Gold prices treading water as Powell provides little guidance on monetary policy during Jackson Hole speech

Gold prices treading water as Powell provides little guidance on monetary policy during Jackson Hole speech

The gold market continues to tread water below $1,950 an ounce as it finds little direction from the latest comments from Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell.

Friday, Powell provided little new information on the central bank's monetary policy, saying that the Federal Reserve will remain cautious as it focuses on bringing inflation back to its 2% target. The comments were made during the annual central bank retreat at Jackson Hole, Wyoming.

Powell said that while the central bank can continue to raise interest rates if inflation remains stubbornly elevated, he added that monetary policy will remain data-dependent.

"As is often the case, we are navigating by the stars under cloudy skies. In such circumstances, risk-management considerations are critical. At upcoming meetings, we will assess our progress based on the totality of the data and the evolving outlook and risks. Based on this assessment, we will proceed carefully as we decide whether to tighten further or, instead, to hold the policy rate constant and await further data," he said.

The gold market is not seeing much reaction to the comments. December gold futures last traded at $1,947.10 an ounce, unchanged on the day.

Adam Button, head of currency strategy at Forexlive.com, described Powell's comments as "a bit of a dud."

"These are all the same things that he said after the last FOMC, and they echo what most other Fed officials have said. Perhaps the market is keying on the 'carefully' comment, which might be seen as dovish. The dollar kicked lower initially, but I just don't see that continuing based on the headlines," he said.

However, Jim Wyckoff, senior technical analyst at Kitco.com, said that he said Powell struck a more hawkish tone as he focused on the central bank's inflation target.

"Twelve-month core inflation is still elevated, and there is substantial further ground to cover to get back to price stability," said Powell in his remarks. "Two percent is and will remain our inflation target. We are committed to achieving and sustaining a stance of monetary policy that is sufficiently restrictive to bring inflation down to that level over time. It is challenging, of course, to know in real-time when such a stance has been achieved."

Powell also noted that the central bank still expects to see weaker economic growth as it cools the economy to bring consumer prices back down to target.

"Getting inflation sustainably back down to 2 percent is expected to require a period of below-trend economic growth as well as some softening in labor market conditions.

Marc Chandler, managing director at Bannockburn Global Forex, said that Powell didn’t cover any new ground; however, he added that markets are still pricing in a rate hike in November.

“Powell spent a little more than 10 minutes summarizing what has taken place in the past year, with little forward guidance,” he said.

By

Neils Christensen

For Kitco News

Time to Buy Gold and silver

Tim Moseley

WEFs Cyber Attack Simulations: Klaus says a Cyber Attack will Dwarf the Pandemic by Comparison

WEF’s Cyber Attack Simulations: Klaus says a Cyber Attack will Dwarf the Pandemic by Comparison. 

In late 2019, the World Economic Forum (WEF) co-hosted a global pandemic simulation known as Event 201 with the John Hopkins and Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation. A few months later, we were hit with an actual pandemic that began in early 2020. The WEF co-hosted a global cyber attack simulation with Sberbank, Russia's largest bank, in July 2020 called Cyber Polygon. In light of the aftermath of Event 201 has led to speculation that a cyber attack is on the horizon. 

This article explains the Cyber Polygon and summarizes what was discussed in the 2020 simulation. There was another Cyber Polygon simulation in mid-2021, which I touched on briefly in this article. However, the 2020 edition is significant because it was the first simulation involving Klaus Schwab and the WEF and the first year of the C-19 pandemic. A lot has happened since the 2021 simulation; hence, the Cyber Polygon 2022 simulation was postponed indefinitely.

What Is Cyber Polygon?

Cyber Polygon is an annual cyber security event hosted by BI.ZONE, a cyber security subsidiary of Sberbank. The first Cyber Polygon event took place in 2019, which included simulations for DDOS, web applications, and ransomware attacks. The summary reveals a limited number of participants, the only notable being IBM. The WEF was yet to be involved. 

However, the WEF’s cyber security initiatives predate Cyber Polygon by over a year. The WEF announced the Global Center for Cyber Security at its annual Davos conference in January 2018. At some stage in 2019/20, the WEF partnered with Sberbank to organize Cyber Polygon 2020. Not surprisingly, Cyber Polygon 2020 was much larger than the 2019 edition. Over 120 organizations from 29 countries were involved, and the online event had over five million viewers from 57 countries. 


Image source: Cyber Polygon 2020 Report.pdf

The website for Cyber Polygon 2020 explains that many of these 120 organizations chose to remain anonymous, but it reveals that many big names were involved. Besides Deutsche Bank and Ernst & Young, ICANN is noted as being one of the key partners, and it provides global internet infrastructure. Whereas the focus of the 2019 edition was DDOS, web applications, and ransomware attacks, the focus of Cyber Polygon 2020 was a so-called digital pandemic. This digital pandemic would affect everything from financial infrastructure to healthcare and have a global impact. 

The full Cyber Polygon 2020 stream is still available on the BI.ZONE’s YouTube channel, however, is almost 5 hours long. This article from Unlimited Hangout provides a detailed background on some speakers. 

 
Image source: Cyber Polygon 2020 Report.pdf

Cyber Polygon 2020

So Cyber Polygon 2020 began with opening remarks from Sberbank CEO Herman Gref. Herman explained that the speakers will discuss “the next pressing issue after the pandemic,” a global cyber attack. He revealed that Interpol is also a key partner of Cyber Polygon. Herman also announced that WEF founder and chairman Klaus Schwab is personally involved with Cyber Polygon. 

