Good evening Ladies and Gentlemen:
We are entering options expiry week.
Comex options expiry Tuesday, July 28.
LMBA options expiry: noon London time July 31.2015
OTC options expiry: midnight July 31.2015
Here are the following closes for gold and silver today:
Gold: $1096.30 down 20 cents (comex closing time)
Silver $14.63 up 4 cents.
In the access market 5:15 pm
Gold $1095.50
Silver: $14.80
First, here is an outline of what will be discussed tonight:
At the gold comex today, we had a good delivery day, registering 21 notices for 2100 ounces . Silver saw 4 notices filed for 20,000 oz.
Several months ago the comex had 303 tonnes of total gold. Today, the total inventory rests at 243.94 tonnes for a loss of 59 tonnes over that period.
In silver, the open interest fell by 154 contracts despite the fact that Monday’s price was up by 11 cents (and the gold price was up $10.90). The total silver OI continues to remain extremely high, with today’s reading at 190,285 contracts now at decade highs despite a record low price. In ounces, the OI is represented by .951 billion oz or 135% of annual global silver production (ex Russia ex China). This dichotomy has been happening now for quite a while and defies logic. There is no doubt that the silver situation is scaring our bankers to no end as they continue to raid as basically they have no other alternative. Today again, we must have had bankers contemplating falling off the roof due to silver’s refusal to buckle with respect to open interest.
In silver we had 4 notices served upon for 20,000 oz.
In gold, the total comex gold OI rests tonight at 440,550 for a loss of 2,852 contracts despite the fact that gold was up $10.90 yesterday. We had 21 notices filed for 2100 oz today.
We had no withdrawals in gold tonnage at the GLD / thus the inventory rests tonight at 680.15 tonnes. The appetite for gold coming from China is depleting not only gold from the LBMA and GLD but also the comex is bleeding gold. I thought that 700 tonnes is the rock bottom inventory in GLD gold, but I guess I was wrong. However we must be coming pretty close to a level of only paper gold and the GLD being totally void of physical gold. In silver, we had a huge withdrawal of 2.005 million oz in inventory at the SLV / Inventory rests at 326.829 million oz.
We have a few important stories to bring to your attention today…
1. Today, we had the open interest in silver fall by 152 contracts down to 190,285 despite the fact that silver was up by 11 cents yesterday. We again must have had some shortcovering by the bankers as they feared something was brewing in the silver arena. The OI for gold fell by 2,852 contracts down to 440,550 contracts as the price of gold was up $10.90 with yesterday’s trading.
(report Harvey)
2 Today, 2 important commentaries on Greece
(zero hedge, Bloomberg/)
3. Today, 4 stories on the collapsing Chinese stock market and the huge deflationary forces heading our way on that collapse
(David Stockman/zero hedge)
4. Gold trading overnight
(Goldcore/Mark O’Byrne/)
5. A huge story on the collapse of Austrian bank Hypo. The constitutional courts have ruled the bail ins as unconstitutional and tis will have huge problems going forward for our bankers who thought they could orchestrate a bail in instead of a taxpayer bailout
(zero hedge)
6 Trading of equities/ New York
(zero hedge)
7. we have two oil related stories
(zero hedge/Arthur Berman)
8. Bill Holter’s topic tonight:
“Truth, Justice, and (no longer) The American Way!”
9. Craig Hemke on the huge leverage on the paper comex gold to actaul dealer inventories
(TF Metals/Craig Hemke)
10. USA stories:
i) home prices plummeting
ii) consumer confidence waning
iii) Toy’s R US bonds faltering terribly.
plus other topics…
Here are today’s comex results:
The total gold comex open interest fell by 2,852 contracts from 443,402 down to 440,550 despite the fact that gold was up $10.90 in price with yesterday’s trading (at the comex close).For the past two years, we have strangely witnessed the gold comex collapse in OI as we enter an active delivery month, and today this again is the norm. What is interesting is that the LBMA gold is witnessing a 7.40 premium spot/next nearby month as gold is now in backwardation over there. We are now in the contract month of July and here the OI fell by 101 contracts falling to 53 contracts. We had 95 notices filed on yesterday and thus we lost 6 gold contracts or an additional 600 oz will not stand in this non active delivery month of July. The next big delivery month is August and here the OI decreased by 21,741 contracts down to 103,827. We have 3 trading days before first day notice for the big August active gold contract (july 31). The estimated volume today (which is just comex sales during regular business hours of 8:20 until 1:30 pm est) was excellent at 267,555. However today’s volume was aided by HFT traders. The confirmed volume on Friday (which includes the volume during regular business hours + access market sales the previous day was excellent at 256,918 contracts. Today we had 21 notices filed for 2100 oz.
