Malaysia Gold Investment

After a brief respite, selling pressure resumed on gold last week. With the dollar largely unchanged, the moves were mostly attributable to reduced demand for safe-haven assets on the prospect of a strengthening global economy. The effect of waning investor demand, as evidenced by dwindling holdings by exchange-trade products, was aggravated by the absence of physical buying. Looking forward, with dollar continuing to track sideways we don’t see much direction for precious metals being taken from the FX market. However, a poor showing on Asian and European stocks as well as US equity futures in the red, points to some relief for precious metals on returning investor demand. Concerns over Japan’s debt downgrade could deepen interest in safe haven assets. Given their stronger fundamentals, we expect attention to be focused on PGMs. With prices particularly low, we might see some physical buying return to the market, although given the lack of enthusiasm over the past few days, we don’t e

After a brief respite, selling pressure resumed on precious metals markets yesterday. With the dollar largely unchanged, the moves were mostly attributable to reduced demand for safe-haven assets on the prospect of a strengthening global economy. The effect of waning investor demand, as evidenced by dwindling holdings by exchange-trade products, was aggravated by the absence of physical buying. Looking forward, with dollar continuing to track sideways we don’t see much direction for precious metals being taken from the FX market. However, a poor showing on Asian and European stocks as well as US equity futures in the red, points to some relief for precious metals on returning investor demand. Concerns over Japan’s debt downgrade could deepen interest in safehaven assets. Given their stronger fundamentals, we expect attention to be focused on PGMs. With prices particularly low, we might see some physical buying return to the market, although given the lack of enthusiasm over the past fe

Gold price had drop since early of this year and the reason is US market is getting better. As we all know US is printing 600b US dollar to help they nation to survive and at the same time pass they problem to us all. We need to work hard to get money but they just print the money out, due to US dollar is the international money so they can do just printing. Soon most of other country will start to think it is the time to change world currency out from US dollar. So all thing will back to basic measurement, it is gold. Money can be print but gold can not so keep gold will always make you profitable.

Despite a report that gold holdings of exchange-traded products had fallen precipitously, the gold price has have managed to gain some ground. Gold holdings fell by 31mt, the largest fall in two years, to a level last seen in August. More confidence in the global economic recovery is being cited as a factor in this sell-off. Nevertheless, over the long term, we maintain that accommodative monetary conditions will continue to favour gold. We forecast an average price of $1,430 for 2011. Already we are seeing a rebound in precious metals as investors expect the Fed to reiterate its commitment to quantitative easing (in FOMC comments out later today). A slightly weaker dollar is helping this recovery in prices. We expect a more positive tone from the Fed concerning the health of the US economy. However, because of persistent unemployment, we expect no changes to policy. Such reassurance should push gold and silver higher. Gold support is at $1,328 and $1,323. Resistance is at $1,338 and $

Gold received a blow from increased risk appetite, as investors bet on the perceived signs of global recovery. Investors have reduced positions in precious metals, especially gold and silver, as interest in riskier assets grows. Even a weaker dollar could not provide much support as gold tumbled to lows last seen in October last year. Ahead of this afternoon’s release of US consumer confidence, markets appear to be anxious. European stock markets are down and US equity futures are in the red. Improved consumer confidence and consequently greater consumer spending remains key to a strengthening of the US economy. For now the increased anxiety has not translated into safe-haven buying of precious metals. Nevertheless, should the number disappoint, precious metals, particularly platinum and palladium, should benefit. Consensus is for an improvement in consumer confidence in January, although we see downside risk, given the recent negativity surrounding the US economy. US house price data

A poor start to the week for Asian equities (especially China) indicates lingering fears of increased Chinese monetary conservatism. Nevertheless, precious metals have done relatively well with a weaker dollar and relatively low prices prompting some physical buying in Asian markets. Going into the week, we don’t expect concerns over China to be as dominant as they were last week, especially for precious metals. Key to precious metals this week will be speculation surrounding Wednesday’s FOMC decision and the health of the US economy. Data flow suggesting a stronger US economy might raise concerns over a possible scaling down of the Fed’s intended $600bn in bond purchases. While we think that a change in policy is highly unlikely at this time, investor worries could see a pull-back in precious metals, especially gold. We advocate buying dips off the back of positive US data flow. Gold support is at $1,345 and $1,338. Resistance is at $1,357 and $1,361.

