so many monetary and fiscal interventions by central banks and governments have been made in such a short time. Ronald postulates that the central banks, as they have already announced, will do everything possible to prevent deflation. The markets and the population should therefore be prepared for anything. From unlimited quantitative easing, to ideas like the universal basic income.
Gold on the rise again. There is a general change on the markets. Gold has reappeared on the scene. Ronald shows how gold has done exactly what it is supposed to do. Stabilize your portfolio and protect your assets from a drastic decline in stock values. He also postulates that the gold price has already reached its lowest point. Inflation or Stagflation Even if it was in fashion to declare inflation dead, it seems to be returning. Ronald explains that our in-house inflation indicator shows that inflation could be about to make a comeback. The markets are unlikely to feel this until the curfew is lifted and there is suddenly much more money in the system.
Gold stocks back in the bull market The comparison between the Great Depression and now does not seem to limp. Ronald postulates a good environment for gold mining stocks, as was the case during the Great Depression. The Golden Future Gold has returned to the public eye. We are currently in the public participation phase.
As Ronald explains that current climate, both by the massive interventions and the general crisis, are the perfect breeding ground for gold and commodities in general.
Posted by AGORACOM
at 2:17 PM on Thursday, April 16th, 2020
SPONSOR: Labrador Gold – Two successful gold explorers lead the way in the Labrador gold rush targeting the under-explored gold potential of the province. Exploration has already outlined district scale gold on two projects, including a 40km strike length of the Florence Lake greenstone belt, one of two greenstone belts covered by the Hopedale Project. Recently acquired 14km of the potential extension of the new discovery by New Found Gold’s Queensway project to the south.Click Here for More Info
Gold extended its rally to hit the highest in more than seven years on concern that the coronavirus pandemic will have a deep effect on the global economy, hammering corporate earnings while supercharging demand for havens.
Futures in New York moved closer to US$1,800 an ounce, a level last seen in 2011. Spreads between futures and spot prices remain wide, suggesting thinner liquidity, which is further exacerbating price dislocation.
“Liquidity conditions are challenging and market participants are understandably cautious,†Joni Teves, a strategist at UBS Group AG, said Tuesday in a note. “Gold’s journey has been quite bumpy so far, but given the macro backdrop we think the destination remains higher.â€
Bullion has soared this year as the global heath crisis tipped economies toward recession and spurred central banks to launch huge stimulus measures. Since last month’s wave of forced selling, as equities sank, gold has staged a recovery.
Comex gold futures for June delivery climbed as much as 1.6 per cent to US$1,788.80 an ounce, the highest for a most-active contract since October 2012. The metal rose 0.4 per cent to settle at US$1768.90 at 1:30 p.m. in New York. Spot gold was more than US$30 cheaper at US$1,737.20, with the spread a feature of trading in recent weeks amid physical market disruptions.
Futures pared earlier gains as “there’s a little bit of a move on volatility, and equities turned around a bit, and what we might be seeing is that people are locking in what they’ve gained on gold here,†Bart Melek, head of commodity strategy at TD Securities, said by phone.
Overall, gold still has room to run, according to Hans Goetti, founder and chief executive officer of HG Research.
“What’s happening here is that the Fed is expanding its balance sheet and every other central bank in the world is doing the same,†he told Bloomberg TV. “What you’re looking at is massive currency debasement in the long term. That’s the major reason why gold is higher, and I would think that over the next few weeks or months, we’re probably going to retest the high that we saw in 2011.â€
The Federal Reserve’s massive U.S. monetary program and the fiscal stimulus “could see long-end rates rise during the recovery phase, but not without rising inflation expectations, which should keep real rates suppressed,†TD Securities analysts said in an emailed note. “In this context, we suspect that investment demand for gold will continue to rise as capital seeks shelter from a long-term environment in which real rates are negative.â€
Negative real rates boosts the appeal of non-interest-bearing bullion.
Gold’s latest upswing has come even as risk sentiment received a boost after China’s trade data beat estimates, while the pace of coronavirus infections has slowed in some countries, with the focus shifting toward how lockdowns can be eased. President Donald Trump said he has “total†authority to order states to relax social distancing and reopen their economies.