And now for the wild silver comex results. Silver OI fell by 152 contracts from 190,439 down to 190,285 despite the fact that the price of silver was up by 11 cents with respect to yesterday’s trading. We continue to have our bankers pulling their hair out with respect to the continued high silver OI as the world senses something is brewing in the silver arena. We are in the delivery month of July and here the OI fell by 10 contracts down to 163. We had 1 notice served upon yesterday and thus we lost 9 contracts or an additional 45,000 ounces of silver will stand for delivery in this active month of July. This is the first time in quite some time that we have not lost any silver ounces standing immediately after first day notice. The August contract month saw it’s OI fall by 3 contracts down to 163. The next major active delivery month is September and here the OI rose by 66 contracts to 129,666. The estimated volume today was fair at 29,898 contracts (just comex sales during regular business hours). The confirmed volume yesterday (regular plus access market) came in at 34,380 contracts which is fair in volume. We had 4 notices filed for 20,000 oz.
What is interesting with respect to comex silver OI, is that the open interest per day is hardly moving. In other words we have considerable silver trading, yet at the end of the day, the OI remains relatively constant as if everybody is standing pat.
July initial standing
July 28.2015
Gold
Ounces
Withdrawals from Dealers Inventory in oz
nil
Withdrawals from Customer Inventory in oz
11,350.01 oz (Manfra,Scotia)
Deposits to the Dealer Inventory in oz
nil
Deposits to the Customer Inventory, in oz
nil
No of oz served (contracts) today
21 contracts (2100 oz)
No of oz to be served (notices)
32 contracts (3,200 oz)
Total monthly oz gold served (contracts) so far this month
723 contracts(72,300 oz)
Total accumulative withdrawals of gold from the Dealers inventory this month
203.60 oz
Total accumulative withdrawal of gold from the Customer inventory this month
433,472.6 oz
Today, we had 0 dealer transactions
total Dealer withdrawals: nil oz
we had 0 dealer deposits
total dealer deposit: zero
we had 2 customer withdrawals
i) Out of Manfra: 192.90 oz (6 kilobars)
ii) Out of Scotia: 11,350.01 oz
total customer withdrawal: 11,350.01 oz
We had 0 customer deposits:
Total customer deposit: nil oz
We had 2 adjustments
i) Out of Delaware: 199.964 oz was adjusted out of the customer and this landed into the dealer account of Delaware
ii) 32.154 oz was added to the customer account of Scotia
JPMorgan has only 3.600 tonnes left in its registered or dealer inventory.
.
Today, 0 notices was issued from JPMorgan dealer account and 0 notices were issued from their client or customer account. The total of all issuance by all participants equates to 21 contracts of which 0 notices were stopped (received) by JPMorgan dealer and 0 notices were stopped (received) by JPMorgan customer account
To calculate the total number of gold ounces standing for the July contract month, we take the total number of notices filed so far for the month (723) x 100 oz or 72,300 oz , to which we add the difference between the open interest for the front month of July (53) and the number of notices served upon today (21) x 100 oz equals the number of ounces standing.
Thus the initial standings for gold for the July contract month:
No of notices served so far (723) x 100 oz or ounces + {OI for the front month (53) – the number of notices served upon today (21) x 100 oz which equals 75,500 oz standing so far in this month of July (2.348 tonnes of gold).
We lost 6 contracts or an additional 600 oz will not stand in this non active delivery month of JULY.
Total dealer inventory 378,676.094 or 11.778 tonnes
Total gold inventory (dealer and customer) = 7,842,682.724 oz or 243.94 tonnes
Several months ago the comex had 303 tonnes of total gold. Today the total inventory rests at 243.94 tonnes for a loss of 59 tonnes over that period.
end
And now for silver
July silver initial standings
July 28 2015:
Silver
Ounces
Withdrawals from Dealers Inventory
nil
Withdrawals from Customer Inventory
691,937.05 oz (CNT, Delaware,HSBC,Scotia)
Deposits to the Dealer Inventory
nil
Deposits to the Customer Inventory
594,820.400 oz (CNT,)
No of oz served (contracts)
4 contracts (20,000 oz)
No of oz to be served (notices)
159 contracts (795,000 oz)
Total monthly oz silver served (contracts)
3478 contracts (17,390,000 oz)
Total accumulative withdrawal of silver from the Dealers inventory this month
nil
Total accumulative withdrawal of silver from the Customer inventory this month
10,007,569.0 oz
Today, we had 0 deposits into the dealer account:
total dealer deposit: nil oz
we had 0 dealer withdrawal:
total dealer withdrawal: nil oz
We had 1 customer deposits:
i) Into CNT: 594,820.400 oz
total customer deposit: 594,820.400 oz
We had 4 customer withdrawals:
i)Out of Scotia: 38,381.54 oz
ii) Out of CNT: 599,362.600 oz
iii) Out of Delaware: 3970.900 oz
iv) Out of HSBC: 50,222.01 oz
total withdrawals from customer: 691,937.05 oz
we had 1 adjustment
From CNT:
599,941.400 oz leaves the customer and this lands into the dealer account at CNT
Total dealer inventory: 57.559 million oz
Total of all silver inventory (dealer and customer) 177.240 million oz
The total number of notices filed today for the July contract month is represented by 4 contracts for 20,000 oz. To calculate the number of silver ounces that will stand for delivery in July, we take the total number of notices filed for the month so far at (3478) x 5,000 oz = 17,390,000 oz to which we add the difference between the open interest for the front month of July (163) and the number of notices served upon today (4) x 5000 oz equals the number of ounces standing.