The threat of further monetary tightening in China continues to overwhelm precious metals markets, with gold and silver the hardest hit. Given their high correlation with global liquidity this is to be expected. Encouraging data flow has bolstered confidence in the US economy, adding to gold and silver’s woes as safe-haven demand falls. Margin requirements for COMEX gold and silver contracts have been raised. This is contributing further to the bearish mood on these markets. Gold initial margins are raised from $6,075 to $6,751, and maintenance margins from $4,500 to $5,001. Silver initial margins will increase from $10.463 to $11.138, and maintenance margins $7.750 to $8.250. The new margin requirements will be effective from close of business today. Physical demand for gold is strong and we expect it to rise even more should gold fall further. China's platinum imports for 2010 was up 40% y/y, with much of the imports moving into China during the first half of 2010. While auto sal

As anticipated US housing data had a significant effect on precious metals. Housing starts during December fell by 4.3% m/m, to 529k, marking a one-year low. This has reignited fears over the strength of the US recovery prompting increased safe haven buying as investors fled from risky assets. The attendant dollar weakness further enhanced the attractiveness of group. However, this boost proved to be short-lived as precious metals came off overnight on speculation that Chinese growth results would presage further tightening of monetary policy. These concerns were confirmed by the subsequent release of surprisingly good growth figures for China. Real GDP growth for Q4:10 came in at 9.8% y/y (consensus: 9.4% y/y), higher than Q3:10 growth of 9.6% y/y. While consumer inflation looked to be moderating (4.6% y/y in December) an acceleration in Chinese economic expansion might signal a strengthening of inflationary pressures raising the likelihood that authorities will have to respond. This

Shaking off concerns over Chinese inflation and possible further monetary tightening, precious metals made tentative gains overnight. The recent prices piqued the interest of physical buyers, although with no trading in the US this was largely confined to Asian markets. Volumes were low, hence the relatively narrow trading range. The lack of resolution after yesterday’s meeting of Eurozone finance ministers has seen investor concerns over a Eurozone debt crisis resurface. Officials met to discuss ways to improve the current rescue measures available to member states facing fiscal problems. No final decisions or commitments to bolster the €750bn rescue fund were made. These concerns should continue to lend support to precious metals in the future, as investors are drawn to the group’s safe-haven appeal. For now though it seems as though risk appetite is unhindered, given the interest in European equities. Appetite for risk is bolstering the euro, lending support across the commodities c

Gold plunged on Friday after Chinese authorities announced an increase in reserve requirements. The central bank raised reserve requirements by 50 bps, to 19% (effective 20 January), in order to curb rising inflation and forestall an imminent property market bubble. Gold and silver suffered the most, with platinum managing to trade in a fairly tight range. Adding to the fall in prices was a return to risk, initiated by a strong earnings result from JP Morgan ($1.12/share versus an expected 0.99c/ share). Investors remain preoccupied by the threat of further monetary tightening in China. The release of Chinese property price data, showing the 19th straight month of increases, has further fueled the belief that authorities will have to step in to avoid an asset bubble in the housing market. This is weighing on precious metal prices, encouraged further by a stronger dollar off the back of lingering Eurozone debt concerns as Greece’s credit rating is reduced to junk by Fitch (confirming si

Gold is failing to make new highs despite fairly strong physical demand in India and Asia. Investment demand is lacklustre. While we still see gold reaching $1,500 in H1:2011, short-term the metal looks set to struggle. Empirically, we find the long-term causal drivers of gold are global liquidity and real interest rates (see Commodities Insight: Global liquidity and real interest rates support gold of 11Aug’10). We define global liquidity as the Fed’s balance sheet plus global foreign reserve holdings (excluding gold). Gold trades around the long term trend these two variables provide. All other factors we view are short-term drivers. Lately, gold has diverged by some margin from the long-term trend provided by these causal drivers. Divergence by gold from this long-term trend is not unusual, but the speed, size and timing of its divergence coincide with a period in which risky assets are finding support. We find a gold price closer to $1,340 to be consistent with current global liqui