Worldwide holdings in bullion-backed exchange-traded funds have ballooned to a record on rising demand, with investors seeking additional portfolio protection. On Monday, volumes in SPDR Gold Shares, the largest such fund, surged above 1,000 tons to the highest since mid-2013.
In other precious metals, silver futures also advanced on the Comex, while platinum and palladium gained on the New York Mercantile Exchange.
Posted by AGORACOM
at 11:16 AM on Wednesday, April 15th, 2020
SPONSOR: Labrador Gold – Two successful gold explorers lead the way in the Labrador gold rush targeting the under-explored gold potential of the province. Exploration has already outlined district scale gold on two projects, including a 40km strike length of the Florence Lake greenstone belt, one of two greenstone belts covered by the Hopedale Project. Recently acquired 14km of the potential extension of the new discovery by New Found Gold’s Queensway project to the south.Click Here for More Info
Gold futures prices are trading not far from unchanged on the day Tuesday at midday, after scoring a 7.5-year high early on, at $1,788.80, basis June Comex futures. Silver prices are sharply up and at a four-week high today. Gold bulls are enjoying the strong near-term technical advantage to continue to suggest more upside for the yellow metal in the near term. Safe-haven demand continues to boost gold, and to a lesser degree silver, as the global economy is still on very shaky ground. June gold futures were last up $0.10 an ounce at $1,761.30. May Comex silver prices were last up $0.503 at $16.04 an ounce.
Global stock markets were mostly higher in overnight trading. U.S. stock indexes are solidly higher at midday. More and more it appears North America and Europe have “turned the corner†on the Covid-19 pandemic. New York Governor Cuomo said Monday his state has seen the worst of the pandemic. Other hotspots in the U.S. have also showed signs of simmering down. Leading U.S. health officials are now saying the world’s largest economy can very likely begin to reopen in stages beginning in May.
The present Covid-19 situation appears to be a sweet spot for the precious metals. There is enough confidence in the marketplace for traders to want to trade markets, but the global economies are still in very bad shape and it’s uncertain when they will be fully operational or healed.
Major corporate earnings reports are now starting to be released, which will show the early impact of the Covid-19 pandemic, and be a sobering reminder of the tough economic times at present. JP Morgan’s results today were a testament of a crippled U.S. economy.
In overnight news, China, the world’s second-largest economy, saw its March exports down 6.6%, year-on-year, which was less than expected. Imports were down 0.9% in the period, also way less than expected. China watchers deemed this data as upbeat, showing the Chinese economy is recovering from the pandemic.
The important markets today see Nymex crude oil prices trading solidly lower, around $21.00 a barrel. Oil market bulls are sorely disappointed the weekend OPEC and other major oil producers agreement to restrict oil output did not boost crude oil futures prices. However, there is no consensus on how much oil production will be reduced. Some market watchers think 10 million barrels a day and the more optimistic bulls think 20 million. There is more agreement among analysts that worldwide oil demand has dropped by at least 20 million barrels a day.
Meantime, the U.S. dollar index is lower at midday. The 10-year U.S. Treasury note yield is trading around 0.735% today.
Technically, June gold futures bulls have the strong overall near-term technical advantage. More upside is likely in the near term. Gold bulls’ next upside near-term price breakout objective is to produce a close above solid technical resistance at $1,800.00. Bears’ next near-term downside price breakout objective is pushing prices below solid technical support at $1,700.00. First resistance is seen at today’s high of $1,788.80 and then at $1,800.00. First support is seen at today’s low of $1,755.30 and then at $1,750.00. Wyckoff’s Market Rating: 9.0
May silver futures prices were nearer the session high and hit a four-week high at midday. The silver bulls have the overall near-term technical advantage. Prices are in a four three-week-old uptrend on the daily bar chart. Silver bulls’ next upside price objective is closing prices above solid technical resistance at $17.00 an ounce. The next downside price breakout objective for the bears is closing prices below solid support at $14.50. First resistance is seen at today’s high of $16.30 and then at $16.50. Next support is seen at today’s low of $15.655 and then at this week’s low of $15.385. Wyckoff’s Market Rating: 6.5.