Thus the initial standings for silver for the July contract month:
3478 (notices served so far) + { OI for front month of July (163) -number of notices served upon today (4} x 5000 oz ,= 18,185,000 oz of silver standing for the July contract month.
We lost 45,000 oz that will not stand for delivery in this non active month of July. Somebody was in great need of silver and gold today.
for those wishing to see the rest of data today see:
http://www.harveyorgan.wordpress.comorhttp://www.harveyorganblog.com
end
The two ETF’s that I follow are the GLD and SLV. You must be very careful in trading these vehicles as these funds do not have any beneficial gold or silver behind them. They probably have only paper claims and when the dust settles, on a collapse, there will be countless class action lawsuits trying to recover your lost investment.
There is now evidence that the GLD and SLV are paper settling on the comex.
***I do not think that the GLD will head to zero as we still have some GLD shareholders who think that gold is the right vehicle to be in even though they do not understand the difference between paper gold and physical gold. I can visualize demand coming to the buyers side:
i) demand from paper gold shareholders
ii) demand from the bankers who then redeem for gold to send this gold onto China
vs no sellers of GLD paper.
And now the Gold inventory at the GLD:
July 28/no change in inventory/rests tonight at 680.13 tonnes
July 27/no change in inventory/rests tonight at 680.13 tonnes
July 24.2015/we had another massive withdrawal of 4.48 tonnes of gold form the GLD/Inventory rests at 680.13 tonnes.
July 23.2015: we had another withdrawal of 2.68 tonnes of gold from the GLD/Inventory rests at 684.63 tonnes
july 22/another withdrawal of 2.38 tonnes of gold from the GLD/Inventory rests at 687.31
July 21.2015: a massive withdrawal of 6.56 tonnes of gold from the GLD.
Inventory rests at 689.69 tonnes. China and Russia need their physical gold badly and they are drawing their physical from this facility.
July 2o.2015: no change in inventory
July 17./a massive withdrawal of 11.63 tonnes in gold tonnage tonight from the GLD/Inventory rests at 696.25 tonnes
July 16./we lost 1.19 tonnes of gold tonight/Inventory rests at 707.88 tonnes
July 15/no change in inventory/gold inventory rests tonight at 709.07 tonnes.
July 14.2015:no change in inventory/gold inventory rests at 709.07 tonnes
July 13.2015: a big inventory gain of 1.49 tonnes/Inventory rests tonight at 709.07 tonnes
July 10/ we had a big withdrawal of 2.07 tonnes of gold from the GLD/Inventory rests this weekend at 707.58 tonnes
July 28 GLD : 680.13 tonnes
end
And now for silver (SLV)
July 28/we had a huge withdrawal of 2.005 million oz from the SLV/Inventory rests at 326.829 oz
July 27/no change in silver inventory/inventory rests tonight at 328.834 million oz
July 24/no change in silver inventory/inventory rests tonight at 328.834 million oz
July 23.2015; no change in silver inventory/rests tonight at 328.834 million oz
july 22/no change in silver inventory/inventory rests at 328.834 million oz.
July 21.we had a massive addition of 1.241 million oz into the SLV/Inventory rests tonight at 328.834 million oz.
Please note the difference between gold and silver (GLD and SLV). In GLD gold is being depleted and sent to the east. In silver: no depletions, as I guess this vehicle cannot supply physical metal.
July 20/no change
july 17.2015/no change in silver inventory tonight/inventory at 327.593 million oz
July 16./no change in silver inventory/rests tonight at 327.593 million oz
July 15./no change in silver inventory/rests tonight at 327.593 million oz/
July 14.2015: no change in silver inventory/rests tonight at 327.593 million oz.
July 13./an inventory gain of 1.051 million oz/Inventory rests at 327.593 million oz
july 10/no change in silver inventory at the SLV tonight/inventory 326.542 million oz/
July 9/ a huge increase in inventory at the SLV of 1.337 million oz. Inventory rests tonight at 326.542 million oz
July 28/2015: tonight inventory rests at 326.829 million oz
end
And now for our premiums to NAV for the funds I follow:
Sprott and Central Fund of Canada.
(both of these funds have 100% physical metal behind them and unencumbered and I can vouch for that)
1. Central Fund of Canada: traded at Negative 11.3 percent to NAV usa funds and Negative 11.3% to NAV for Cdn funds!!!!!!!