For context, the WEF is an organization consisting of the world's most influential individuals and institutions, which come together each year to decide the future of the world without our input basically. The first speaker was Mikhail Mishustin, the Prime Minister of Russia, the second most powerful person in the country after President Vladimir Putin. Mikhail revealed that the post-pandemic recovery will focus on digitization, a process accelerated by pandemic restrictions. 

The second speaker was Klaus Schwab; he revealed that he'd been working closely with Herman, the CEO of Sberbank. Klaus also said that he was pleased to have recently met with Putin, a meeting which apparently took place in Saint Petersburg in November 2019. On that note, Putin was a so-called young global leader of the WEF. Although the WEF removed Putin's profile from its website when the Russia/Ukraine war started, the association has led to speculation that the war is being used as a pretext for a cyber attack. 

In any case, Klaus explained that they need a “great reset to bring everything together,” AKA to centralize control. He said that all WEF stakeholders must be mobilized, and everything must be digitized. He added that the cyber attack will make the pandemic look like a small disturbance by comparison. 


Image Source: Unlimited Hangout

BI.ZONE Simulation

The presenter of the 2020 event was Alexander Tushkanov, head of sales at BI.ZONE. He explained that a cyber attack simulation would take place in real-time at the Sberbank headquarters during the event where BI.ZONE employees are the hackers, and participants are the cyber defenders. Alexander also said it's been many years since the WEF announced the Fourth Industrial Revolution. He explained that the WEF’s initiative has resulted in two groups: those who support it and those who oppose it. He asked whether trust or fear would be the motivator for future cooperation. 

Alexander also asked whether it would take another crisis to unite the world after the pandemic. As this article about resisting the great reset illustrates, the WEF is keen to create crises for this exact purpose: Centralized control. 

This ties into what was said by the third speaker, Tony Blair, the former prime minister of the UK and a frequent contributor to the WEF’s global agenda. He noted that digitization would continue after the pandemic and that rolling out a digital ID is the key to successful digitization. Tony went on to complain the governments weren’t doing enough to crack down on privacy-preserving technologies and then warned that a “globally impactful scandal is inevitable soon.” He also said that the lack of cooperation in the pandemic response makes him concerned that digitization will fail. 

On that note, Klaus saw the pandemic as an opportunity to test the great reset philosophy. Still, in hindsight, he acknowledged that the WEF’s top-down approach failed, so they are now focusing on young global leaders for a bottom-up approach. 

The fourth speaker was Jeremy Jurgens, chief business officer at the WEF. Jeremy explained that the speed of digitization will drive the kind of intimate public and private cooperation the WEF is looking for. Note that private and public integration are common in authoritarian regimes. Jeremy went on to explain that there will be another global crisis that will be worse and happen fast. He then revealed that the WEF has been working closely with intelligence agencies on cyber security related to energy infrastructure. He not-so-subtly asked what would happen if the energy grid went down.

The following speakers were Sebastian Tolstoy, head of Erikson's Russian operations, and Alexei Kornya, CEO of MTS, Russia's largest telecom company. The pair talked about the rollout of 5G and how its purpose is primarily for the operation of smart cities, not for civilian use.

Fake News: The Real Pandemic? 

Nik Gowing, a former BBC News journalist, and Vladimir Pozner, a Russian journalist, were up next. They discussed whether fake news is the real digital pandemic. Nick began slamming then-US President Donald Trump for calling the mainstream media fake news. Vladimir continued by questioning whether it's good that people have more access to information in the modern day. He said that journalists used to be soldiers under the Soviet Union. 

Funnily enough, there was much disagreement, and Vladimir said he wasn't enjoying the conversation. Vladimir won the argument, though, because governments worldwide are in the process of passing online censorship laws, some of which will go into force in the next few months.  

Other speakers were Jacqueline Kurnot, who works in cyber security consulting at Ernst & Young, and Hector Rodriguez, a senior vice president at Visa. The topic of discussion was how to prepare for a cyber crisis, and what the panelists said was eye-opening. Jacqueline insisted that the next global crisis is imminent and said that the only solution is government regulation. Thankfully, Hector was not as convinced that there would be another global crisis but revealed that Visa already had a plan for dealing with the pandemic shortly before it began. Coincidence? 


Image source: X Interpol

Interpol And WEF Aligned

Troels Ørting Jørgensen, the West Center for Cyber Security chairman, and Jürgen Stock, the secretary general of Interpol, then had their say. For those unfamiliar, Interpol fights international crime with the help of law enforcement agencies from 195 countries and counting. While the Interpol Charter states that the organization is supposed to be politically neutral, it appears to be very closely aligned with the WEF. Troels revealed that he and Jürgen have been close friends for 30 years.

Jürgen also said that Interpol and the WEF are aligned. Jürgen is particularly passionate about the WEF’s Fourth Industrial Revolution, which essentially involves the digitization of everything so that it can be closely monitored and controlled. To that end, Jürgen believes that software and hardware should have security by design features that allow this control. 

Craig Jones, who also works at Interpol, specifically as the organization's cybercrime director, was next. Craig's answers were less revealing than the questions from Alexander, who asked about cyber attacks being executed in waves across multiple countries. Notably, Alexander asked the last few speakers if cybercrime groups collaborate better than countries. The answers were mixed, but the consensus is that cybercrime groups collaborate better than countries, which makes sense, given the tense political climate. 