May N.Y. copper closed up 285 points at 233.10 cents today. Prices closed near the session high and closed at a four-week high close today. The copper bulls have the slight overall near-term technical advantage. A price uptrend is in place on the daily bar chart. Copper bulls’ next upside price objective is pushing and closing prices above solid technical resistance at 250.00 cents. The next downside price objective for the bears is closing prices below solid technical support at 220.00 cents. First resistance is seen at this week’s high of 235.25 cents and then at 238.00 cents. First support is seen at 230.00 cents and then at this week’s low of 226.35 cents. Wyckoff’s Market Rating: 5.5
Posted by AGORACOM
at 10:46 AM on Tuesday, April 14th, 2020
SPONSOR: Labrador Gold – Two successful gold explorers lead the way in the Labrador gold rush targeting the under-explored gold potential of the province. Exploration has already outlined district scale gold on two projects, including a 40km strike length of the Florence Lake greenstone belt, one of two greenstone belts covered by the Hopedale Project. Recently acquired 14km of the potential extension of the new discovery by New Found Gold’s Queensway project to the south.Click Here for More Info
Gold futures prices are trading narrowly on both sides of unchanged in early U.S. trading Tuesday after scoring another 7.5-year high, at $1,785.00 overnight, basis June Comex futures. Gold bulls are enjoying the strong near-term technical advantage to continue to suggest more upside for the yellow metal in the near term. Safe-haven demand continues to boost gold, and to a lesser degree silver, as the global economy is still on very shaky ground. June gold futures were last down $0.90 an ounce at $1,760.20. May Comex silver prices were last up $0.388 at $15.925 an ounce.
Global stock markets were mostly higher in overnight trading. U.S. stock indexes are pointed toward higher openings when the New York day session begins. More and more it appears North America and Europe have “turned the corner†on the Covid-19 pandemic. New York Governor Cuomo said Monday his state has seen the worst of the pandemic. Other hotspots in the U.S. have also showed signs of simmering down. Leading U.S. health officials are now saying the world’s largest economy can very likely begin to reopen in stages beginning in May.
Major corporate earnings reports are now starting to be released, which will show the early impact of the Covid-19 pandemic, and be a sobering reminder of the tough economic times at present.
Technically, the gold bulls have the strong overall near-term technical advantage amid a price uptrend in place on the daily, weekly and monthly charts. That strongly suggests the path of least resistance for prices will remain sideways to higher for at least the near term and probably longer. Bulls’ next upside price objective is to produce a close in June futures above solid resistance at $1,800.00. Bears’ next near-term downside price objective is pushing futures prices below solid technical support at $1,700.00. First resistance is seen at the overnight high of $1,785.00 and then at $1,800.00. First support is seen at $1,750.00 and then at Monday’s low of $1,724.20. Wyckoff’s Market Rating: 8.5
May silver futures bulls have the overall near-term technical advantage and prices are trending higher on the daily bar chart. Silver bulls’ next upside price objective is closing prices above solid technical resistance at $17.00 an ounce. The next downside price breakout objective for the bears is closing prices below solid support at $14.50. First resistance is seen at last week’s high of $16.09 and then at $16.25. Next support is seen at Monday’s low of $15.385 and then at $15.25. Wyckoff’s Market Rating: 6.0.
Posted by AGORACOM
at 11:52 AM on Wednesday, April 8th, 2020
SPONSOR: Labrador Gold – Two successful gold explorers lead the way in the Labrador gold rush targeting the under-explored gold potential of the province. Exploration has already outlined district scale gold on two projects, including a 40km strike length of the Florence Lake greenstone belt, one of two greenstone belts covered by the Hopedale Project. Recently acquired 14km of the potential extension of the new discovery by New Found Gold’s Queensway project to the south.Click Here for More Info
The virus is triggering huge physical demand for gold
They’re both rallying on the same thing. One is gaining on a negative spin and the other on a positive narrative. Gold cracked the $1,700 ceiling on Monday as global anxiety over the Covid-19 pandemic, its impact on economies and inflation widened. Wall Street, meanwhile, jumped on signs of some U.S. relief from the coronavirus.
“It’s like two tales of the same virus,†said Tariq Zahir, a proprietary gold trader at Tyche Capital Advisors in New York. “One is perpetuating fear that’s causing an accumulation of the safe haven called gold. The other is giving hope to equity markets that the U.S. may be getting some break from the pandemic, though it’s very very early in the day to say that.â€
Gold futures on New York’s COMEX settled up $48.20, or 3%, at $1,693.90 per ounce. It hit $1,709.50 at the session high. The $1,700 level has been a rather important resistance mark for the yellow metal, which broke it only twice earlier this year, the first time in January and then in March. In both cases, gold futures fell back soon after the test.