Percentage of fund in gold 62.2%
Percentage of fund in silver:37.5%
cash .3%
( July 28/2015)
2. Sprott silver fund (PSLV): Premium to NAV rises to -.23%!!!! NAV (July 28/2015) (silver must be in short supply)
3. Sprott gold fund (PHYS): premium to NAV falls to – .73% to NAV(July 28/2015)
Note: Sprott silver trust back into negative territory at- 0.23%
Sprott physical gold trust is back into negative territory at -.73%
Central fund of Canada’s is still in jail.
Sprott formally launches its offer for Central Trust gold and Silver Bullion trust:
SII.CN Sprott formally launches previously announced offers to CentralGoldTrust (GTU.UT.CN) and Silver Bullion Trust (SBT.UT.CN) unitholders (C$2.64)
Sprott Asset Management has formally commenced its offers to acquire all of the outstanding units of Central GoldTrust and Silver Bullion Trust, respectively, on a NAV to NAV exchange basis.
Note company announced its intent to make the offer on 23-Apr-15 Based on the NAV per unit of Sprott Physical Gold Trust $9.98 and Central GoldTrust $44.36 on 22-May, a unitholder would receive 4.45 Sprott Physical Gold Trust units for each Central GoldTrust unit tendered in the Offer.
Based on the NAV per unit of Sprott Physical Silver Trust $6.66 and Silver Bullion Trust $10.00 on 22-May, a unitholder would receive 1.50 Sprott Physical Silver Trust units for each Silver Bullion Trust unit tendered in the Offer.
* * * * *
>end
And now for your overnight trading in gold and silver plus stories
on gold and silver issues:
(courtesy/Mark O’Byrne/Goldcore)
Buy and “Own Krugerrands” Says Legendary Jim Grant
By Mark O’ByrneJuly 28, 20150 Comments
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– “I own Krugerrands” says legendary Jim Grant
– He is “very bullish indeed” on gold
– Gold is “investment in financial and monetary disorder” – says Grant
– It thrives in current environment – “uncertainty, turbulence and disorder”
– “One of the most radical periods of monetary experimentation in the annals of money”
– “Gold…is now the conjunction of price, value and sentiment”
– Reminds owners of gold that the original reasons for buying gold have not gone away
– Believes Fed will raise rates despite deflationary environment
– Explains detrimental effect of excessive debt on an economy
– Grant light-heartedly destroys Jason Zweig’s “pet rock” gold jibe
Jim Grant, publisher of Grant’sInterest Rate Observer says that gold is “an investment in financial and monetary disorder.” He believes that today we are experiencing “uncertainty, turbulence and disorder”.
When asked how he liked to own gold he said he owned physical, generic, non-numismatic coins – specifically mentioning South African Gold Krugerrands and also mining shares.
Krugerrands are one of the cheapest and most cost effective ways to buy gold with very low premiums. Clients in Ireland, the UK, the U.S. and internationally are currently buying Krugerrands at extremely low premiums of just 2.5%. They remain some of the most popular bullion coins in the market due to their durability (harder 22-carat gold coin), recognisability, portability and liquidity throughout the world.
He warns:
“You look around the world and you see exchange rates are properly disorderly, when you look around the world of lending and borrowing — we are in a regime of price control by another name, so-called zero percent rates and quantitative easing by the world central banks”.
He adds, “We are in one of the most radical periods of monetary experimentation in the annals of money”, with a “low probability” of a favourable outcome.
Given the disorder he sees in the world due to monetary experimentation and the very low gold price Grant says,
“You want to have exposure to the reciprocal asset of the paper assets that are the most popular – so gold, to me, is now the conjunction of price, value and sentiment, and I am very bullish indeed.”
He describes the recent fall in prices as “terrifically vexing but a wonderful opportunity” and reminds owners of gold that the reasons for owning gold have not gone away. He emphasises that gold thrives in periods of turbulence and disorder and uncertainty adding “I think we have all three of these things.”
On interest rates Grant believes that the Fed – having talked interest rate rises for so long – must soon take action to maintain “institutional pride”. However, it may be economically counterproductive given the deflationary forces still extant.
“The Fed feels it must act just for institutional pride; but, money supply growth is dwindling, the turnover rate of money likewise, the only thing that is dynamic in the world of money and credit is the issuance of more and more dubiously sourced debt, and more and more lenient terms”.
Grant takes a light hearted pop at Jason Zweig’s theory that gold is simply a “pet rock”. He jokes that gold can make people say ridiculous things they may soon regret – pointing out that Zweig had written a piece “within two weeks of the top of the bullion price” in 2011 extolling the virtues of gold mining stocks.
During the course of the interview he also explains how excessive debt can be detrimental to an economy.
“What debt does is two things: it pulls forward consumption and pushes back evidence of business failure”.
