Gold can be a welcome addition to retirement portfolios

Dealer gold is much more than a potentially lucrative investment in the short term. It can also help provide stability to one's retirement portfolio, especially in light of the instability that has plagued the stock market in the past couple of years.

In fact, a recent survey from AXA Equitable Life Insurance finds that 24 percent of consumers expect the economy to remain unstable with little, if any improvement in the near future. In contrast, the same survey found that only 12 percent of economists believe this is the case.

The survey also found that only 19 percent are confident in their ability to invest in equities, even though many of them believe that such investments are important for their overall retirement planning.

At the height of the recession, many retirement portfolios were decimated by as much as 40 percent, creating long-lasting economic pain for those who were on the verge of entering their retirement years.

To avoid similar problems, those who are starting to lay out their long-term financial goals may want to talk to a silver and gold dealer about the stability and profits that adding precious metals to their portfolios can bring.

Lawmakers show little inclination to tackle national debt

Many investors have been talking to silver and gold dealers about concerns raised by the ever-increasing U.S. national deficit, especially in light of widespread doubt about whether substantial action will be taken to resolve the problem.

Still, members of Congress and the White House have acknowledged the national debt problem to some extent in recent weeks. For example, earlier this month President Barack Obama announced the creation of a National Commission on Fiscal Responsibility and Reform.

The panel will be headed by former White House Chief of Staff Erskine Bowles, a Democrat, and former U.S. Senator Alan Simpson, a Republican from Wyoming.

"For far too long, Washington has avoided the tough choices necessary to solve our fiscal problems - and they won't be solved overnight," said Obama in his announcement.

However, the commission's recommendations will not be binding upon Congress, which raises concern in some quarters that it will make little real progress in the long run.

Given the economic chaos that the nation's debt burden could eventually bring upon the financial system, considering an investment in dealer gold may be a wiser long-term choice than ever.

Superior Gold Group - Scottish gold mine thought to have high potential

Demand for dealer gold is remaining strong in light of worldwide economic uncertainty, and so far, producers are doing a good job keeping up with investor interest in precious metals.

For example, a substantial amount of news has been generated from active and lucrative gold mines in parts of the world that include Latin America, the American West, Canada and Alaska. To a lesser extent, there have also been facilities in Southeast Asia and other nearby regions that are showing considerable economic potential.

However, commercially viable gold mining operations are cropping up in some potentially unexpected parts of the world.

For example, Scotgold Resources Limited recently announced that that it has submitted a planning application for the Cononish project, which would become the first gold and silver mine in Scotland. This action was said to have been undertaken after three years of government and community consultations.

A separate announcement from the company recently indicated that the total inventory for the Cononish project is now thought to consist of 163,000 ounces of gold and 596,000 ounces of silver. The company has also identified some spots in Ireland that are thought to have significant gold mining potential.

Gold Prices Fell In After Hour Trades As Fed Raises Discount Rates

Gold prices fell in the after hour trades as the Fed raised the discount rates making markets mistrustful about the buying in commodities.

The Fed statement, released after the close of Thursday's trading, said the moves were approved unanimously by the Federal Reserve Board, and would take effect on Friday, February 19th. The fed said it is increasing the so-called discount rate by 25 basis points to 0.75 percent.

COMEX Gold settled floor trading at $1118.70, down just $1.40, or 0.1%, on the Comex division of the New York Mercantile Exchange. The LOCO Gold prices were at $1108.5 per ounce up $ 1.8.

MCX Gold closed at Rs 16775 per 10 grams up Rs 19. The markets got topped at Rs 16845 per 10 grams.

The U.S. Labor Department said that jobless claims were up 31,000 last week to 473,000, more than expected.

The Labor Department also said that the producer price index was up 1.4% in January and up 4.6% from a year ago, more than expected.

The U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) said that crude oil supplies were up 3.1 million barrels last week to 334.5 million barrels. Supplies of gasoline were up 1.7 million barrels and heating oil supplies were down 1.4 million barrels.

April crude oil finished up $1.69 at $79.42, the highest close in four weeks.

Source: Bloomberg

Investors less optimistic about economic recovery

Gold coin investments remain an attractive option because of ongoing unease among many about the direction of the economy and how strong any pending recovery will actually be.

One such example of investor uncertainty comes from the February edition of the Bank of America/Merrill Lynch Survey of Fund Managers.

According to the survey, many have investors have reduced their expectations for economic growth and are looking to more stable options, including cash. The investors are also said to be less optimistic about economic recoveries in emerging nations like India and China.

In February, only 51 percent of European investors expected economic growth in their region of the world, compared to 74 percent in January. A total of 42 percent believe that there will be no interest rate increase by the Federal Reserve before 2011, which reflects a broader expectation of a stagnant economy.

"Investors are questioning whether this is a pause in growth or a trend reversal. We believe it's the former," said Gary Baker of BofA Merrill Lynch Global Research.

Fortunately, investors have long known that they can turn to gold and silver investments during times of economic uncertainty and other financial setbacks.