Monday’s rally marked the fourth-straight day of gains for COMEX gold, which has gained just over $100 an ounce or 6% in that period.
Spot gold, which tracks live trades in bullion, was up $41.64, or 2.6%, at $1,659.98 by 3:00 PM ET (19:00 GMT).
“The virus is triggering huge physical demand for gold,†said Phillip Streible at Blueline Futures in Chicago. “Currencies around the world are being devalued right now because everyone is engaging in massive stimulus programs in order for their economies to be safe. So, the supply of gold is being attacked from all angles.â€
“And don’t forget the trickle effect of all that money on inflation and gold as the best known instrument to hedge that,†Streible added.
The United States has passed a $2 trillion stimulus package to fight the pandemic and is considering another package, with White House Economic Adviser Larry Kudlow acknowledging on Monday renewed calls for a multi-trillion-dollar “Coronavirus Bondâ€.
On Wall Street, the Dow was up more than 1,200 points, or 6%, or as new data from New York, the epicenter of the U.S. coronavirus, suggested the state may be peaking on infections from the pandemic, though the daily death toll remains alarmingly high.
Posted by AGORACOM
at 11:27 AM on Friday, April 3rd, 2020
SPONSOR: Labrador Gold – Two successful gold explorers lead the way in the Labrador gold rush targeting the under-explored gold potential of the province. Exploration has already outlined district scale gold on two projects, including a 40km strike length of the Florence Lake greenstone belt, one of two greenstone belts covered by the Hopedale Project. Recently acquired 14km of the potential extension of the new discovery by New Found Gold’s Queensway project to the south.Click Here for More Info
Small gold bars and coins are in high demand from consumers
The size of different products is a key reason for the crunch
Surging demand and disruptions from the coronavirus pandemic have created a shortage of the small gold bars most popular with consumers.
When people are worried about the future they turn to gold to protect their savings. That’s rarely been more true than today.
Surging demand and disruptions from the coronavirus pandemic have created a shortage of the small gold bars most popular with consumers. Those who do manage to get their hands on metal have to pay up –- well above the per-ounce prices being quoted on financial markets in London and New York.
Some dealers are desperately contacting clients to see if anyone is willing to sell their gold bars and coins, and offering a rare premium over spot prices. Others have given up trying to trade altogether.
“People want to buy, not to sell gold,†said Mark O’Byrne, the founder of GoldCore, a dealer based in Dublin. “We have a buyers’ waiting list and we emailed our clients seeing who wished to sell their gold. At this time there is roughly only one or two sellers for every 99 buyers.â€
Size is a key reason for the crunch. While there’s plenty of gold in a big trading hub like London, banks and other institutional investors there typically use large bars of 400 ounces. That’s not practical for a regular person who may not want to cough up more than $600,000 for a single bar. Instead, retail investors prefer kilobars (about 32 ounces), 1-ounce bars and coins, or something even smaller.
Those smaller items are getting hard to find for several reasons. First, of course, demand has exploded. But there’s also been pressure on supply, as global travel shuts down and some refineries and mints have stopped operating or capped production because of local lockdowns.
Premiums in the retail market “have exploded,†said Markus Krall, chief executive of German precious-metals retailer Degussa. The average price of products in shops is somewhere between 10% and 15% over spot prices, which he’s never seen before, Krall said. Demand, too, is at the highest level he’s experienced.
Certain products also command more of a premium than others. Kilobars manufactured by Argor-Heraeus SA, one of the big Swiss refiners whose plant has been closed since last week due to the health crisis, were selling for over 6% above spot, said Ronan Manly, an analyst at Singapore dealer BullionStar.
