How Gold Demand Remains Resilient

Demand for gold was relatively resilient in the first quarter of 2012, with global demand falling 5 percent on a year-over-year basis, says the World Gold Council. Marcus Grubb, managing director of investment, calls this slight quarter decline in demand “noise in the context of 22 percent rise” in the price of gold compared to first quarter of 2011. Also, gold demand was very strong in the first three months of last year.


Gold faced a complex quarter, as you can see by looking at jewelry demand by country. There was a significant rise in demand for jewelry from Russia, Egypt, Indonesia, Taiwan, and China, according to the World Gold Council (WGC) compared to the first quarter of 2011.

Demand from Russia, which increased 28 percent compared to the same time last year, not only reflects stock building, but WGC says consumers had the wind behind their backs, with “historically low inflation, GDP growth, improving consumer confidence and real wage growth.”

The WGC says that Taiwanese jewelry demand was driven by “a strong wedding season, Chinese New Year gifting and gifts for babies born so far during this auspicious Year of the Dragon.” Indonesia’s increase also most likely reflects Chinese New Year, as retailers replenished supply after a strong buying season.

And, for the second quarter in a row, overall Chinese demand was higher than Indian demand, confirming China as the world’s largest gold market, says Mr. Grubb. China’s demand in the first quarter hit a record, bucking “the global trend by surging 10 percent to reach a new quarterly high” equating to 255 tons, according to the WGC.

Strong jewelry demand was offset by several other countries, including India, which was  negatively affected by imposed taxes and jewelers’ strikes. This caused an “unsettling quarter” for the country, says the WGC, which has historically seen strong jewelry demand over past quarters.

The higher price of gold likely caused a temporary setback in demand in countries such as South Korea, Saudi Arabia and Turkey. The WGC says South Korean consumers substituted silver and lower-carat gold as a result of increased prices.

What’s important to note is that during the past few years of the bull market for gold, we’ve seen continued resiliency in jewelry demand, remaining around 50 percent of total demand, says the WGC.

Gold supply remains modest, as mine production and recycled gold supplies increased 5 percent on a year-over-year basis. Mine production alone increased only 2 percent over the previous year, says the WGC, which follows the trend over the past four years. Mr. Grubb says he sees the trend continuing that older mines in South Africa are declining in production, and the higher-than-average production is coming from China, West Africa, Turkey and parts of Asia.

Overall, Mr. Grubb believes a high level of recycling is required as mine production only meets 2,800 tons of demand. Total demand for gold in 2011 reached 4,500 tons! The only way to balance the supply with the demand: keep an elevated gold price.

Major Bottom in Precious Metals Could Occur This Week

Normally catching a bottom is not difficult. Bottoms tend to occur instantly while market tops form during a process. Yet, I’ve found that bottoms of long-term significance do not occur instantly. Like tops, they take time to develop. For example, think about late 2008 to early 2009. Commodities hit their price low in December but the bottoming process began in October and wasn’t complete until May. Emerging markets hit their low in November but the process began in October and ended in March. Returning to the present, I see that Gold and Silver look set to retest their late December lows. My work lead me to argue that the metals will successfully retest their lows and soon emerge from what in the future will be considered a major bottom in-line with 2008, 2005 and 2001.

I began with a daily chart of Gold which shows its daily closing prices and a volatility indicator. The percentage figure refers to the percent bullish reading from the daily sentiment index. As I noted recently, each bottom in Gold (except 2008) has come during a period of low and declining volatility. Volatility is currently at a 9-month low while only 7% of traders are bullish on Gold.

Next, let’s take a look at the current Commitment of Traders Report (COT) for Gold which shows the commercial short position and open interest at the bottom. The current commercial short position has reached a 3-year low while open interest recently touched a two and a half year low.

Moving to Silver, I see the metal is nearing significant support at $27. Silver closed at $28.93 and has a bit of room to fall before testing $27 and the 600-day moving average, which has been an important pivot point since late 2008. The current daily sentiment index is 16%. I think, with another day or two of weakness in Silver, the daily sentiment index would decline to single digits. I also want to note that $26 is the 50% retracement of the entire bull market.

Silver, unlike Gold, has seen more interest recently as open interest has increased since late last year. However, open interest would have to rise 40% to reach the old high. Commercial traders are net short 17.9K contracts, which is a within a whisker of the 10-year low which was reached at the end of last December. 

Consider these emerging fundamentals with technical analysis. Technicals always lead fundamentals and markets tend to look six to nine months into the future. I am not predicting imminent action from the Fed or imminent money printing from the ECB. However, I am noting the emerging positive developments which will drive precious metals higher into 2013. Policy from the east is shifting towards easy. Europe will have to embark on some major money printing likely by the end of the summer. Finally, continued weakness in US data along with the strength in US Bonds and the US Dollar will facilitate the environment for the next round of Fed action.

I anticipate a bottom this month to be followed by a higher low in July or August. The fundamentals should become more clear by the end of the summer and would drive the precious metals complex much higher during the seasonally strong period. Remember, major bottoms take some time to develop. I believe a bottom is at hand and that is why last week I began to scale into some positions.