Debt allows us to spend more on what we want today at the expense of what we need in the future. Businesses which should fail are kept alive by easy credit leading to a backlog of bankruptcies and more loan defaults in the future.
While optimists in general, we share Jim Grant’s pessimism with regards to the health of the global monetary and economic system. and the usefulness of gold as to protect one’s wealth in the current environment.
We also believe that physical bars and coins including Krugerrands, should form the bedrock of any gold investment strategy. We offer delivery and storage of Krugerrands at the most competitive prices, in the safest vaults in the safest jurisdictions in the world.
Jim Grant interview with Kitco on Value Walk can be watchedhere
Gold Krugerrands at record low premiums of just 2.5% here
MARKET UPDATE
Today’s AM LBMA Gold Price was USD 1,095.60, EUR 990.06 and GBP 702.13 per ounce.
Yesterday’s AM LBMA Gold Price was USD 1,098.60, EUR 992.41 and GBP 708.39 per ounce.
Gold in USD – 1 Week
Today, gold in Singapore ticked lower initially prior to seeing gains in late Asian and early Swiss gold bullion trading.
This morning in European trading, silver for immediate delivery was 0.3 percent lower at $14.78 an ounce. The metal slumped to $14.3842 on Friday, the lowest price since 2009.
Spot platinum fell 0.7% percent to $985 an ounce, while palladium fell 1.1% percent to $622 an ounce.
Must-read bullion guide: Gold and Silver Storage Must Haves
end
(courtesy the Silver Institute)
Upticks in Silver Demand Seen in First Half of 2015
WASHINGTON, DC–(Marketwired – Jul 28, 2015) – Through the first half of this year, silver experienced increased demand for jewelry and important industrial applications, two signals of demand growth for this most versatile of metals.
Silver jewelry, a mainstay of silver demand, was strong in the first half of 2015. In the U.S., imports of silver jewelry jumped 11 percent through the end of May, as consumer desire for silver jewelry increased significantly this year. The U.S. is the largest importer of silver jewelry, as measured in dollar terms, and this demand impacts silver trade across Asia. U.S. imports from Thailand are up 18.5 percent through the end of May while China showed an increase of 14 percent in the same period. GFMS Thomson Reuters (GFMS), the precious metals consultancy, estimates that globally silver jewelry will grow 5 percent in 2015.
With almost 60 percent of silver demand tied to industrial use, silver’s role in industrial applications is looking brighter in several important areas. GFMS forecasts a 2 percent growth in industrial applications for silver this year.
In the renewable energy industry sector, the demand for silver by solar panel producers is expected to increase 8 percent to 65 million ounces this year. The rise reflects increased solar cell production and a higher number of installations. The increase is due to the U.S., which had a 76 percent increase in solar installations in the first quarter of 2015 when compared to last year. China and India both have aggressive solar installation plans and are expected help drive this projected growth as well.
Silver demand from ethylene oxide producers is expected to increase to 8.6 million ounces in 2015, which would represent a 61 percent increase over 2014. Most of this increase will be driven by Chinese demand. Ethylene oxide is a vital building block chemical, critical in the production of plastics, solvents, and detergents and a broad range of organic chemicals, and represents one more example of the unmatched importance of silver in industry.
Electronics demand is forecast to increase modestly in 2015, by 0.4 percent. A decline in silver demand by computer and tablet producers, by an expected 4.5 percent drop in shipments this year, should be partially offset by a 3 percent increase in mobile phone shipments in 2015.
Additionally, the silver market is expected to be in a deficit of 57.7 million ounces in 2015, as supply contracts and physical demand grows. This would mark the third consecutive year that the market is in a physical deficit. When the market experiences an annual shortfall from mine supply, users must drawdown on above ground stocks, thereby tightening available supply.
On the investment side, retail investor demand for the white metal has been sturdy in the first half of 2015, in what has been a challenging precious metals investment market. Through July 24, global silver ETF holdings increased by over 4.7 million ounces in 2015, indicating that these investors likely have a more positive longer-term view of the silver price.
In the first half of the year, global bullion coin sales totaled 43.6 million ounces, 6 percent below levels seen in the same period a year ago. However, first half 2015 global sales were the fifth highest on record. The U.S. Mint, faced with a significant spike in investor interest, temporarily suspended sales of its silver bullion coins on July 7, after exhausting its inventory when investor demand in June surged 80 percent above the previous year’s June coin sales. The Mint resumed bullion coin sales on July 27 on an allocated basis. Similarly, Australia’s Perth Mint saw its silver coins sales spike in June due to a more attractive silver price, though sales overall are down 18 percent from the same period in 2014.
The gold/silver ratio, a simple measure of the metals’ relative prices calculated by dividing the price of an ounce of gold by the corresponding price of silver, has averaged 58 since 2000. The ratio averaged 73 in the first half of 2015, indicating that silver is underpriced relative to gold. This gives way to increased potential for buying in the silver market.
