Gold has been lingering around the $1,335 per ounce for the past several weeks. This prompted many hedge funds to sell their holdings.

Then came the turmoil in the Mideast. First Tunisia and Egypt, now Libya, Bahrain, Yemen and others. That was the catalyst that gold needed. It shot to a new record high of $1,432.10 in the spot market. April gold futures settled at $1,431.20 per ounce, as reported in Reuters.

Continue reading Gold Soars to a Record High on Mideast Turmoil

Gold Soars to a Record High on Mideast Turmoil originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Wed, 02 Mar 2011 12:20:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

SPDR Gold Trust (GLD) closed at $135.41. Middle East violence has resulted in gold rising above $1,407 an ounce. GLD overall option implied volatility of 17 is below its 26-week average of 20, according to Track Data, suggesting decreasing price movement.

Financial Select Sector (XLF) overall volatility at 22; 26-week average is 24.

ISE Sentiment Index-ISEE closed at 114; 10-day moving average is 132.

Options Update is by Stock Specialist Paul Foster of theflyonthewall.com.

Options Update: Gold Rises as Middle East Violence Spreads originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Tue, 22 Feb 2011 09:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Barrick Gold Corp. (ABX), which is the world's largest gold producer, continues to pump out strong profits. According to the latest quarterly report, net income came to 90 cents a share, up from 21 cents in the same period a year ago. Revenues were up 25% to $2.95 billion.

On an adjusted basis -- such as by excluding one-time items -- earnings were 95 cents. The Street consensus was for 87 cents.

Continue reading Barrick Continues to Mine Its Own Business

Barrick Continues to Mine Its Own Business originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Thu, 17 Feb 2011 10:45:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

China is allowing its citizens to buy physical gold bars. This new program is unleashing an unbridled demand for the metal. The program works this way: The Industrial & Commercial Bank of China (ICBC), China's largest, sells the bars to customers at real-time prices. Persons who own the bars can resell them to the bank.

To give you an insight into the magnitude of these sales, here are a few statistics. The ICBC sold 7 tons of bullion in January alone. In all of 2010, sales were only 15 tons.

Continue reading Chinese Citizens Are Hungry for More Gold

Chinese Citizens Are Hungry for More Gold originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Wed, 16 Feb 2011 12:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

The trends that drove gold prices higher in 2010 are still in place. In the U.S., the Federal Reserve is buying $600 billion in treasuries in an attempt to keep interest rates low. Low interest rates encourage higher gold prices.

In Europe, the situation is still unstable. The European Central Bank (ECB) has stepped up its purchases of member nations' bonds. Spain is still on the table as a country teetering on verge of a bailout. Until the European mess is settled, gold remains a surrogate currency.

Continue reading Analysts Forecast Higher Gold Prices in 2011

Analysts Forecast Higher Gold Prices in 2011 originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Sun, 02 Jan 2011 14:15:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Gold prices have marched to a new high of $1,422.45 per troy ounce in London. This marks the fourth day of the gold rally.

The Wall Street Journal (subscription required) cited that the prime mover was continued worry over European sovereign debt defaults.Traders and investors are riding the bull higher and higher. To help the gold along, the U.S. dollar is weaker, sparking a rally in key commodities like oil and grains. Cotton is also up again.

Continue reading Gold Climbs to Yet Another Record High

Gold Climbs to Yet Another Record High originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Tue, 09 Nov 2010 11:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Gold shot past $1,400 per ounce to $1,410.4 on the December contract. Triggering the move were worries about sovereign debt levels in Europe and uncertainty concerning the upcoming G-20 meeting, as the Wall Street Journal reports.

First to Europe. The cost of insuring against defaults in countries like Ireland, Portugal and Spain has increased. Ireland's debt, in particular, is causing concern. Interest rates on Irish bonds has risen to 7.8% against Germany's 2.5%.

Continue reading Gold Shoots Past $1,400 to a Record High

Gold Shoots Past $1,400 to a Record High originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Mon, 08 Nov 2010 16:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Precious metals moved higher today, led by gold, which set another record high. Here are the numbers:

• December gold futures are trading at $1,328.20, per ounce, up $11.40 (as of 8:00 am EDT)
• December silver is up 23 cents to $22.27 per ounce.
• October platinum is trading at $1,681.7 per ounce, up $14.
• December Palladium is up $7.20 to $568.50 per ounce.

Continue reading Gold and Silver March to New Highs

Gold and Silver March to New Highs originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Tue, 05 Oct 2010 10:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Starting next month you will be able to buy gold at an ATM machine. Can that be true? Yes, CNNMoney's story on Gold to go's owner Thomas Geissler says he plans to launch two such ATMs in Las Vegas and Florida. Plans are to expand the Gold to go ATMs in New York, Dallas, Los Angeles and Minnesota.

The machines will offer gold coins and bars weighing up to 8 ounces. Prices are updated every ten minutes based on spot gold prices.

Continue reading Next Month You Can Buy Gold at an ATM

Next Month You Can Buy Gold at an ATM originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Sat, 02 Oct 2010 11:40:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Spot gold in London hit $1,299.65. The December gold futures contract traded at $1,301.30, setting new record highs, as reported in Reuters.

