Commodities

WASHINGTON - Beginning at noon Eastern Time on June 25, the United States Mint will open sales for the 2013 America the Beautiful Quarters Three-Coin Set - Great Basin National Park (product code N48). The set contains two uncirculated quality Great Basin National Park quarters - one each from the United States Mint facilities at Philadelphia and Denver - and one proof quality quarter from the United States Mint at San Francisco. The coins are mounted on a durable plastic card that includes a brief description of the park and the coin design. A Certificate of Authenticity is printed on the back of the card.

Gold is down moderately as traders close positions and hunker down ahead of the Fed Open Market Committee meeting, which starts today. Speculation over what Mr. Bernanke will say Wednesday afternoon is much more active than the markets are, as stocks traded on very light volume around the globe. Everyone’s getting into a safe place where they can react to the FOMC’s decision. The dollar was near a four-month low overnight, before popping briefly at the New York open on U.S. CPI data, but the boost was short-lived. The euro saw support overnight from better than expected German consumer confidence, while the yen weakened. The Indian rupee hit another all-time low versus the dollar, suppressing gold demand in the world’s largest importer of the yellow metal. Oil is slightly weaker after hitting a four-month high yesterday on Syria worries. In Asia, the Nikkei was lower on light volume. Hong Kong stocks were flat, and Chinese stocks nearly so, eking out a 0.1% rise. The Chinese government is stuck in a tough situation, economically, as the economy slows down, but housing prices continue to spiral upwards, fueling inflation. Platinum group metals are lower on news that European auto sales hit their lowest level in 20 years. In the U.S., consumer prices came in at +0.1% in May, against expectations of 0.2%. April had seen a large 0.4% drop. The low inflation is primarily due to the first drop in food prices in four years. Very low inflation gives the Fed more leeway to continue the current $85 billion a month in liquidity injections. Single family housing starts rose more than expected, which is good economic news in general as this will stimulate demand in related industries. This week’s FOMC meeting is probably seeing the most market uncertainty than any other this year, as everyone tries to out-guess the Fed. Bernanke’s testimony before Congress, where he discussed the downsides to the current quantitative easing program, has led to a month of markets running around like startled chickens. Some analysts believe the unofficial messages the Fed has been spreading over the last month was to temper the “irrational exuberance” in the stock market, and to get Wall St. used to the idea that the “free money” party has to end eventually. Others speculate that a majority of the Fed believe that the long-term inflation risks are getting too great to continue expanding money reserves in the banking sector. Precious metals will probably feel some short-term pressure when U.S. quantitative easing ends, and interest rates rise slightly, but the trillions of dollars of cash injected by central banks worldwide will eventually find its way out of the banks and into the economy, sparking higher inflation rates and currency devaluation. by David Peterson Filed under: Market News Tagged: Chinese central bank, Chinese economy, euro, European economy, FOMC, inflation, U.S. dollar, U.S. economy, yen

Jim Sinclair The following is a missive that we received from Jim Sinclair who is the host of a web site called Jim Sinclair's MineSet. The above link will take to his site and his updates via email are free, so you have nothing to lose by signing up for them.Here we go: My Dear Extended Family, I feel that I must explain to you where the black hole is in all major and some minor banks in North America and Euroland, but in private. I seek to help you and that would be impossible if I hurt the system. Please come to our Q&A sessions. It is too fragile to discuss in public such as on JSMineset.com. It has not been written up anywhere by anyone. You must "GOTS." For your information, this is very important Co-op set to unveil 'bail in' plan to plug £1.5bn hole

Source: Bloomberg, Sprott Asset Management LP With the Indian rupee plumbing new lows against the US dollar and the country’s current account deficit at record levels, the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) is taking the easiest route to tackle both; it has declared a war on gold

Three Current Themes Precious Metals Investors Need to Consider By Hard Assets Alliance Team By Ed D'Agostino, General Manager, Hard Assets Alliance I recently attended John Mauldin's Strategic Investor Conference, where I heard some of the world's brightest minds in finance and economics. From Paul McCully to Mohamed El-Erian, David Rosenberg to Noriel Roubini, the best of the best were on stage pontificating on the future. And now I know exactly what the next five years will bring. Without a doubt, the next five years are sure to bring inflation. Perhaps double-digit inflation. Unless, of course, we have a sustained period of deflation