The Silver Institute is a nonprofit international industry association headquartered in Washington, D.C. Established in 1971, the Institute’s members include leading silver producers, prominent silver refiners, manufacturers and dealers. The Institute serves as the industry’s voice in increasing public understanding of the value and the many uses of silver,. For more information on the Silver Institute, or silver in general, please visit: www.silverinstitute.org.
CONTACT INFORMATION
Contact:
Michael DiRienzo
The Silver Institute
T: (202) 495-4030
Email Contact
end
(courtesy Mineweb)
Silver takeover gets a shrug
Silver consolidation in Mexico doesn’t create market buzz but gets kudos for free cash flow.
Kip Keen | 28 July 2015 14:18
On Monday, First Majestic Silver shares fell more than 10% on news it had inked a friendly, nearly all-share takeover with Silvercrest Mines. It seems the prospect of a bigger silver mining company, with more shares out, drove shareholders to dump shares amid an increasingly bearish precious metals market.
Still, some analysts agreed with First Majestic reasoning that the takeover could buoy First Majestic cash flow and improve its operating cost outlook.
“I think it is a good deal for First Majestic as it is free cash flow accretive and [comes with] a lower cost asset – so good on both of those items,” Desjardins analyst Michael Parkins said by email. “The mine life looks good based on the reserves and the balance sheet of First Majestic will also improve on a net cash basis.”
The deal adds another mine in Mexico to First Majestic’s stable of six operations in that country. Silvercrest owns the Santa Elena gold-silver mine that is to produce some 4 to 5 million ounces silver-equivalent (gold is a major component) over the next few years. The mine plan shows declining production, falling to under 4 million ounces silver after that to 2022.
First Majestic estimated production next year will grow by about 5 million ounces silver equivalent to 16.8 million ounces silver equivalent.
Ownership-wise the combination mirrors the reserve base of both miners. Silvercrest is to own 21% of the combined company and brings a similar amount of silver-equivalent reserves to the table, 19 million ounces versus First Majestic’s 101 million ounces.
Silvercrest forecast operating costs per silver-equivalent ounce beats out First Majestic somewhat. Silvercrest estimates all-in sustaining costs in 2015 just over $12/oz silver-equivalent versus First Majestic’s estimate for this year between about $14/oz and $15.50/oz.
So, if 2015 turns out as expected, First Majestic’s all-in sustaining operating costs, with Santa Elena on board, could come down slightly and, assuming the price of silver doesn’t drop much further, boost cash flow.
Meantime, First Majestic as a silver miner will gain in the ranks of silver producers (assuming silver-equivalent production), growing production in the near future by as much as 45%. It will potentially exceed Coeur Mining production next year, which is expected to produce about 15.8 million ounces silver in 2016 or about 1 million ounces less than a combined First Majestic and Silvercrest.
end
(courtesy Craig Hemke/TFMetals)
TF Metals Report: Comex gold leverage widens to record
Submitted by cpowell on Tue, 2015-07-28 16:14. Section: Daily Dispatches
12:13p ET Tuesday, July 28, 2015
Dear Friend of GATA and Gold:
Leverage for the big bullion banks in the New York Commodities Exchange’s gold futures contracts now has reached 116 times the metal available on the exchange, the TF Metals Report’s Turd Ferguson reports today.
Ferguson writes: “Is this fair and does this market discover an accurate representation of price when it uses a leverage of paper to physical at 116 times? And this is where this is all just one big scam. With no boundaries or limits placed on the bullion banks that issue these paper contracts, what’s to stop them from extending the leverage to 200X? Maybe 300X? How about 500X?”
Ferguson concludes: “All we can do is continue to force the banks’ leverage even higher by removing physical metal from their system and placing it out of their collective reach.”
His analysis is headlined “Comex Leverage Widens to Record” and it’s posted at the TF Metals Report here:
http://www.tfmetalsreport.com/blog/7027/comex-leverage-widens-record
CHRIS POWELL, Secretary/Treasurer
Gold Anti-Trust Action Committee Inc.
CPowell@GATA.org
end
(courtesy Bill Holter/Holter/Sinclair collaboration)
Truth, Justice, and (no longer) The American Way!
While taking a short vacation last week, this article was intended to be my first one upon returning. That plan was squashed a week ago with the brutal “interventions” upon gold and silver during the illiquid overnight hours earlySunday morning. Let me add to what I wrote last Friday by saying the phrase “TIME AND SALES“! For anyone who does not know what this means, any trade on any market anywhere in the world has a “paper trail”. It is called a “time and sales report”. Very simply, it reports who traded what, in what amounts and to whom. Once the broker is identified, then regulators can query as to who the customer was for whatever trade in question. If they want to know “whodunit”, it’s quite simple.