Image source: Transforming our World 4 IR

Petr Goradov, head of international legal cooperation at Russia's General Prosecutor's Office, watched the simulation at Sberbank headquarters. Alexander asked him why cyber crime was rising in Russia and why only 8% of cases were solved. Petr dodged the question and called on the United Nations to create a new convention focused on cybercrime. 

John Crain, chief security officer of ICANN, was asked by Alexander about the collaboration comparison between countries and cybercrime groups. John was the only speaker who claimed that the pandemic had increased the collaboration between countries. John also revealed that ICANN is keeping track of the registration of internet domain names worldwide and their correlation to crime. As an international organization, ICANN cannot pursue any enforcement action, but it has forwarded this information to the appropriate authorities. 

The final speaker was Stanislav Kuznetsov, chairman of Sberbank. He thanked the WEF, Interpol, and others for helping put together Cyber Polygon 2020. He explained that the outcome of the ongoing cyber attack simulation would be published in a subsequent report. As mentioned earlier, the attackers in the simulation were BI.ZONE employees and the defenders were the participants in the event. The identities of the defenders are not revealed in the simulation results. 

The simulation results seem to suggest that the participants are unprepared for a cyber attack regardless of their industry. The results also specify that more than 20% of participants could not identify cyber threats before they occur. Not surprisingly, financial institutions and IT companies performed the best across the three cyber attack scenarios. 


Image source: The Last American Vagabond

Cyber Polygon 2021 Highlights

As stated in the introduction, the Cyber Polygon 2020 gave rise to speculation that a global cyber attack was imminent. This speculation rose higher in mid-2021 when the WEF and Sberbank co-hosted a second cyber attack simulation. Like Cyber Polygon 2020, Cyber Polygon 2021’s key partners were the WEF, IBM, and Interpol, and the 2021 edition was almost twice as large as the 2020 edition, with 200 participants from 48 countries and 7 million viewers from 78 countries. Most participants again chose to remain anonymous. 

Whereas the theme of Cyber Polygon 2020 was a so-called digital pandemic, the focus of Cyber Polygon 2021 was a supply-chain cyber attack simulation similar to the SolarWinds hack that would “assess the cyber resilience” of the exercise’s participants. The website for the 2021 event ominously warns that, given the digitalization trends primarily spurred by the COVID-19 crisis, “a single vulnerable link is enough to bring down the entire system, just like the domino effect,” adding that “a secure approach to digital development today will determine the future of humanity for decades to come.”

In addition to the same globalists and bureaucrats of the 2020 edition, Steve Wozniak, the co-founder of Apple, was present at the 2021 event. It’s worth mentioning that Steve seemed surprised by the event because of Alexander's questions. Alexander asked Steve about data, and Steve boasted that he's proud that Apple doesn't share user data like other big tech companies. Alexander asked Steve about AI, and he said he was not all that impressed by it. Alexander also asks Steve about digital ID. Steve expressed that he doesn't like it at all but knows it's inevitable and hopes it's done in a way that protects user privacy. Steve went on to say that he hates authoritarianism and loves freedom.

The results of the 2021 cyber attack simulation can be found here. The difference is that the 2021 report did not contain a detailed breakdown of how the participants did. It only provided a paragraph, suggesting the participants did even worse than the previous year. A third simulation was set to occur in mid-2022 but was postponed. BI.ZONE announced on Twitter [X] that Cyber Polygon had been delayed indefinitely, and many would argue it was because of the war in Ukraine. 

According to this website, no official reason was given for the postponement, and there was no mention of sanctions or Ukraine.  It’s interesting to note that BI.ZONE has since been posting about cyberattack scenarios with the hashtag “You may be next,” often tagging Interpol in the tweets. 


Image Source: X [Twitter]

Global Cooperation Waning

So, is the WEF, in fact, planning a global cyber attack to achieve even more control? Executing a global cyber attack would also require the same kind of cooperation the WEF is trying to push with cyber defense simulations just like Cyber Polygon. 

The catch is that the cooperation the WEF requires for a global cyber attack has been breaking down ever since the pandemic began. The conflicts over the distribution of things like medical equipment and medicine have led to a decline in trust between countries. This is probably why Alexander, the presenter of Cyber Polygon, felt compelled to ask whether trust or fear would motivate cooperation during the next crisis. 

Interestingly, the only person Alexander asked this question to was WEF chief business officer Jeremy Jurgens. Jeremy admitted that fear achieves compliance but cautioned that compliance is not the same as cooperation. Jeremy also acknowledged there is serious competition between countries. It brings into question how the WEF will achieve cooperation without using fear in a way that won't be affected by the competition between countries. 

Answer To The Perfect Global Crisis

The answer is a global crisis where no individual or institution is to blame, a crisis some speakers alluded to. The only problem with this kind of crisis is that the WEF wouldn't have nearly the same degree of control over its emergence and response as it did with the pandemic. Ideally, the WEF would have a way of secretly creating or exacerbating a crisis where it's impossible to detect their influence. 

It raises the issue of what kind of a global crisis meets this criterion, and the answer is a climate crisis. The WEF and its allies have been talking a lot about this lately. It is also a crisis that they could secretly create or exacerbate. 