“We are seeing an unprecedented situation where huge customer demand and the disconnect between physical prices and spot prices is driving buy premiums high,†he said. Spot prices coming from London or New York “are completely detached from the reality on the ground.â€
Posted by AGORACOM
at 4:21 PM on Tuesday, March 31st, 2020
SPONSOR: Labrador Gold – Two successful gold explorers lead the way in the Labrador gold rush targeting the under-explored gold potential of the province. Exploration has already outlined district scale gold on two projects, including a 40km strike length of the Florence Lake greenstone belt, one of two greenstone belts covered by the Hopedale Project. Recently acquired 14km of the potential extension of the new discovery by New Found Gold’s Queensway project to the south.Click Here for More Info
Dear Investors:
Are you looking for securities to buy to take advantage of the
carnage in the financial markets from the coronavirus? Baron Rothschild,
the 18th-century British banker advised that “The time to buy is when
there’s blood in the streets, even if it is your own.†He made a fortune
buying government bonds in the panic that followed the Battle of
Waterloo against Napoleon. But it’s not sovereign debt of the world’s
superpowers that is on sale today; it’s not the S&P 500 or Dow
either.
US government bonds already had their biggest year-over-year rally
ever, and at record low yields, they are no bargain. As for US stocks,
it’s only the first month after what we believe was a historic market
top. The problem is that the pandemic just so happened to strike at the
time of the most over-valued US stock market ever based on a composite
of eight valuation indicators tracked by Crescat, even higher than 1929
and 2000. It also hit after a record long bull market and economic
expansion. The stock market was already ripe for a major downturn based
on an onslaught of deteriorating macro and fundamental data even before
the global health emergency.
As we show in the chart above, we believe there is much more downside
still ahead for US stocks as a major global recession from nosebleed
debt-to-GDP levels has only just begun. Corporate earnings are now
poised to plunge and unemployment to surge. These things are perfectly
normal. There is a business cycle after all. It must play out as always
to purge the economy and markets of their sins and prepare the way for
the next growth phase. From the February top for large cap stocks, it
would take a 56% selloff just to get to long term mean valuations, a 74%
decline to get to one standard deviation below that. In the worst bear
markets, valuations get to two standard deviations below the mean. Such
realities happened at the depth of the Great Depression, the 1973-4 bear
market, and the 1982 double-dip recession. 1932 was an 89% drop from
the peak. The initial decline in this market so far is comparable to
1929 in speed and magnitude. There will certainly be bounces, but even
after an almost 30% fall in the S&P 500 through yesterday’s close,
we are not even close to the “blood in the street†valuations that
should mark the bottom for stocks in the current global recession that
has only just begun.
But value investors do not have to despair today. There is one area
of the stock market that already offers historic low valuations and an
incredible buying opportunity right now. Small cap gold and silver
mining companies just retested the lows of a 9-year bear market. Last
Friday, they were down 84% from their last bull market peak in December
2010! This was a double-bottom retest at a likely higher low compared to
the January 2016 low when they were down 87%. Now that is what we call
mass murder! In the chart below, we show that precious metals juniors
reached record low valuations last Friday relative to gold which is
still up 18% year-over-year. Mad value. Look at that beautiful
divergence and base. The baby was thrown out with the bathwater in a
mass margin call. Last time the ratio was in this vicinity, junior gold
and silver miners rallied 200% in 8 months. Crescat owns a portfolio of
premier, hand-picked juniors as part of our precious metals SMA and in
both hedge funds where clients can gain exposure today. We significantly
increased our exposure in our hedge funds amidst the massacre last
week.
The entire precious metals group was a casualty of a liquidity
crisis, the forced margin call selling for stocks and corporate credit
at large in the precipitous market decline. But it was also a victim of a
meltdown in dubious levered gold and silver ETF products. These
products such as JNUG and NUGT already had a horrific tracking error.
Nobody should have ever been investing in them in the first place. Gold
stocks are volatile enough on an unlevered basis.
The chief culprit in the ETF space last week was the $3 billion
leveraged assets, Direxion Daily Jr. Gold Bull 3x ETF. It absolutely
imploded, dropping 95% through last Friday from its recent high on
February 21. The fiasco in JNUG was insult to injury for long-time
precious metals investors, especially those invested in silver and in
junior miners. It was also an incredible buying opportunity that Crescat
took advantage of, especially in its hedge funds, where the profits
from our short positions at large allowed us to step up. Last week’s
action may have marked a major bottom for precious metals mining stocks
and ideally a bottom for battered silver this week. As of Friday, miners
were on track for their worst quarter ever as we show below.
The gold and silver stock selloff has exposed enormous free cash flow
yields today among precious metals mining producers of 10, 20, 30, 40,
even 50%. This is completely opposite the stock market at large.