This is not rocket science. It is not hocus pocus or even anything “special”. Time and sales have been around since the dawn of trading. Even prior to computers, handwritten records were taken to record who traded what, when and in what quantities. Should the SEC, NYSE, CFTC or anyone else want to know who is doing what, it takes five seconds or less to find out.. (This includes the Chinese who have outlawed selling under the penalty of firing squad!!! So who is doing all the selling?) In my opinion, the regulators should be strung up on lampposts for their lack of doing the jobs they are being paid public tax money to do. They have turned a blind eye, presumably because they are told or believe it is for “the greater good”? …the greater good… sounds like something out of Russia or China back in the day when I was a youngster in the 1960’s – or even something in the history books we read as kids in school regarding Nazi Germany.
Do you remember this time period? I still remember this time frame very well and pine for it every day. Back in those days we couldn’t wait to get home from school so we could get to play baseball, football, basketball or even hike it to the nearest pond in winter time to play some pickup hockey. Back in those days our parents knew where we were by where our bicycle was.
There were no cell phones and if we needed to make a call from a public place, we would pull the dime out of our pocket our parents always insisted we have.
We could sell (or even buy) lemonade without a health department license and had no fear of arrest – we even gave the police free samples. We walked a half mile or even a full mile to get to school (but not uphill both ways nor always in the snow). We did this with friends or if we were late we did it alone. Back then this was the norm. Today, parents are regularly being arrested for allowing a child to go two blocks away on their own… not to mention the nine-year-olds for selling lemonade!!!
After playing, we’d all head home for dinner and get to watch some TV. Remember? ” TV” where no cussing was allowed. Most shows had a “theme” or an underlying lesson that taught kids “good always triumphed over evil”. We watched Batman, Superman and others. Western’s were in vogue and there was always a lesson to be learned from watching The Rifleman or Gunsmoke. I have said several times over the years when writing on this subject, “Leave it to Beaver cannot even be found on syndicated reruns anymore”. My point is, the “wholesome” world we grew up in is so far gone, current history books don’t even mention it as a footnote!
Think about where we are today. Where handshakes used to suffice, contracts are now drawn up to be purposely broken. More than half of our population “takes” while less than half the population supports this spending habit. Worse, it is the “supporters” who are vilified today because they don’t “give enough.” We used to have free speech as outlined in The Constitution, now there is only free speech for the “special” groups. Anyone who speaks against any of these very special groups is branded a racist, sexist, homophobe, or religious persecutor (except of course, unless you’re speaking against Christians – that’s OK… even seemingly encouraged). Or worst of all, you could be labeled a “CONSERVATIVE!”
Today it is OK to burn the American flag, outlaw the quaint historical Confederate flag …while flying the flag of any other nation (here in Texas the favorite to fly is that of Mexico) on our own sovereign soil. I noticed yesterday while in a very long U.S. Customs line upon returning home, how much longer, formal and probably difficult it was rather than just swimming across the river! Many states no longer require a voter registration card to vote or even a driver’s license, so the motto “vote early and often” applies. Citizens who pay for “old” health insurance now get “charged” extra on their taxes, while those who can’t afford insurance get it for free… along with cellphones, housing, food, stipends for each child etc. …and anyone who speaks out about it is branded a “crazy.” Please let me remind you, this country was originally formed because of oppression and the practice of “taxation without representation.” Have we pretty much gone full circle?
You could not have told me even 20 years ago we would be where we are today. We have a system where the president makes up laws as he goes along, the Supreme Court rubber stamps his illusions and Congress has been relegated to irrelevance. Speaking of Congress, didn’t “We the People” just throw the bums out? Didn’t the Republicans run on a ticket that said they would overturn all sorts of ridiculous (and if you ask me) tyrannical laws? Have they overturned anything? No, they just passed the fast track trade bill which will gut our economy even further …while the Democrats voted against it …? Forget about the giant sucking sound Ross Perot spoke of, we will soon hear the wheezing and gurgling last breaths of a nation, in my sad opinion. In the interest of not losing you as a reader, I could go on and on about subjects like guns, GMO’s, baby parts for sale or whatever but I think you get the point and I’ll stop here.
From an economic and financial standpoint, it is funny that while away I read “The Scarlet Woman of Wall Street.” This was the story of Daniel Drew, Vanderbilt, Fisk, Gould and Erie railroad during the mid to late 1800’s. There were no financial laws back then that prevented anything with the exception of bribery which was impossible to prove unless the giver and receivers were both stupid beyond their years. Then all sorts of laws were written and the playing field was somewhat leveled (as much as it could have been). Now, there are so many laws on the books, it is impossible not to break one of them. The thing is, financial institutions do not care. Since no one goes to jail (except for a couple of hedge fund managers), it is more profitable to illegally and blatantly swipe $10 billion because you know your fine will only be $100 million. If you think about it, management in today’s world could probably be held accountable in today’s civil legal system for NOT BREAKING THE LAW and leaving money on the table. Why play fair when everything is rigged, while you can steal and pay only 1% or less of what you made? It is almost management’s “fiduciary duty” to lie, cheat and steal in order to not fall behind!