If you know anything about weather modification, you'll see that it is a very real technology that's been around for almost 100 years. Today’s weather modification technologies are more sophisticated and highly potent, and it's reportedly impossible to detect when they're being used. A climate crisis made or made worse by this undetectable weather modification would be the perfect path to total control for the WEF. They would only need to manage the online flow of information, which they're currently addressing with those online safety laws.
 

Food For Thought

Could the elites in power be using a series of successive crises to get everyone on the same internet? An internet where everyone is registered, and everything is monitored. Consider that every time there's been a disruption to the internet due to some crisis, Elon Musk has stepped in by offering internet via Spacex's Starlink service. If some cyber attack takes down the internet, Starlink is an alternative. 

The good news about this situation is that people will always be able to recreate new internet using peer-to-peer networks. This will be easier said than done, but it is possible and will be done if this is the path that the people in power decide to take.

The silver lining to all of the WEF’s plans is that the WEF doesn't only require the collective trust of countries to make this master plan work; it requires the trust of the average person. This trust has been broken beyond repair, and what's left of it is being pounded into dust by the WEF’s ever-more dystopian plans. 

There are more of us than there are of them. If we work together to fight for freedom, we will always achieve it because our collective consciousness and energy will always be greater than theirs. And though it may take some time for the equation to play out, the outcome is inevitable. 

 

 

Editor and Chief Markethive: Deb Williams. (Australia) I thrive on progress and champion freedom of speech. I embrace "Change" with a passion, and my purpose in life is to enlighten people to accept and move forward with enthusiasm. Find me at my Markethive Profile Page | My Twitter Account | and my LinkedIn Profile.

 

 

 

 

Tim Moseley

Gold needs weak economic data as a catalyst to push prices higher next week

Gold needs weak economic data as a catalyst to push prices higher next week

The gold market maintains its resilience in the face of significant headwinds; however, precious metals are in desperate need of a catalyst to push prices out of their current downtrend, according to some analysts.

After four weeks of losses, gold is heading into the weekend with a modest gain. December gold futures last traded at $1,9410.90 an ounce, up 1.27%. Despite the gains, analysts note that the gold market is generally stuck in a “wait-and-see” mode and next week’s economic data could create some critical volatility.

U.S. economic data continues to play an essential role in the sentiment in the gold market. The Federal Reserve has said that it will maintain interest rates higher for longer as healthy economic activity continues to support the tight labor market.

Federal Reserve Chairman Powell reiterated that stance Friday in his prepared remarks during the central bank's annual retreat at Jackson Hole. Although Powell provided little new information, he reiterated the central bank’s stance to bring inflation down to its 2% target even as it remains data-dependent.

“We are navigating by the stars under cloudy skies. In such circumstances, risk-management considerations are critical. At upcoming meetings, we will assess our progress based on the totality of the data and the evolving outlook and risks,” Powell said in his remarks.

Phillip Streible, chief market strategist at Blue Line Futures, said weak data with a focus on Friday’s nonfarm payrolls report could breathe some new life into the precious metal, providing an early signal that the central bank’s tightening cycle has ended; however, he added that the market has some significant hurdles to clear.

“Even if the market does turn around, investors might still hesitate to jump back in. Investors are going to take a more conservative stance on gold and silver in the near term. Prices need to get over $1,971 just to turn neutral, but prices are not even able to break above resistance at $1,951.”

While some analysts have described Powell’s statement as “dull,” they point out that the status quo remains a complex environment for gold.

Craig Erlam, senior market analyst at OANDA, said that gold’s upside momentum could be limited in the near-term.

“Comments from Powell have not put traders' minds at ease and the traders are increasingly being forced to come to terms with rates remaining higher for even longer, strengthening the dollar and weighing on gold again today. It remains above $1,900 currently, but only just. The Fed is clearly far from convinced that the job is done,” he said in a note.

While gold’s upside appears to be limited in the near term, so could its downside. Christopher Vecchio, head of futures and forex at Tastylive.com, said that with bond yields holding near a 15-year high, gold prices should be a lot lower.

He said that he suspects growing economic uncertainty in China and the threat of stagflation in Europe is helping to support safe-haven demand in gold.

“The Chinese government is going to have to throw a lot of good money at bad investments. This uncertainty is helping to raise the floor price for gold and silver,” he said. “I think the worst days for gold and silver are over. The market is not ready to run higher, but I expect we could trend around $1,900 for a while,” he said.

Some analysts point out that silver has already experienced a modest short squeeze as prices look to end the week with a 2.4% gain.

Vecchio added that any signs of economic weakness could convince the U.S. central bank that it doesn’t have to raise interest rates any further.

While the main risk event will be Friday with the release of the U.S. August employment report, several high-profile reports will be on the docket next week.

Next week's data:

Tuesday: U.S. Consumer Confidence, JOLTS job openings

Wednesday: ADP private payrolls, Preliminary Q1 GDP, pending home sales

Thursday: Core PCE, personal income and spending, weekly jobless claims

Friday: Nonfarm payrolls report, ISM manufacturing PMI survey

By

Neils Christensen

For Kitco News

Time to Buy Gold and silver

Tim Moseley

Powell leans hawkish as expected markets show no significant reactions

Powell leans hawkish, as expected; markets show no significant reactions

The highly anticipated speech by Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powel at the annual Jackson Hole, Wyoming Fed symposium has so far had no major impact on the marketplace. Powell struck a hawkish tone on U.S. monetary policy, saying the inflation fight is not finished and the Fed “has a long way to go” to get inflation tamed to where the Fed wants it to be. Powell said the U.S. economy may not be cooling down like the Fed wants to see in order to choke off inflationary pressures. He said the U.S. central bank is prepared to raise interest rates further, if warranted. “We are in a position to proceed carefully,” said Powell. Some Fed watchers are saying Powell leaned hawkish, but maybe not as hawkish as some in the marketplace expected. Thus, the so-far muted reactions by the markets. December gold was last up $0.50 at $1,947.40.