There is more than freshly-minted gold and silver at Gainesville Coins. We also receive precious metal coins and bars from all over the world, some over 100 years old! We purchase these items from collectors, estates, jewelry and coin shops, and others – what is called the “secondary market.” Sometimes when I’m nosing around in our vaults or passing the receiving desk, I see something that catches my eye. I will be sharing these items in this new column, “The Coin Explorer’s Corner.” There’s no telling what I might dig up! Being a huge history fan, I knew immediately that I would have to feature today’s coin. This is the 1994 proof gold 50 pence coin from the Royal Mint, commemorating the 50th anniversary of D-Day. Designed by John Mills, who saw the thousands of aircraft heading for Normandy on that momentous day, this 22k gold coin shows the paratroopers and airborne troops that spearheaded the liberation of France heading for their rendezvous with destiny. Below, the seas are filled with landing craft taking the main invasion force to the beaches. This coin comes in the original purple Royal Mint presentation case, with numbered certificate of authenticity. Limited to only 1,877 minted, this beautiful 26.32 gram proof gold coin is the perfect gift for that special active or retired military person, or WWII history buff. by The Coin Explorer Filed under: Gold & Silver at Gainesville Coins Tagged: Gainesville Coins, gold coins, The Coin Explorer, WWII Aircraft

The news that the Chinese government has approved two gold-backed ETPs has people speculating on what it means for precious metals. Zhang Bingnan, the secretary general of the China Gold Association, says “Gold ETFs should help boost gold demand as they will make Chinese investments in the bullion much easier.” Many Western analysts think that it will either have no effect, or will decrease physical gold demand. It seems counterintuitive to think that physical demand would drop, since the ETPs are backed by gold. The best case scenario, which seems quite likely, is that these new investment products will capture some demand that was not taking part in traditional “buy and hold” physical demand, while also grabbing some urban physical demand. I think it is likely that it will add some to physical demand as shares grow, but will take a few years to rival SPDRs gold ETF. Filed under: Uncategorized Tagged: China, ETFs, gold demand, physical gold

Have you seen the Gainesville Coins Bestseller List? We dynamically track the Top Ten, Top 40, and Top 100 items from the previous seven days on our site, updated on a daily basis. Every Monday on the blog, we cover the overall Top Ten gold and silver items according to the previous week’s sales. A lot of moving around this week, as people snap up all the “Classic US Designs” generic silver rounds. The 1/2 oz Buffalo Design makes his way back to the Top Ten, while the Draped Bust design 1 oz round jumps an amazing 7 places to nab the #2 spot. Although our Top Ten may show a lot of silver, remember that Gainesville Coins carries 1 oz and fractional gold bullion coins from several nations, including the Gold Eagle, Gold Maple Leaf and Gold Panda. We also carry an extensive line of certified and ungraded pre-1933 U.S. gold coins. Here is the Gainesville Coins Top Ten for the week ending June 16: The “New Design” 1 oz Silver Buffalo Round, made of 999 pure silver (sku: rounds2) The 1 oz Draped Bust Design Silver Round (made in USA) made of 999 pure silver (sku: rounds18) Up 7 slots The 2013 Chinese Silver Panda 1 oz bullion coin, made of 999 pure silver (sku: CHSC7) Up 3 slots The 1 oz Peace Dollar Design Silver Round (made in USA), made of 999 pure silver (sku: rounds21) Return to Top Ten The 1 oz Morgan Design Silver Round (made in USA) made of 999 pure silver (sku: rounds20) Up 2 slots The 1 oz Indian Head Design Silver Round (made in USA) made of 999 pure silver (sku: rounds17) Up 4 slots The 2013 American Silver Eagle 1 oz bullion coin, made of 999 pure US silver in Brilliant Uncirculated condition (sku: CSE30) Down 4 slots The 1/2 oz Buffalo Design Silver Round (made in USA) made of 999 pure silver (sku: rounds8) Return to top Ten The 1/2 oz Walking Liberty Design Silver Round (made in USA) made of 999 pure silver (sku: rounds23) Down 1 slot The 1/10 oz Walking Liberty Design Silver Round (made in USA) made of 999 pure silver (sku: rounds24) Return to Top Ten Note that the coins on the Top Ten page can and will change over time, but you can use the sku number to search on the site for any coin mentioned in this article. Filed under: Gold & Silver at Gainesville Coins Tagged: 2013 Silver Eagle, 2013 Silver Panda, American Silver Eagle, silver rounds

