Peter's Blog

Price Analysis: Gold Diverges from Bonds as Critical Test Looms at $1800

The analysis last month showed that selling exhaustion may be near in the gold market. Since then, gold continues to be range-bound between $1750 and $1800 running up against both solid resistance and support. Meanwhile, silver has shown a mini-breakout. The $1800 level for gold is in play this week and could open the door for […]

Comex Countdown: Quiet Before the Storm?

Both gold and silver are seeing quieter activity in Comex contracts. This is not atypical for October and November which are slow months in the lead up to December. This analysis focuses on gold and silver physical delivery on the Comex. See the article What is the Comex for more detail.

Gold and Silver Comex Vaults Both See 1% Fall in Total Inventory

Both physical gold and silver have been draining from Comex vaults this year. There was a 1% decline in stocks of both metals over the last month. This analysis focuses on gold and silver within the Comex/CME futures exchange. See the article What is the Comex? for more detail. The charts and tables below specifically analyze […]

A More Accurate CPI: Up .97% MoM and 7.1% YoY

The CPI data for September came in hotter than expected at 0.4%. That pushed the yearly gain to 5.4%. But an honest CPI calculation would come in even hotter. I am doing something different this month. In past reviews of the CPI, I typically take the BLS data and recalculate the values to get a more […]

Another Big Jobs Miss: All But Two Categories Are Below The 12-Month Trend

For the second month in a row, the jobs numbers in September came in well below expectations. The Labor Department reported an increase of only 194,000 jobs, well below the estimated 500,000. The big miss was similar to August’s report. Despite the unemployment rate ticking down to 4.8% from 5.2% and an upward August revision of […]

Surge in Imported Services Sends Trade Deficit to New Record

The US trade deficit surged to yet another new record in August as Americans are importing more and more services to go along with all of their imported goods. The August trade deficit came in at $73.25 billion, 4.2% higher than the July trade deficit of $70.3 billion. The August deficit set a new record […]

Hedge Funds Pile into Short Positions During September

Please note: the COTs report was published 10/1/2021 for the period ending 9/28/2021. “Managed Money” and “Hedge Funds” are used interchangeably. The Commitment of Traders analysis last month showed a potentially bullish setup in both gold and silver. The washout of Managed Money Net Long contracts that occurred in early August appeared to be over and a […]

Delivery Results: Silver Down and Gold Mixed

As we move into October, physical silver delivery is down on Comex while gold was a mixed bag. This analysis focuses on gold and silver physical delivery on the Comex. See the article What is the Comex for more detail.

Fed Absorbs $60B of 1 to 5-Year US Treasuries in September

The Fed keeps talk, talk, talking about tapering quantitative easing, but the balance sheet continues to get bigger and bigger and bigger. The Fed balance sheet stands at $8.45 trillion, up by$115 billion from the prior month-end.

M2 Grows at Fastest Pace Since February

Even as the Fed talked about tightening monetary policy, the money supply grew at the fastest pace since last winter. In the latest period, M2 increased by $263 billion. This is a major jump compared to the last two months and is the highest month-over-month growth since February. The same period in 2020 saw M2 only […]