By

Jim Wyckoff

For Kitco News

Time to Buy Gold and silver

Tim Moseley

Gold silver steady-weaker as Powell Jackson Hole speech awaited

Gold, silver steady-weaker as Powell Jackson Hole speech awaited

Gold and silver prices are steady to slightly lower in quieter midday U.S. trading Thursday, as traders are awaiting the marketplace event of the week, if not the month: the annual Federal Reserve symposium held in Jackson Hole, Wyoming. The meeting gets under way Thursday evening. This meeting usually produces some market-sensitive news from world central bankers’ comments, including Fed Chair Jerome Powell. Powell is scheduled to speak at the confab on Friday morning at 10:05 a.m. EDT. December gold was last down $0.70 at $1,947.40 and September silver was down $0.152 at $24.245.

U.S. stock indexes are lower at midday, despite Nvidia’s knockout earnings and guidance reports Wednesday afternoon. Said Nigel Green, the CEO of deVere Group: “AI (artificial intelligence) is not just the future, it’s the present, and all investors need some exposure to it – but there’s much more than just this one California-based mega tech company.” The chipmaker beat estimates and said sales will jump another 170% this quarter due to soaring demand for AI chips. Shares in Nvidia jumped 6% on the earnings and guidance, which came after the closing bell Wednesday. “Nvidia is the darling of the AI boom – of this there is no doubt – and with robust guidance we expect this to continue for most of the rest of the year,” said Green. “Investors who are serious about building their long-term wealth need exposure to this pivotal driver of innovation, competitiveness, and profitability across almost all industries. We’re still at the beginning of the AI age and investors should not miss out on having an early advantage. Almost everyone should have investment exposure to AI as part of the mix.”

The marketplace is taking note of the BRICS (Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa) meeting this week. China President Xi Jinping was a no-show for a scheduled speech at the confab. Broker SP Angel says in an email dispatch: “We wonder what economic disaster Xi was having to address while missing his speech.”

The key outside markets today see the U.S. dollar index solidly higher, while Nymex crude oil futures prices are slightly up and trading around $79.25 a barrel. The benchmark U.S. Treasury 10-year note is presently fetching 4.227%.

Technically, December gold futures bears still have the overall near-term technical advantage. However, a four-week-old downtrend on the daily bar chart has been negated. Bulls’ next upside price objective is to produce a close above solid resistance at $1,980.00. Bears' next near-term downside price objective is pushing futures prices below solid technical support at $1,900.00. First resistance is seen at $1,963.50 and then at $1,975.00. First support is seen at today’s low of $1,939.20 and then at Wednesday’s low of $1,926.20. Wyckoff's Market Rating: 3.5.

September silver futures bulls have the overall near-term technical advantage. Prices are starting to trend up. Silver bulls' next upside price objective is closing prices above solid technical resistance at the July high of $25.475. The next downside price objective for the bears is closing prices below solid support at the August low of $22.265. First resistance is seen at this week’s high of $24.43 and then at $24.75. Next support is seen at $24.00 and then at Wednesday’s low of $23.475. Wyckoff's Market Rating: 6.0.

September N.Y. copper closed down 360 points at 377.25 cents today. Prices closed nearer the session low. The copper bears have the overall near-term technical advantage. However, a downtrend on the daily bar chart has been negated. Copper bulls' next upside price objective is pushing and closing prices above solid technical resistance at the June high of 396.40 cents. The next downside price objective for the bears is closing prices below solid technical support at the August low of 362.70 cents. First resistance is seen at this week’s high of 381.55 cents and then at 385.00 cents. First support is seen at Wednesday’s low of 375.70 cents and then at 371.60 cents. Wyckoff's Market Rating: 3.5.

By

Jim Wyckoff

For Kitco News

Time to Buy Gold and silver

Tim Moseley

Solid gains for gold silver as Jackson Hole looms

Solid gains for gold, silver as Jackson Hole looms

Gold and silver prices are solidly up in midday U.S. trading Wednesday, boosted by a weaker U.S. dollar index and a dip in U.S. Treasury yields at mid-week. More short covering by the futures traders and perceived bargain hunting are featured in the two precious metals. The technical posture for silver has significantly improved this week, which is inviting chart-based speculators to the long side of that market. December gold was last up $20.60 at $1,946.60 and September silver was up $0.91 at $24.36.

Traders and investors are anxiously awaiting the Kansas City Federal Reserve’s annual symposium held in Jackson Hole, Wyoming late this week. Fed Chairman Jerome Powell and European Central Bank President Christine Lagarde are set to give speeches. The speeches are expected to provide insights into the future monetary policy direction of their respective central banks. The ECB is expected to pause its recent tightening cycle at its September meeting, while U.S interest rates are expected by most to remain elevated for an extended period due to still-significant upward inflationary pressures. The marketplace will be listening closely for a potential shift in the Fed’s inflation goal. An upward revision to the Fed’s present target of around 2% annual inflation could have major implications for the U.S. bond market, particularly longer-dated U.S. Treasuries, likely increasing Treasury yields which are already at the highest levels since 2007.