Global markets are up slightly on very light volume, as traders try not to make any noise ahead of getting a glimpse of the rascally rabbit that is Fed monetary policy this week. Gold trended slightly downward overnight after closing up 0.5% for the week on Friday, but got a bump at the COMEX opening. In contrast, palladium suffered a flash selloff to $716 at the opening bell, and has recovered slightly. The Group of Eight industrialized nations are meeting in Belfast, Northern Ireland today, where Syria is likely to be a hot topic, but Mr. Bernanke wields far more power as far as the markets are concerned. The Fed Open Market committee begins its June meeting tomorrow, and Chairman Bernanke will conduct a press conference Wednesday afternoon to explain the conclusions of the committee. The dollar is firming up, but not above Friday’s range, as some safe haven demand leaks out of the yen. The euro still remains above 1.33 against the dollar. Oil continues to show strength, hitting a four month high overnight. The rupee in India continues to fall, which is suppressing gold demand in the world’s largest gold importer. This is also traditionally a low-demand month for gold in Asia. Overnight in Asia, the Nikkei index rose 2.7%, breaking the losing trend and getting out of bear territory. Hong Kong stocks finally see a good day, but Chinese stocks took a hit in energy and heavy pollution industries as Beijing announces measures to combat unlivable smog conditions in its major cities. In Europe, composite Euro imports are reported to have jumped in April, and German wages in the first quarter rose at the highest rate in almost four years, giving stocks on the continent a boost. In the U.S., the Empire State manufacturing index gained over nine points to 7.8 in June from May’s surprise -1.4. Analysts had expected a small increase to zero.  As CNBC notes, however, the numbers inside the numbers are cause for some concern, as new orders and worker hours fell. Wall St. still used the news to open higher.  The National Association of Home Builders announced today that confidence among their member companies rose to the highest level in seven years this month, as restricted inventory of homes drives prices higher. Precious metals are still trading in a tight range, which seems to now be the “new normal” until a major event breaks the “stickiness” of prices. Everyone waits to see what the Fed will say this week, while seemingly ignoring the closure of low-margin precious metals mines and contraction in the mining industry. The big question seems to be not what the Fed will say, but what the equities markets think it said. by David Peterson Filed under: Market News

The Independent newspaper in South Africa reports today, that the three largest platinum mining companies, the mineworkers’ unions, and the South African government have agreed on a draft agreement aimed at restoring peace to the nations mining sector, which has recently been wracked by violent confrontations. Not only has there been violence and wildcat strikes at mines, but the feud between the National Union of Mineworkers and the Association of Mineworkers and Construction Union has led to the murder of shop stewards on both sides. The unions have been demanding pay raises of up to 60%, while at the same time the mining companies have been arguing with the government to be allowed to close unprofitable mines to stem corporate losses. The unions have pledged to work harder to dissuade their members from committing vigilante justice or starting wildcat strikes, the mining companies have promised to resolve labor issues quickly, and the government has announced plans to increase security at mines and ensure impartiality when dealing with unrest. The entire nation has suffered over the troubles in the mining industry, with strikes last year causing $1.5 billion USD in lost output, and cost South Africa a half percent of national GDP. Wildcat strikes and open warfare between the two unions has roiled the South African economy, devalued the national currency the rand, and according to President Zuma, has already contracted 2013 GDP 0.3% by David Peterson Filed under: Market News Tagged: company mines, labor unrest, platinum production, South Africa