Gold topped $1,800 Friday and stayed there over the weekend for the first time since last July but it could not hold on to those gains Monday morning. Silver, however, had stronger percentage gains and held those gains, trading above $22 per ounce for the first time in six months. Silver has risen nearly 25% on the London Fixing, from $18.43 on October 19 to $22.99 on December 5. In the same time, gold rose 9%.
November Was Strong in All Markets – Except the U.S. Dollar, Crude Oil…and Bitcoin
This has been a rough year in most investments – stocks, bonds and precious metals – but all three markets responded positively to the November elections, when the Republicans gained control of the House of Representatives, providing some balance to the Biden Administration’s more extreme policies.
Index: November 30 Price November Year-to-Date
Dow Jones 34,589.77 +5.67% -4.8%
S&P 500 4,080.11 +5.38% -14.4%
NASDAQ 11,468.0 +4.37% -26.7%
Russell 2000 1,886.58 +2.15% -16.0%
Precious Metals
GOLD $1,753.50 +6.99% -3.66%
Silver $21.56 +12.5% -6.59%
Platinum $1,025 +9.63% +6.55%
Palladium $1,908 +3.75% -1.03%
Other Commodities and the Dollar
Bitcoin $17,168 -16.23% -62.8%
Crude Oil $80.55 -8.85% +6.76%
Dollar Index 105.58 -5.33% +10.0%
Euro to US$ $1.0324 +3.71% -8.84%
There was also a collapse in one of the major bitcoin exchanges, FTX Securities, which helped send bitcoin down another 16%, and 63% year-to-date (-75% overall), even while gold was rising, and silver was soaring. It appears that some bitcoin investors were returning to gold and silver as the proven alternative currencies.
It’s amazing to me that this crypto dealer is not under arrest already, ala Bernie Madoff, but he is a heavy donor to the Democratic Party’s leaders – second only to George Soros – and all the press interviews I have seen have treated this shameful CEO respectfully, with kid gloves, asking only “softball” questions.
We’ll see if politicians wake up to some of the inherent problems of trading unregulated cyber currencies by computer. Meanwhile, gold and silver are solid hard money, and they don’t disappear when the power goes off!
Despite Soaring Bullion Prices, U.S. Mint Sales Remain Weak, Delayed and Overpriced!
This is a sad story to report. I wish the U.S. Mint were living up to its legal obligations and meeting the market prices and standards of other leading world Mints. Instead, they are falling further and further behind in production and pricing of their American Eagle gold and silver bullion coin series, especially the silver coin series and especially during a time of dramatically rising demand and surging prices in silver bullion.
During the month of November, sales of the Silver American Eagle increased over October but trailed November of last year. Year-to-date, Silver American Eagle sales are only 15.9 million ounces vs. 28.3 million last year, a decline of nearly 44%. The sales of Gold American Eagles are also down in the first 11 months of 2022, from 1,210,500 ounces last year to 976,000 ounces this year, a decline of 19.4%. The Mint sold only 6,000 Gold Eagles in November.
As for silver, we do not recommend our customers buy American Silver Eagles, except for special occasions and in small quantities, since the premiums are up to $12 or more above the spot silver price. We do not feel comfortable asking customers to pay $35 or more for a one-ounce bullion silver coin when other bullion silver coins sell for $5 an ounce over spot, or less in volume, and silver bars sell for $4 or less over spot. These coin premiums are a combination of what the Mint charges their Authorized Purchasers (APs) and what those APs charge us, the retail dealers.
Our Mint is the only national mint that does not make its own blanks – which is a major impediment to making more coins on demand and in a more efficient manner. Also, in previous years the U.S. Mint held an annual numismatic forum where I was invited to participate and hear the best ideas from the industry network – the end distributors of their products, but unfortunately, they are no longer holding such forums. Now, we dealers plan to make our objections known to Congress when the Republican majority in the House of Representatives convenes soon.
Lead in the form of bullets is a better investment because when Democrats are done destroying America and it falls into anarchy I can use the bullets to steal your silver!
This is a self serving article written by Firsf Fidelity Reserve. I wish silver would break out and make a run. Maybe when FED stops raising interest rates gold and silver will take off.
These adverting pieces should be signed by the author.
As for gold, if you compared gold to the S&P 500 (SPY) year over year for the past 10, 20 or 30 years, you would likely look to diversify your portfolio with something other than gold.