Gold resumed its rally mode when the U.S. Federal Reserve indicated that it will provide more stimulus to the U.S. economy. That triggered commodities to move higher in anticipation of more inflation.

Continue reading Gold Rises to $1,300 per Ounce; U.S. Dollar Sinks

Gold Rises to $1,300 per Ounce; U.S. Dollar Sinks originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Fri, 24 Sep 2010 11:20:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Gold set a new record high in London, trading at $1,277.07 per ounce, Bloomberg News reported.

The reasons for gold's surge are both technical and fundamental. On the technical side, when gold broke through the old high at $1,265 per ounce, it was a signal to traders to buy. Usually when a new nigh is made, the bulls take charge of the market.

Continue reading Gold Powers to a New Record High

Gold Powers to a New Record High originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Thu, 16 Sep 2010 12:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Continue reading Gold Prices Surge to New Record High on Global Economic Concerns

Gold Prices Surge to New Record High on Global Economic Concerns originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Tue, 14 Sep 2010 14:40:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Higher prices are not keeping gold buyers away in India. This year it is estimated that India will buy between 600 to 625 metric tons of the precious metal, up fromm 480 to 485 tons last year, according to the National Spot Exchange Ltd, a reported by Bloomberg. This year's purchases will make India the world's biggest consumer of gold.

According to the World Gold Council, India's bullion demand almost doubled in the first half of this year. Anjani Sinha, CEO of the nation's'biggest bourse for trading physical gold said: "This level of prices is already accepted, so during this period compared with last year, the demand will be higher."

Continue reading India Imports More Gold Despite Higher Prices

India Imports More Gold Despite Higher Prices originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Thu, 02 Sep 2010 09:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Will gold rally to $1,500 per ounce? According to leading analysts, the answer is yes. Bloomberg News surveyed 29 analysts and their median number was $1,500 per ounce.

Dan Brebner of Deustche Bank (DB) was the most accurate forecaster this year. His prediction is also for $1,500 per ounce.

Continue reading Will Gold Rally to $1,500 per Ounce?

Will Gold Rally to $1,500 per Ounce? originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Wed, 01 Sep 2010 10:40:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

In a footnote in a 216-page report released last week, the Bank for International Settlements (BIS) disclosed that since December, it has taken in 349 metric tons of gold from central banks, which swapped it for $14 billion in cash.

Why is this important? First off, the BIS is the central bankers' bank. We can gather from this that central banks needed cash to pay their bills. So they pawned their gold.

Continue reading Central Banks Swap Tons of Gold for Cash

Central Banks Swap Tons of Gold for Cash originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Sun, 11 Jul 2010 14:10:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

The flight to safety is still on. Spot gold in London traded at $1,251.20 per ounce, setting a new all time high.

One analyst, Edel Tully of UBS in London, said: "A number of external variables indicated that all is not well in financial markets and gold is benefiting as a result."

Another analyst, James Steel of HSBC, in New York stated: "The fact is sovereign risk is elevated."

Continue reading Gold Hits New High of $1,251.20 per Ounce

Gold Hits New High of $1,251.20 per Ounce originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Tue, 08 Jun 2010 10:20:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

After a brief sell off, buyers are returning to the gold market. Spot gold in London is trading at $1,212.85 per ounce. On the COMEX, June gold futures are at $1,210.50 per ounce, up $12.50.

The demand for gold continues. Investors are worried about the euro and eurozone sovereign debt. They wonder where all the money will come from to refinance upcoming bond maturities. Banks in Europe were gun shy about lending to one another. Chairman Bernanke of the U.S. Federal Reserve opened credit lines with Europe to ease the tightness. However, in a recent statement he said that the credit lines would not remain open forever. Those words added fuel to the euro fears.

Continue reading Gold Moves Higher on Euro Outlook

Gold Moves Higher on Euro Outlook originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Wed, 26 May 2010 13:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Continue reading Gold soars as dollar continues to weaken

Gold soars as dollar continues to weaken originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Tue, 13 Oct 2009 13:50:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Gold usually has an inverse relationship with the dollar. When the USD goes up, gold goes down, because theoretically a stronger dollar can buy more gold. Additionally, commodities in general tend to fall on a stronger dollar because it is often correlated with lower expectations for growth.

This week we saw a major correction in equities with banks leading the way. American International Group, Inc. (NYSE: AIG) was down more than 20% on Tuesday alone. This is a fear-driven decline, and we can see evidence of that in a positive correlation between gold and the dollar.

Continue reading Gold is up as investors seek shelter from the storm

Gold is up as investors seek shelter from the storm originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Wed, 02 Sep 2009 16:40:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

In a bizarre twist, central bankers actually want the price of gold to rise because it would be an indication that attempts to stave off deflation were working. Why do we have all of this upside down thinking?

In the past year, we've seen gold go up on fears of inflation, then it rose on fears of deflation. Analysts who follow gold say that it may be entering a structural bull market. Why is this? For one thing, gold has held firm mainly due to the problems in the banking industry.

Continue reading Is "gold mania" on the way?

Is "gold mania" on the way? originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Thu, 19 Feb 2009 15:50:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.