The Wall Street Journal today reported general U.S. annual inflation has dropped to 3.2%, from a peak of 9.1%. While the Federal Reserve has forced about two-thirds of the problematic inflation genie back into her bottle, there’s still more work to do. That will very likely be the theme of Powell’s speech in Jackson Hole on Friday. Powell cannot err on the side of loosening monetary policy too quickly and potentially reigniting inflation that would likely become even worse than the latest surge. Thus, he’ll lean hawkish on U.S. monetary policy in Friday’s speech. ECB President Legarde is also likely to sound modestly hawkish, but probably less so than Powell.

The key outside markets today see the U.S. dollar index modestly down, while Nymex crude oil futures prices are lower and trading around $79.00 a barrel. The benchmark U.S. Treasury 10-year note is presently fetching around 4.2%.

Technically, December gold futures were up $19.20 at $1,945.30 in midday trading and near the session high. Short covering was seen after prices hit a five-month low Monday. Bears still have the overall near-term technical advantage. However, a four-week-old downtrend on the daily bar chart is in jeopardy. Bulls’ next upside price objective is to produce a close above solid resistance at $1,980.00. Bears' next near-term downside price objective is pushing futures prices below solid technical support at $1,900.00. First resistance is seen at $1,950.00 and then at $1,965.00. First support is seen at today’s low of $1,926.20 and then at this week’s low of $1,913.60. Wyckoff's Market Rating: 3.5.

September silver futures were up $0.89 at $24.335 at midday and near the session high. Prices hit a three-week high today. The silver bulls have the overall near-term technical advantage and have momentum. A four-week-old downtrend on the daily bar chart has been negated and prices are now starting to trend up. Silver bulls' next upside price objective is closing prices above solid technical resistance at the July high of $25.475. The next downside price objective for the bears is closing prices below solid support at the August low of $22.265. First resistance is seen at $24.50 and then at $24.75. Next support is seen at $24.00 and then at today’s low of $23.475. Wyckoff's Market Rating: 6.0.

September N.Y. copper closed up 485 points at 380.55 cents today. Prices closed nearer the session high. The copper bears have the overall near-term technical advantage. However, a downtrend on the daily bar chart has been negated. Copper bulls' next upside price objective is pushing and closing prices above solid technical resistance at the June high of 396.40 cents. The next downside price objective for the bears is closing prices below solid technical support at the August low of 362.70 cents. First resistance is seen at today’s high of 381.55 cents and then at 385.00 cents. First support is seen at today’s low of 375.70 cents and then at 371.60 cents. Wyckoff's Market Rating: 3.5.

By

Jim Wyckoff

For Kitco News

Time to Buy Gold and silver

Tim Moseley

Gold silver modestly up on short covering by futures traders

Gold, silver modestly up on short covering by futures traders

Gold and silver prices are a bit firmer in quieter midday U.S. trading Tuesday. Tepid short covering and some perceived light bargain hunting are featured in the two precious metals, after both recently hit five-month lows. December gold was last up $4.00 at $1,926.90 and September silver was up $0.15 at $23.485.

The marketplace is quieter amid the summertime doldrums and as traders and investors are looking ahead to the late-week annual Federal Reserve symposium held in Jackson Hole, Wyoming. This meeting usually produces some market-sensitive news from world central bankers’ comments, including Fed Chair Jerome Powell. Powell is scheduled to speak at the confab on Friday.

The key outside markets today see the U.S. dollar index higher, while Nymex crude oil futures prices are slightly down and trading around $79.75 a barrel. The benchmark U.S. Treasury 10-year note is presently fetching 4.326%.

Technically, December gold futures bears have the firm overall near-term technical advantage. Prices are in a four-week-old downtrend on the daily bar chart. Bulls’ next upside price objective is to produce a close above solid resistance at $1,980.00. Bears' next near-term downside price objective is pushing futures prices below solid technical support at $1,900.00. First resistance is seen at today’s high of $1,933.20 and then at $1,938.20. First support is seen at this week’s low of $1,913.60 and then at $1,900.00. Wyckoff's Market Rating: 3.0.

September silver futures bears have the slight overall near-term technical advantage. However, a four-week-old downtrend on the daily bar chart has stalled out. Silver bulls' next upside price objective is closing prices above solid technical resistance at $24.00. The next downside price objective for the bears is closing prices below solid support at $22.00. First resistance is seen at $23.75 and then at $24.00. Next support is seen at $23.00 and then at this week’s low of $22.71. Wyckoff's Market Rating: 4.5.

September N.Y. copper closed up 385 points at 375.70 cents today. Prices closed nearer the session high. The copper bears have the overall near-term technical advantage. Prices are still in a downtrend on the daily bar chart but now just barely. Copper bulls' next upside price objective is pushing and closing prices above solid technical resistance at 390.00 cents. The next downside price objective for the bears is closing prices below solid technical support at the May low of 356.50 cents. First resistance is seen at today’s high of 377.75 cents and then at 380.00 cents. First support is seen at today’s low of 371.60 cents and then at this week’s low of 368.45 cents. Wyckoff's Market Rating: 2.5.