Gold momentum enjoys a strong week

Commodities, including gold, had a good week in part because of growing economic optimism in various countries around the world.

A report by Bloomberg cited positive economic signals in Australia and China as fueling gains in industrial metals including copper, while concerns about sovereign debt problems in Europe were further fueling the momentum for investing in gold coins and similar options.

"Gold is moving along with all of the commodities. There's some economic optimism that's bringing in buying. People want to embrace gold with the overall risk tolerance that is coming back into the market today," Adam Klopfenstein of Lind-Waldock told the financial news provider.

Gold prices had previously staged a small retreat, which gave more investors the potential to add to their positions or to get into the market at a lower price.

Looking ahead, demand for gold and silver is likely to remain strong in the coming months due to a mix of concern for the economy in some quarters, as well as the increasing demand for precious metals in developing nations, which have been especially seeing renewed financial activity so far.

Economic consequences of Greek debt could be wide-ranging

While the European Union continues to weigh its response to a fiscal crisis in Greece that has brought further attention to the global problem of excessive sovereign debt, some are warning that the United States may be set to face its own similar situation in the not-too-far future.

Writing in an op-ed piece in London's Financial Times newspaper, Neil Ferguson warns that it "would be a grave mistake" to believe that current debt woes rocking Greece, Portugal and Spain will not end up spreading to stronger European economies.

He adds that the current situation is "a fiscal crisis of the western world" and that "its ramifications are far more profound than most investors currently appreciate." Worse for the EU, there are few options for dealing with Greek debt that can be considered desirable from a financial standpoint.

While much of the world' attention has been focused on Europe in recent days, the United States has been drawing concern over its own skyrocketing debt, with a budget deficit exceeding $1 trillion for the second consecutive year and a national debt that will exceed $14 trillion.

If and when such debt burdens become unsustainable, those who have sought out gold and silver investments will be well-positioned to ride out the ensuing fiscal turmoil.

Gold demand abates; price falls eyed

Gold demand abated on Tuesday afternoon after picking up in the previous session as traders awaited price declines, with a strong rupee aiding sentiment, dealers said.

"Demand is not as much as it was in the last two days of last week, when prices fell. A lot of buying positions got initiated both in physical as well as on forwards at $1,050-1,060 (an ounce)," said a dealer with a state-run bullion dealing bank.

International spot gold, which guides the domestic market, was trading 1,069.15/1,069.95 an ounce at 2:41 p.m. as against the previous close of $1,062.80/1,063.60 an ounce.

"Traders want gold to fall below $1,040 an ounce," said another dealer with a private bank.

The rupee was at 46.675 per dollar at 2:41 p.m., from its previous close of 46.83/84, tracking mostly stronger Asian peers and on gains in domestic shares.

A strong rupee makes the dollar-quoted asset cheaper. India has imported 35-40 tonnes of gold during January 1-27, up from 9.8 tonnes in the whole of the same month last year, the head of a trade body and bank dealers said.

Traders are trying to stock up in anticipation of India's wedding season, which begins in April, when demand for the yellow metal peaks.

Source: Economic times

Stability of Social Security may be questionable

Investors have been consulting with gold and silver dealers for years because of concern about economic instability and the long-term prospects for its recovery.

However, a recent report is giving investors a whole new reason to worry about the state of their finances heading into the future.

An article from Fortune Magazine highlights data from the Congressional Budget Office showing that for the first time in more than two decades, the Social Security system is receiving less in taxes than it distributes in benefits, which invites speculation about the long-term future of federal entitlement programs.

The magazine notes that this raises the danger that as a result, Social Security could require a massive government bailout not unlike the massive infusions of cash that were provided to a number of major corporations as the recession was getting underway.

If the U.S. was to default on its debt obligations or to pay for its largest entitlement programs, the ensuing financial ramifications would likely cause great difficulty and potential chaos in the world markets. With that in mind, investing in precious metals like gold and silver is a sound safeguard against possible setbacks in the future.

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Overseas gold demand expected to remain strong

The market for dealer gold is likely to get a considerable boost in the coming years from emerging economies like India, and perhaps most significantly, China.

A recent article in Canada's National Post newspaper quotes analyst Alan Heap of Citigroup Global Markets as saying that China is the "most important source" of gold's demand growth in the future, also noting that in 2009, demand in the country was up by 10 percent.

The newspaper noted that gold is getting increased attention from Chinese investors in light of the recent decision by the government to slow the pace of bank lending activity, which has helped to fuel concern about possible inflation.

Also, the report added that Asian banks have great potential to increase their gold holdings because they hold relatively little of it in comparison to European banks.

Elsewhere, observers have noted that an emerging middle class in China, and other countries like India, is helping to further increase demand for gold products. In general, precious metals are likely to see substantial demand from emerging economies because as industrial activity resumes in the aftermath of the recession, many applications, from automobiles to electronics, require gold, silver and other materials

U.S. credit warning a new reason to consider dealer gold investments

People who are waiting for a return to normalcy in the stock market and the broader U.S. economy got some unsettling news this week in the form of a warning from Moody's Investors Service about the long-term state of the nation's credit rating.