To wrap this piece up I would like to say this, if you don’t believe or cannot see that all markets are rigged all of the time I’m sorry. If I offended anyone for any reason, again I’m sorry. If you believe today is “normal” in any way, I am sorry. Actually, let me clarify this: I am not sorry, but I am sorry you don’t understand the point I am trying to get across and sorry you cannot see it. Unfortunately, the American people have been slow boiled into believing our lives are normal and things are “just the way they are.” We have been lulled into believing we are an “exceptional” people and “deserve” the finer things in life. What we have forgotten is that hard work, hard money, and innovation is what made this country great to begin with. Many today don’t remember or never knew this very basic tenet…but ignorance does not change the fact. Truth and justice (and for the most part “business”) was what America was once all about. Please do not tell me I am naïve. I am not. Please do not tell me this is not being done according to a plan. It is. There is zero percent probability the policies in place today are by mistake. They are not by mistake and no one could be so stupid which leaves only one option …”purposeful” is the operative word.
The United States was the shining light of the world in so many ways. We are no longer. We were built as a Republic that followed The Constitution which was written mainly by God fearing Christians. We have evolved into a perverted, apologetic, weak and slovenly society with little to no values regarding anything from our ethics, morals, constitutions, or anything else. We believe we deserve the best and should work the least (if at all). It’s the American WAY!!! Unfortunately, what I write here is now considered by the majority as either anti-government or unpatriotic. It is neither. In fact, all I advocate is following The Constitution. You know, that “thing” our politicians “swear to God to uphold” (did you catch that? They swear to God! Not to Walt Disney, Facebook or even the almighty Google!) while raising their right hand with their left hand on The Bible? I am a true patriot in a world where burning the flag, shredding The Constitution and spitting on The Bible is considered sane and normal. I am here to remind you it certainly is not! I am not writing this to convert the perverts, only to let those who are still sane know that yes, you are still sane. That said, in today’s ludicrous world, what I write here can be used as proof of my “insanity” and my lack of “patriotism.” You decide.
I guess I would sum it all up by twisting the words of Superman, “Truth, Justice and (is no longer) The American Way!
Standing watch (with tears in my eyes),
Bill Holter
Holter -Sinclair collaboration
Comments welcome!
bholter@Hotmail.com
end
And now your overnight trading in bourses, currencies, and interest rates from Europe and Asia:
1 Chinese yuan vs USA dollar/yuan remains constant at 6.2094/Shanghai bourse: red and Hang Sang: green
2 Nikkei down 21.21 or 0.10%
3. Europe stocks all in the green /USA dollar index up to 96.89/Euro down to 1.1034
3b Japan 10 year bond yield: falls to 41% !!!!(Japan buying 100% of bond issuance)/Japanese yen vs usa cross now at 123.74
3c Nikkei still just above 20,000
3d USA/Yen rate now just below the 124 barrier this morning
3e WTI 47.09 and Brent: 52.78
3f Gold down (options exiry on comex) /Yen down
3gJapan is to buy the equivalent of 108 billion uSA dollars worth of bond per month or $1.3 trillion. Japan’s GDP equals 5 trillion usa.
Japan to buy 100% of all new Japanese debt and by 2018 they will have 25% of all Japanese debt. Fifty percent of Japanese budget financed with debt.
3h Oil down for WTI and down for Brent this morning
3i European bond buying continues to push yields lower on all fronts in the EMU. German 10 yr bund falls to .693 per cent. German bunds in negative yields from 4 years out.
Except Greece which sees its 2 year rate rises to 21.12%/Greek stocks this morning: still expect continual bank runs on Greek banks /stock markets not allowed to be open as per ECB
3j Greek 10 year bond yield rises to: 11.71%
3k Gold at $1094.07 /silver $14.58
3l USA vs Russian rouble; (Russian rouble down 65/100 in roubles/dollar) 60.30,
3m oil into the 47 dollar handle for WTI and 52 handle for Brent/Saudi Arabia increases production to drive out competition.
3n Higher foreign deposits out of China sees huge risk of outflows and a currency depreciation. This can spell financial disaster for the rest of the world/China may be forced to do QE!!
30 SNB (Swiss National Bank) still intervening again in the markets driving down the SF. It is not working: USA/SF this morning .9655 as the Swiss Franc is still rising against most currencies. Euro vs SF is 1.0655 well above the floor set by the Swiss Finance Minister. Thomas Jordan, chief of the Swiss National Bank continues to purchase euros trying to lower value of the Swiss Franc.
3p Britain’s serious fraud squad investigating the Bank of England/
3r the 4 year German bund remains in negative territory with the 10 year moving closer to negativity at +.693%
3s The ELA rose another 900 million euros to 90.4 billion euros. The bank withdrawals were causing massi