By

Jim Wyckoff

For Kitco News

Time to Buy Gold and Silver

Tim Moseley

Solana Price Prediction as 300 Million Trading Volume Comes In Can SOL Reach 100?

Solana Price Prediction as $300 Million Trading Volume Comes In – Can SOL Reach $100?

Source: TradingView

The price of Solana (SOL) has dipped to $21 today, marking a slight 0.4% loss in 24 hours and a 15% drop in the past week.

Despite these falls, SOL remains up by 110% since the beginning of the year, following the successful rehabilitation of Solana as a layer-one blockchain since a 2022 marred by outages.

And with SOL's 24-hour trading volume rising beyond $300 million, it's possible that this weekend's selloff will soon turn into a rebound, with the altcoin remaining oversold and undervalued relative to its fundamentals.

Solana Price Prediction as $300 Million Trading Volume Comes In – Can SOL Reach $100?

Solana's chart and indicators show that the altcoin is close to reaching a bottom of its recent downturn, with its relative strength index close to falling to 30 and possibly 20.

Source: TradingView

At the same time, SOL's 30-day moving average (yellow) is descending towards its 200-day average (blue), and once it falls below the longer term average it would be reasonable to conclude that the coin has bottomed out.

It will be interesting to see how Solana's support level (green) will hold up in the next few days, given that the altcoin has actually fallen through several short-term supports in recent days.

However, it's unlikely that it will fall or stay below its medium- and long-term supports, with the coin potentially bottoming at around $20 or $19.

From there, SOL should make a decent recovery, especially when nothing has fundamentally changed with Solana. 

Solana's position remains as positive as it was prior to recent market-wide downturns, with the network recently celebrating 100% uptime in the past six months.

On top of this, Solana has also witnessed several important launches and expansions, with the Phantom wallet app, for example, rolling out a feature this week which enables users to be authenticated via only the use of their Solana addresses.

This points to growing usage of Solana, an impression backed up by the relatively high volume of NFT sales which are transacted on its network, for instance.

Given this steady growth, it's likely that SOL will return to $25 in the next few weeks, before making it to $30 or $35 in the latter months of 2023.

New Altcoins Offer More Potential

Solana's progress from here on out may be gradual though, leaving traders having to look elsewhere if they seek shorter term, above-average gains.

There are numerous sources of such gains, however, with presale tokens being particularly lucrative for those who manage to invest early.

While there are several promising presales happening right now, one of the most interesting belongs to Launchpad.xyz (LPX), an all-in-one Web3 platform that launched the presale for its native LPX token in July and has raised more than $1.3 million.

Due to launch in the final quarter of the year, Launchpad.xyz boasts a range of valuable features for users looking to delve further into the growing Web3 space.

This encompasses Web3 wallet addresses, a hub for play-to-earn games, a presale launchpad, a trading terminal, as well as trading signals and market intelligence.

Launchpad's ambition doesn't stop there though, since its ecosystem will also include a DEX and an NFT marketplace, as well as the ability to create and trade fractionalized assets.

Another thing that makes LPX even more attractive as an investment prospect is that it will be used to pay for platform fees and subscriptions, to obtain discounts, and also for staking.

As such, it will have much more utility than many other new coins, with the coin likely to grow in price in tandem with Launchpad's overall growth.

It's easy enough to join the coin's presale, with investors simply needing to go the official Launchpad.xyz website.

1 LPX costs $0.0445, a price that could end up seeming very low when the coin lists on trading platforms in the very near future.

Visit Launchpad xyz Now

Disclaimer: Crypto is a high-risk asset class. This article is provided for informational purposes and does not constitute investment advice. You could lose all of your capital.

Tim Moseley

Gold slightly up as marketplace looks forward to Jackson Hole

Gold slightly up as marketplace looks forward to Jackson Hole

Gold prices are slightly up and silver prices are solidly up in midday U.S. trading Monday, with gold poking to another five-month low in overnight trading. Short covering, corrective rebounds are featured in the two precious metals. However, rising U.S. Treasury yields to start the trading week and still-bearish charts are limiting the upside for gold and silver. Trading may be more subdued this week, ahead of the late-week annual Federal Reserve symposium held in Jackson Hole, Wyoming. This meeting usually produces some market-sensitive news from world central bankers’ comments, including Fed Chair Jerome Powell. Powell is scheduled to speak at the confab on Friday. December gold was last up $1.80 at $1,918.40 and September silver was up $0.442 at $23.175.

In overnight news, the People's Bank of China cut its one-year loan prime rate (LPR) by 10 basis points to a record low of 3.45%, while unexpectedly holding steady the five-year rate at 4.2%. Most economists had predicted a 15 basis-point cut. Monday’s move came after a surprising reduction in both short-term loan rates and the medium-term rate by the central bank last week, as it seeks to strike a balance between helping the economy and stemming further depreciation of the Chinese yuan. The Hang Seng stock index declined, headed for its lowest close since November. Reads a Wall Street Journal headline today: “China’s 40-year boom is over, raising fears of extended slump.”

The key outside markets today see the U.S. dollar index slightly higher, while Nymex crude oil futures prices are firmer and trading around $81.75 a barrel. The benchmark U.S. Treasury 10-year note is presently fetching 4.338%.

There is no major U.S. economic data due for release Monday.