Meanwhile, the pure-play junior mining explorers have some of the
world’s most attractive gold and silver deposits that can be bought at
historic low valuations to proven reserves and resources in the ground.
These companies are the beneficiaries of under-investment in exploration
and development by the senior producers over the entire precious metals
bear market. That rebound may have started yesterday in the mining
stocks especially the juniors. It is a historic setup right now for the
entire precious metals complex. Central banks are coming in, guns
blazing.
Meanwhile, the fundamentals have never been better for gold and
silver prices to rise making the discounted present value of these
companies even better. Global central bank money printing is poised to
explode which is important because the world fiat monetary base is the
biggest single macro driver of gold prices. Gold itself is already
undervalued relative to global central bank assets which targets gold at
$2400 an ounce today.
At the same time, the price of gold is the biggest macro driver of
the price of silver, which is gold on steroids. Silver today is the
absolute cheapest it has ever been relative to gold and represents an
incredible bargain. We think silver is poised to skyrocket along with
mining stocks in what should be one of the biggest V-shaped recoveries
in the entire financial markets in the near term.
As we have shown in our prior letters, when the yield curve first
inverts by 70% or more, there is a high probability of a recession and
bear market. At that point, historically it has paid to buy gold and
sell stocks for the next 2 years. We went above 70% inversions in August
2019. At Crescat, we continue to express both sides of this trade in
our hedge funds and our firm at large. The gold-to-S&P 500 ratio is
up 28% since last August. The first part of the move was mostly driven
by the rise in gold. Since February 19, its been driven by the decline
in stocks. Now we’re at the place where historically both legs start to
work in tandem, and yesterday that was evident with one of our best days
ever in both Crescat hedge funds.
The Fed has not exhausted all its bullets. It has many forms of
monetary stimulus. It can print more money and take interest rates into
negative territory if need be. As the downturn in the business cycle
becomes more pronounced, these policies will become increasingly called
upon. That’s precisely what we are seeing today. Rate cuts everywhere,
QE announcements, even forms of helicopter money are being implemented.
It won’t save the economic cycle from its normal course, instead, it
should only invigorate the reasons for owning precious metals. Central
bank money printing and inflationary fiscal policy will almost certainly
intensify. This is incredibly bullish for precious metals. We are in a
global synchronized debasement environment. Gold has already been
appreciating in all major fiat currencies in the world over the last
year.
While yields continue to make historic lows worldwide, in real terms
they have reached even more extreme levels. For instance, the US 10-year
yield is now almost 2 percentage points below inflation. This just
further strengthens our precious metals’ long thesis.
Even investment grade (IG) bonds are now blowing up. Implied
volatility for IG bonds is surging! It’s now at its highest level since
the Great Recession. Last week, the LQD (ETF) plunged 8% in 3 days,
which is equivalent to a 10 standard deviation move. Declines as such
only happened one other time in history, September 2008. We believe the
corporate debt market crisis has just begun.
Stocks are acting like it’s the Great Depression again and we believe
a recession has already begun. The probability for a US recession, as
measure by this Bloomberg indicator, just surged above 50%. It’s
currently at its highest level since the global financial crisis. This
indicator leads changes in unemployment by 5 months with a 0.81
correlation. It suggests that the labor market has peaked.
We have also recently noted that the number of full-time employed
people is now contracting. This was already rolling over in January.
With the recent impacts from the virus outbreak, we believe this number
will be plunging imminently.
Macro Trade of the Century
Crescat’s “Macro Trade of the Century†has been working phenomenally
well since the market top. We believe our in-depth analysis looking at
the history of economic cycles and the development of macro models is
paying off tremendously. This is just the beginning of this three-legged
trade. The global economy has just entered a recession and the
fundamental damage of the virus outbreak on an already over-leveraged
economy will be greater than anything we have ever seen. We have massive
underfunded pensions with governments and corporations record indebted,
while wealth inequality is at an extreme across the globe. It is not
the ideal mix for asset prices that remain grossly overvalued worldwide.