What Will Happen to Greece and Gold?

What Greek Elections Now Mean

Greece cannot form a government so expect elections within a month. We have come to the point where the bad news is out –the markets are telling us that Greece will likely leave the Eurozone and possibly the euro as their 10-year debt continues to trade at 27%. They may not pay out €436 million to creditors and keep it, fearing they will not get the next bailout tranche. Reneging on the obligation also would constitute a default triggering derivatives contracts and clauses requiring the settlement of other un-swapped bonds. Meantime the country has no government to make the choice. The country may run out of money by early July. The standoff has reignited concern that Greece will renege on pledges to cut spending as required by the terms of its two bailouts negotiated since May 2010

This blazes the trail for Spain to follow by asking, first, for a bailout. Portugal, Ireland, and potentially Italy are looking more and more each day like Greece. We’re now looking at the worst possible scene.

Whether this will happen or not is not the point for investors in gold and silver. The fact that markets are aware of this situation and are, in fact, discounting it is much more pertinent. If the euro doesn’t collapse and if these nations leave the Eurozone, then do not expect to see the Eurozone fall apart but to be much stronger having jettisoned the weak members. This would strengthen the euro enormously and send it back up towards the €1: $1.40 area. We do not think this is being discounted yet. The old rule that when the news is at its worst is the historic turning point of markets. With gold and silver moving with the euro, traders may keep the precious metals moving with the euro as it rises. This is where we are now.

Consequences in Greece

We have been witnessing a massive flight of capital out of Greece, out of the banks, i.e. Soc. Gen., that are large holders of Greek debt and even Greek money leaving to hide in the stronger member’s banks in the Eurozone. Any exit of Greece from the Eurozone would have to see their banks re-capitalized. Under the Maastricht Treaty, which formed the Eurozone, any member state can impose Exchange Controls for a short period of time while that country remains in the Eurozone. In Greece, that could happen just to close the exits and prevent a further run on the banks.

If the government decides to switch back to the Drachma, then expect to see the steps Argentina took when they switched from the U.S. dollar back to the Peso. These would automatically lead to the changing of all money, deposits and all, to Drachmas.

We would then envisage not just a two-tier currency –one for trade and one for capital. Expect the “Commercial Drachma” to trade at around 50% of the value of the euro and the “Financial’ Drachma” at a 30% discount to that. While this would stall imports, import replacement would spring to life inside Greece and a boom would begin. Tourism would likely roar as cheap holidays drew in huge volumes of tourists.

The central bank would impose draconian exchange controls grabbing all the foreign funds they could. Banks would be eager to return to Greece as they would see a sort of “scheme of arrangement” where they could bring in loans through the “Financial’ Drachma” and, provided the loans were given a 10-yr plus life, would be allowed to repay them through the “Commercial’ Drachma” giving them not just huge capital profits but a boost in their interest earnings over the life of the loan. The resulting low cost of labor and the financial incentives to manufacturers could see manufacturers move production there too. Such a positive outcome for nations that follow this path is normal.

Yes, many in Greece would struggle terribly; however, the core of their financial system would continue, and maybe even thrive.

The success or failure of a Greek exit from the Eurozone and probably the euro would depend entirely on how the financial side of the departure was handled.

It’s well known that Greeks love gold, and rightly so, especially when one considers what lies ahead for them. But they have been buying and preparing for this eventuality for the last two years.

Consequences outside Greece

The Eurozone banking system would suffer tremendous losses and would initially suffer the blows of lost confidence. Again, we’re seeing this now. The overall Eurozone has entered a mild recession that could get worse, but the same could apply to the U.S., travelling some distance behind, in a financial structure more capable of weathering such storms.

The fiscal and political unity in the States is responsible for the current strength of the dollar; however, should the global debt situation worsen and there is a maturing of other major, U.S. problems, then the U.S. will follow Europe; before this happens, however, the emerging world will need to reach the point where it equals the financial world of the developed side of the globe. The Yuan going global would start the process.

We would have to see a rapid expansion of the money supply in Europe as toxic national debt values shrank and needed a fresh injection of capital to replace lost value. We’re on the brink of another chapter of this right now. While this would undermine confidence in the euro and the dollar, the reality that these currencies are the only available means of exchange will continue to ensure their use and control over the developed world.

But the loss of confidence process would result in investors seeking to preserve the value of their wealth in gold and silver bullion even more than we have seen in the last few years. Many times have discussed just how gold would be used to reinforce the current currency system and how that process would become reality. More importantly, the institutionalization of gold in an active role in the monetary system would become a reality.

This would start in Europe, but the U.S. would dovetail into the developments as a cautionary reinforcing of its own monetary system too.

It may be that the public discussion over where Germany’s gold is held will lead to public pressure on Germany to repatriate it. If this happens, expect other nations in the develop0ed world to follow over time, accompanied by the recognition of gold’s importance in the reserves of a nation. This will highlight the desirability of gold in reserves to other nations outside the developed world and an acceleration of the demand for gold by the world’s central banks.