Technically, December gold futures were up $1.70 at $1,918.20 in midday trading and nearer the session low. Prices hit another five-month low today. Bears have the firm overall near-term technical advantage. Prices are in a four-week-old downtrend on the daily bar chart. Bulls’ next upside price objective is to produce a close above solid resistance at $1,980.00. Bears' next near-term downside price objective is pushing futures prices below solid technical support at $1,900.00. First resistance is seen at today’s high of $1,927.90 and then at $1,938.20. First support is seen at today’s low of $1,913.60 and then at $1,900.00. Wyckoff's Market Rating: 3.0.

September silver futures were up $0.437 at $23.17 at midday and nearer the session high. The silver bears have the overall near-term technical advantage. However, a four-week-old downtrend on the daily bar chart is now in jeopardy. Silver bulls' next upside price objective is closing prices above solid technical resistance at $24.00. The next downside price objective for the bears is closing prices below solid support at $22.00. First resistance is seen at today’s high of $23.36 and then at $23.75. Next support is seen at today’s low of $22.71 and then at $22.50. Wyckoff's Market Rating: 4.0.

September N.Y. copper closed up 105 points at 371.65 cents today. Prices closed nearer the session high. The copper bears have the firm overall near-term technical advantage. Prices are in a downtrend on the daily bar chart. Copper bulls' next upside price objective is pushing and closing prices above solid technical resistance at 390.00 cents. The next downside price objective for the bears is closing prices below solid technical support at the May low of 356.50 cents. First resistance is seen at last week’s high of 374.90 cents and then at 378.00 cents. First support is seen at today’s low of 368.45 cents and then at the August low of 362.70 cents. Wyckoff's Market Rating: 2.5.

By

Jim Wyckoff

For Kitco News

Time to Buy Gold and Silver

Tim Moseley

Mixed sentiment highlights difficult environment for gold as bond yields remain elevated

Mixed sentiment highlights difficult environment for gold as bond yields remain elevated

Rising bond yields as the Federal Reserve looks likely to maintain its aggressive rate hikes are creating a challenging environment for gold Gold prices, and the mixed sentiment in the marketplace does not point to significantly higher prices anytime soon.

The latest Kitco News Weekly Gold Survey shows that Wall Street analysts are significantly bearish on gold in the near term, while sentiment is roughly balanced among retail investors.

According to analysts, rising U.S. bond yields, which hit a new 15-year high Thursday, remain a significant headwind for gold. They note that gold’s rising opportunity costs are also stopping it from attracting safe-haven flows as a slowing Chinese economy spooks investors.

“Yields are at a level that is supporting the Federal Reserve’s monetary policies and that is a tough environment for gold,” said Ed Moya, senior market analyst at OANDA. “There will be a time when gold is attractive again, but now is not that time.”

Despite the uphill battle, Moya said that he is neutral on gold for next week as bond yields could be close to peaking; he added that selling momentum in gold appears to be slowing.

“For gold selling pressure to remain, global bond yields might need to surge higher,” he said.

However, most analysts said lower gold prices are more likely in the near term. There are growing expectations that Federal Reserve Jerome Powell, speaking at the annual Jackson Hole central bank retreat next week, will maintain his hawkish bias and signal rates will remain higher for longer.

“The markets are now pricing in an extended period of elevated US interest rates, a dynamic that supports the dollar and is bad news for the precious metal. Against this background, gold prices are likely to remain under pressure, with the next significant support level at $1875,” said Ricardo Evangelista, senior analyst at ActivTrades.

This week, 16 Wall Street analysts participated in the Kitco News Gold Survey. Among the participants, ten analysts, or 63%, were bearish on gold in the near term. At the same time, two analysts, or 13%, were bullish for next week, and four analysts, or 25%, saw prices trading sideways.

Meanwhile, 941 votes were cast in online polls. Of these, 415 respondents, or 44%, looked for gold to rise next week. Another 386, or 41%, said it would be lower, while 140 voters, or 15%, were neutral in the near term.

Kitco Gold Survey

Wall Street

Bullish

Bearish

Neutral

VS

Main Street

Bullish

Bearish

Neutral

Adrian Day, president of Adrian Day Asset Management, said that while he expects gold prices to push higher in the next few months, investors shouldn’t ignore the near-term price action.

“It’s very rare to see a washout like this without seeing some follow through,” he said. “I think we should expect to see lower gold prices next week, but that won’t do anything to change the long-term outlook.”

James Stanley, market Strategist at Stone X, said that while he expects Powell to strike a neutral tone at Jackson Hole next week, it will be difficult for gold to shake its bearish technical outlook.

“[Powell will] have a little something for both USD bulls and bears without too much inference ahead of the September meeting, and I think removing some pressure from the situation could allow for gold to retrace some of this week’s losses,” he said. “I’m still retaining a bearish bias because spot Gold slipped below a big level this week at 1900 and that three-year range remains very much in play.”

However, there are still a couple of bulls in the marketplace. Michele Schneider, director of trading education and research at MarketGauge, said that despite the selling pressure, gold still holds critical support levels. The gold market has managed to hold support above its March lows.

“I’m not worried about gold,” she said. “I would be looking to buy at lower levels.”

  Gold price outlook remains bullish but record highs pushed out to the end of Q1 2024 – ANZ

By

Neils Christensen

For Kitco News

www.kitco.com

Time to Buy Gold and Silver

Tim Moseley

The Artist that came out of the Winter