According to the UK's Financial Times newspaper, the firm has warned that the triple AAA sovereign credit rating of the United States could be jeopardized by either weak economic growth or a failure to properly address the country's budget deficit and national debt.

The newspaper went on to note that Moody's sees the U.S. currently on a debt growth trend that is "clearly continuously upward," adding that if the economy grows less than project, it will result in an even larger budget deficit than currently projected.

With a national debt that is rapidly approaching $14 trillion, investors around the world have already been feeling growing reservations about the long-term prospects for the U.S. economy and dollar. Compounding this concern is looming debt problems in various other countries.

Still, investors have traditionally found a safe haven in gold and other precious metals when such doubts have emerged over the years.

Gold Trades Near Three-Month Low After Dollar Extends Rally

Gold traded little changed near a three-month low after plunging the most in 14 months yesterday as the dollar’s rally reduced the appeal of the metal as an alternative investment. Silver traded near a five-month low.

Bullion for immediate delivery rose as much as 0.5 percent earlier after plunging 4.2 percent to a three-month low yesterday. Prices pared gains as the dollar rallied to its highest in more than eight months against the euro amid concern widening deficits will hamper Europe’s economic recovery.

Gold enjoyed a short “pause after yesterday’s sell-off,” said Hiroyuki Kikukawa, general manager of research at Tokyo- based IDO Securities Co. “If you look at the size of yesterday’s price drops in overall commodities and equities, it’s just like one of the big funds being forced to close.”

Gold for immediate delivery fell 22 cents to $1,063.48 an ounce at 10:55 a.m. in Tokyo after touching $1,059.68 yesterday, the lowest level since Nov. 3. Bullion for April delivery, the most widely held contract, gained 0.1 percent to $1,063.80 an ounce on the Comex division of the New York Mercantile Exchange.

The Reuters-Jefferies CRB Index of 19 raw materials fell 2.6 percent to 263.67 yesterday, the biggest drop since Aug. 14. After reaching a 14-month high in January, the commodity gauge ended the month down 6.3 percent, the most since November 2008, on concern that a faltering global recovery will delay increases in consumption.

Unemployment, Deficits

A U.S. Labor Department report yesterday showed first-time claims for unemployment insurance unexpectedly rose to the highest level in seven weeks. Stocks tumbled around the world on concern Greece, Spain and Portugal will have difficulty curbing budget deficits.

The dollar last traded at $1.3681 per euro from $1.3723 in New York yesterday. It earlier reached $1.3669, the strongest level since May 20. Crude oil fell 0.3 percent to $72.95 a barrel after dropping 5 percent yesterday, its biggest decline since July 29.

Silver for immediate delivery gained as much as 0.8 percent to $15.3725 an ounce and last traded at $15.265, down 0.1 percent. The price dropped 6.8 percent yesterday, the biggest decline since December 2008. It touched $15.185 yesterday, the lowest level since Sept. 2.

Palladium dropped 2.9 percent to $397.13 an ounce, the lowest level since Dec. 31. It lost 6.5 percent yesterday, the most since Feb. 23. Spot platinum fell 0.9 percent at $1,493.25 an ounce, after losing 4.4 percent yesterday.

Source: Bloomberg

Gold futures edge lower; US jobs data eyed

India's gold futures inched lower on Tuesday morning weighed down by a stronger rupee, with investors awaiting the US jobs report later in the week for direction, analysts said 

The most-active April gold contract was 0.07 percent lower at 16,609 rupees per 10 grams at 10:59 am,after hitting an intra-day low of 16,562 rupees in early deals. 

The partially convertible rupee was at 46.22/24 per dollar, stronger than its close of 46.37/38 on Monday. 

Economists polled by Reuters are looking for a slim gain in US payrolls in January, though it is not expected to be 

enough to put a dent in the 10 percent unemployment rate. 

"There could be short-covering later, buying is recommended at 16,560, for a target of 16,700, maintaining a stop loss of 16,510," said said Aurobinda Prasad, head of research, Karvy Comtrade. 

Open interest for April gold on MCX was at 13,605 lots, up from 13,499 a day earlier. 

Gold may trade in the range of 16,450-16,800 rupees, said Tejas Seth, senior analyst with SMC Global.

Source: economic times

Gold firms as dollar gives up early gains

Gold prices edged higher in Europe on Monday as the dollar gave up early gains to turn lower versus the euro, increasing interest in the precious metal as an alternative asset.

Interest from physical gold buyers after a 1.6 percent dip in prices in January also helped to underpin prices, analysts said, and from a technical point of view the metal appears to be bottoming out. "While most commodity markets have come under severe pressure over the past week, gold has held its ground impressively," said technical analysts at Barclays Capital. They said the metal was holding above its December low at $1,074 an ounce and 15-month trendline support at $1,069.

"With daily momentum oscillators in oversold territory, while daily sentiment has reached extremes not seen since September 2008 -- only 15 percent of DSI respondents are bullish gold -- we are on the lookout for signs of basing," they added.

Source: Economic Times