When investors ask us if our macro themes to position for the
downturn have already played out, the answer is absolutely not. There is
so much more to go. We explain it in three ways:
1) The bursting of China’s credit bubble, the largest we’ve seen in
history, has yet to materialize in its most brutal manner. As macro
imbalances unfold worldwide, the Chinese current account should only
continue to shrink and exacerbate its dollar shortage problem. We expect
that a large devaluation in its currency versus USD is coming soon. We
haven’t seen anything yet. We remain positioned for this in an
asymmetric way through put options in our global macro fund in the yuan
and the Hong Kong dollar.
2) Except for last year, gold, silver, and the precious metals’
miners haven’t yet performed in the way we think they will. Instead they
have recoiled in a major way YTD. Meanwhile, central banks are clearly
losing control of financial markets and further monetary stimulus
appears unavoidable. The entire precious metals’ industry should benefit
from this macro backdrop. The near- and medium-term upside opportunity
in the entire precious metals complex has never looked more attractive
than it does today.
3) Equity markets remain about 30% above their median valuations
throughout history. The coming downturn is one that will likely not stop
at the median. As we showed above, we believe there is much more
downside ahead for stocks at large before we reach the trough of the
current global recession.
In our hedge funds, we added significantly to our precious metals
positions with gains from our short sales late last week. We have also
recently been harvesting profits in some of the most beaten down of our
shorts. We remain net short global equities but much less so than a
month ago and with less gross exposure overall. As a value-oriented
global macro asset management firm, we believe there is so much more to
play out as the economic cycle has only just begun to turn down. We are
not perma-bears, but we are determined to capitalize on this downturn.
Crescat Performance Update
We have been telling our hedge fund clients for the past several
quarters that we have been tactically positioned for a market and
economic downturn ripe to unfold. Indeed, it has finally begun. Below,
we show how our hedge funds have been performing since the top in the
S&P 500 on February 19:
If you are interested in learning more about Crescat or investing with us, we encourage you to contact Linda Carleu Smith at [email protected] or (303) 228-7371.
Posted by AGORACOM
at 12:54 PM on Thursday, March 12th, 2020
SPONSOR: Labrador Gold – Two successful gold explorers lead the way in the Labrador gold rush targeting the under-explored gold potential of the province. Exploration has already outlined district scale gold on two projects, including a 40km strike length of the Florence Lake greenstone belt, one of two greenstone belts covered by the Hopedale Project. Recently acquired 14km of the potential extension of the new discovery by New Found Gold’s Queensway project to the south.Click Here for More Info
Gold is known as the safe-haven asset, and whenever we see a
meltdown in the equity markets or prospects of loose monetary policy,
its price begins to explode to the upside.
Currently, the gold price has a strong negative correlation with the
equity markets meaning when the equity markets fall; investors pour
money into gold and vice versa.
The fact is that the current sell-off in the global equity markets is
only a start because there is a lot more to come. After all, the
economic weakness isn’t fully baked into economic data, let alone in
earnings. Thus, there is no better time to buy gold.
Why?
First, the equity markets are in major turmoil as a 1000 point move for the Dow Jones
index has become the norm. Secondly, the Coronavirus has pushed the
Federal Reserve into a corner, and it’s being forced to keep its
monetary policy on the dovish side. The Fed cut the interest rate by 50
basis points only a couple of weeks ago, and yet the market expects
further cuts.
Gold which is up nearly 10% year-to-date
is likely to score serious gain in the coming weeks. The reason is that
we have a situation where monetary policy itself isn’t enough to calm
the markets; however, governments are trying to provide support on the
fiscal front as well. For instance, Donald Trump has pitched the idea of
no payroll tax for this year to soften the blow of Coronavirus. So far,
we have not seen a green flag which is why investors are still nervous.
Donald Trump may achieve some of his goals, but it won’t be enough, the
economic damage is too considerable, and the Coronavirus is still
nowhere close to coming under control.
Going back to the monetary policy action and why there is serious
potential for the gold price to increase; at present, traders and Wall
Street are expecting further interest rate cuts from the Fed during
their meeting next week. An interest rate cut of 50 basis points is the
minimum that investors expect, and according to bigger banks like
Goldman Sachs and JP Morgan, we can expect 75 basis points and a full
percentage point.
Regarding the price action, an interest rate cut isn’t priced in at
all, if it had been, the price would have been trading much higher.
Currently, it’s trading near $1,661.
