Gold & Precious Metals
While the Federal Reserve continues to rig the financial markets by way of its insane interest rate policy, U.S. silver production took a big hit in September. How big? Well, let’s just say…. it took me by surprise.
According to the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS), overall domestic silver production for 2015 has trended lower compared to last year. However, the recent data for September show a much larger decline.
U.S. silver production for September fell a staggering 20% compared to the same month last year:
As we can see from the chart U.S. silver production fell to 82.6 metric tons (mt) in September compared to 103 mt during the same month last year. This amounts to a decline of 20.4 metric tons or a 20% plunge versus last year.
This is a large amount if we compare the total decline year to date in 2015 (JAN-SEP) is only 41 mt (5%). I asked the USGS silver specialist if he thought the September’s production figures would be revised higher in the following months. He responded by saying, “Probably not.”
Falling silver production is also taking place in several of the top producers in the world:
Mexico = -4% (Jan-Sep)
Chile = -4% (Jan-Aug)
Canada = -23% (Jan-Oct)
Australia = -41% (Jan-Aug)
(data from Canada Dept of Natural Resources, Mexico INEGI & Chilean Copper Commission)
As I have stated in many articles and interviews, PEAK SILVER will occur first in the base metal mining industry where the majority of by-product silver is produced. According to the data from the 2015 World Silver Survey, 55% of all silver produced in 2014 came as a by-product of zinc, lead and copper production. Furthermore, 13% came as a by-product of gold mining, while the remaining 31% was from primary silver production.
Global silver production will fall more rapidly in the following years as an increasing number of base metal mines shut down due to lower copper, lead and zinc prices. This will occur right at a time when investors finally realize just how undervalued silver is compared to most of the highly overvalued paper garbage the world is invested in.
Lastly, something changed in the U.S. Silver Market this year. In Steves latest article he covers with 8 excellent charts the imports dynamics of silver in his article Something Broke In The U.S. Silver Market This Year
Your best plays in what’s sure to be a volatile year ahead.
While U.S. markets have not done much of anything this year, 2015 will go down as another banner for the exchange-traded fund industry. In November, ETFs around the world added $28.2 billion in new assets, with the best ETFs coming in U.S. equity — they saw $21.4 billion of inflows, according to BlackRock data.
Yes, the largest ETF market is on pace for another year of record asset-gathering. And more than 200 new ETFs have come to market this year, confirming that the ETF business continues to experience exponential growth. Better yet, the quality of new products is improving as some rookie ETFs, with the appropriate seasoning, have the potential to become some real powerhouses.
Still, some ETFs are better than others.
With 2016 just around the bend, investors are (rightfully) looking to rethink and restock their portfolios — and that means hunting for the best ETFs to give a portfolio that right mix of potential and diversification.
It’s not exactly easy to identify the best ETFs out there, considering that the markets are digesting a rate hike from the Federal Reserve. But we’ve done our homework and highlighted several funds that should lead investors forward in 2016.
Today I’ve got eight books for you that I think you’re going to like as much as I do. Every one of which can help you get a profitable head start on 2016.
Studies show that nearly 70% of rich people set daily, monthly and annual goals. What’s more, they complete 70% of the tasks they set out for themselves daily.
According to Corley, more than 88% of rich people read at least 30 minutes a day for the purpose of self-improvement. That stands in stark contrast to just 2% of poor people.
The way I see it, reading is a big part of success because you have to sort out everything from vocabulary to context. If you’ve ever solved a mystery or figured out a plot before turning the page, for example, that’s because your mind is working on connections that, many times, are totally invisible to your conscious thought.
I find that to be a compelling idea – every page I turn adds to knowledge that can never be taken away from me.
Especially when it comes to the financial markets.
3 stunning 40+ year charts expose how the Fed rate hike will impact gold, bonds and commodities!
Markets, in general, cheered the news, which is what usually happens when the Federal Reserve follows through on what it said it was likely to do.
The knee-jerk reaction looks like an expectation of higher inflation. Stocks, gold and note yields all rallied strongly.
Looking at all rate hikes since 1971, this is only the third time all three rallied at least 0.5% on a day the Fed hiked their target rate.
We’d never seen the three markets act like this on the first hike in a cycle, though.……see chart and read more HERE
A Year In Review – Lessons Learned From Trading Oil In 2015 –
Fed’s Decision Could Help To Avoid The Worst Case Scenario For Oil –
High Yield Market Faces Jitters From Low Oil Prices –
Energy prices are at multi-year lows. Gold and food commodities are also nearing levels not seen since 2006. The stronger U.S. Dollar is the main reason for the decline in commodity prices.….read more with larger charts HERE
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