Yesterday’s successful Portuguese bond issuance has stalled the recent rally in precious metals, as risk aversion eases and safe-haven demand dissipates. Portugal managed to secure favourable borrowing rates on €1.25bn worth of 10-year bonds. This news bodes well for the Spanish and Italian bond auctions today, posing further downside risk to precious metals, especially gold and silver. However, eased concerns over Europe’s debt situation have prompted a weakening of the dollar, which as anticipated has limited losses on precious metals. Adding to reduced demand for safety, was the generally positive tone of the Fed’s Beige Book. Six regions reported “modest to moderate” growth, while four noted “improving” conditions. The Fed also restated its commitment to its current quantitative easing program (QE II), although some market participants are speculating that a strengthening US economy might warrant a cutting back of the planned $600bn in bond purchases. From a liquidity perspective t

Concerns that Europe’s sovereign debt problems may worsen, continue to drive precious metals markets. Despite a statement of support for Eurozone bonds from China and Japan, treasury yields and CDS spreads continue to climb across Europe, while gold has rallied back above $1,380/oz heading into the afternoon. With Portugal coming to the bond market tomorrow and Spain the next day, we expect the associated concerns and uncertainty to keep precious metals well supported. Gold support is at $1,369 and $1,362. Resistance is at $1,384.

Gold rallied after last Friday’s disappointing US payrolls data, as a renewed bout of risk aversion kicked in. December saw only 103k jobs added to the US economy, compared to consensus expectations of 150k with the bias firmly to the upside. The numbers weren't terrible by any means, with the unemployment rate falling to 9.4%, however, it was enough see gold and silver rally, in spite of the subsequent dollar strength. Increased concerns over the Eurozone sovereign debt situation, continues to provide support for gold. However, the associated strengthening of the dollar against the euro is slowing upward price momentum. On balance however, we expect the concerns over the Eurozone situation of outgun the impact of a stronger dollar. Therefore, any uncertainty over the strength of US economy and/or heightened concerns over Europe’s fiscal situation are likely to be supportive for prices. Gold support is at $1,356 and $1,341. Resistance is at $1,383 and $1,394.

Gold had another volatile trading session on Thursday, dropping below $1,370/oz before recovering to close just below $1,380/oz. The metal has failed to hang onto its gains however, and after trading sideways during overnight trade on Thursday, has come back under pressure from a stronger US dollar and is again trading below $1,370 heading into the afternoon. The waning safe-haven interest in gold and silver is reflected in the recent changes in ETF holdings, with the SPDR Gold Trust holdings falling by 3.79 mt to 1,272 mt - the lowest since last June, while iShares Silver Trust holdings fell by 4.38 mt to 10,917 mt. All it takes is another little wobble in confidence to see the interest come back, however, for the moment the current run of solid macroeconomic data is pushing those lingering concerns over Europe and inflation into the background. The fall in gold prices has seen increased physical demand emerge however, with the drop below $1,390 sparking significant interest. This sho

Another round of solid US macroeconomic data triggered a significant sell-off in gold during Tuesday afternoon as sentiment towards the US economy continued to improve and demand for a perceived safe-haven asset dissipated. Profit taking was likely another a factor behind yesterday’s move, with gold finishing the day below $1,380/oz and back around its pre-Christmas levels. The capitulation in gold during Tuesday afternoon also spilled over into silver, which finished the day below $29.50/oz. Interestingly, while silver has continued to decline heading into Wednesday afternoon, gold has managed to find its feet, trading sideways around Tuesday’s closing levels. The market has been fairly quiet, but also remains choppy as participants assess yesterday’s price action. Gold support is seen at $1,377 and then at $1,372 while resistance is seen at $1,396 and $1,409.

Gold market to start out 2011 on a strong note. Support may come from a resumption of investment inflows and a renewed focus on European sovereign debt issues. Background support will be offered by quantitative ease, and improved jewelry demand. Negative factors will linger in the background as well, but should be shelved in the midst of fresh investment this week. We favor trading metals as positive trading affairs this week.At the beginning of 2010, the gold market started out the year with a week-long rally followed by a correction that lasted about a full month. Stocks rallied as well, before they also began a month-long selloff. There isn’t anything to prompt us from expecting anything different this year, especially given the trends that existed at the end of last year. The euro rebounded sharply last week as attention on sovereign debt issues waned, and the currency held at key support from the 200-day MA. A resumption of attention on the issue of sovereign debt could add suppor