The Play
If the Fed cuts the interest rate by 50 basis points, this could push
the gold price above 1700 again. Anything more than 50 basis points,
especially a whole percentage point, could pump the price to 1750 or
higher.
The Flow
If we look at the total gold ETF holding data, it supports our thesis
that the gold price is likely to increase because the total holding in
ETFs is sitting at a record level, and the inflow continues to rise. It
appears that investors are discounting this current price weakness and
using this opportunity to buy more.
The Bottom Line
The current retracement in the gold price is an enormous opportunity
for traders to get back in the game or add to their position, similar
to the institutions. If for some reason, the Fed doesn’t cut the
interest rates during the meeting, it will create more panic in the
equity markets, which would be a positive sign for the gold price.
Posted by AGORACOM
at 12:23 PM on Thursday, March 5th, 2020
SPONSOR: Labrador Gold – Two successful gold explorers lead the way in the Labrador gold rush targeting the under-explored gold potential of the province. Exploration has already outlined district scale gold on two projects, including a 40km strike length of the Florence Lake greenstone belt, one of two greenstone belts covered by the Hopedale Project. Recently acquired 14km of the potential extension of the new discovery by New Found Gold’s Queensway project to the south.Click Here for More Info
Dr. Quinton Hennigh said: “We
at Novo think the Queensway Project represents a very promising new
high-grade gold discovery. It appears the Queensway Project encompasses
an area highly prospective for high-grade, epizonal orogenic gold
mineralization
TSX-listed, Pilbara-focused gold player, Novo Resources, has acquired
15.97 per cent of New Found Gold Corp via a scrip-for-scrip deal that
gives Novo access to New Found’s stellar gold prospect on the east coast
of Canada. Novo says that the New Found tenement package is the largest
in the Province of Newfoundland and Labrador.
A recent drill intercept at New Found’s Queensway project located
near the town of Gander in central Newfoundland returned 19m at 3 ounces
to the tonne from 98m, including 6m at a staggering 9oz/tonne gold.
Novo says the intercept has an estimated true width of around 70 per
cent of the 19m hit, making it an extraordinary hole.
According to New Found’s management, this drill hole is adjacent to
historical surface workings and only 2km from an historical gold
resource.
Novo said that Eric Sprott, a director of Novo, was sitting on 16.79%
of the issued and outstanding shares of New Found immediately prior to
the acquisition. New Found is considered a non-arm’s length party to
Novo pursuant to TSX Venture Exchange policies and the deal is subject
to the approval of the Exchange.
Under the terms of the acquisition, Novo also has the right to
appoint a director to the board of directors of New Found at any time
for a period of three years from the acquisition date provided that the
company holds no less than 10% of New Found’s issued and outstanding
shares. Novo has also agreed to certain voting restrictions for a period
of three years.
President and Chairman of Novo Resources, Dr. Quinton Hennigh said: “We
at Novo think the Queensway Project represents a very promising new
high-grade gold discovery. It appears the Queensway Project encompasses
an area highly prospective for high-grade, epizonal orogenic gold
mineralization. We are very pleased to have the opportunity to be part
of this exciting discovery and, upon completion of the Acquisition, look
forward to supporting New Found as they advance work around hole
NFGC-19-01 and the many other high-grade showings across the Queensway
Project.â€
Whilst Novo has been and remains focused on delivering its
Pilbara-based conglomerate gold project, the acquisition of an interest
in New Found is the second of its kind for Novo. The TSX-listed company
announced back in January this year that it had subscribed for shares in
ASX-listed Kalamazoo Resources in a financing arrangement that will,
upon closing, give Novo 8.17 per cent of Kalamazoo’s issued and
outstanding shares.
Novo said that Kalamazoo has a string of prospects in the
Bendigo-Castlemaine region of Victoria in Australia and its prospects
have strong similarities to the 1Moz Fosterville gold deposit being
mined underground by TSX-listed Kirkland Lake Gold at an average grade
of 31g/t gold.
Interestingly, Eric Sprott, Novo director, is also a shareholder in Kalamazoo.
With a market cap approaching the equivalent of half a billion
Australian dollars, Novo can make scrip-based acquisitions such as New
Found and Kalamazoo with ease.
The impact on its share capital is minimal but the upside is
potentially serious if either of its current or future based bets come
good – and with 19m going 3 ounces to the tonne, New Found just might
fit into that category.