“Americans have become less likely to view stocks or mutual funds as the best long-term investment after U.S. markets dropped by more than a third as the economic implications of the coronavirus outbreak set in last month,” Gallup survey said.

 

Despite the drop, stocks or mutual funds remain the second best long-term investment choice.

Gold and savings accounts saw a rise in this year’s survey. Gold was chosen by 16% of Americans and savings accounts by 17%. “Roughly one in six Americans view savings accounts or CDs (17%) and gold (16%) as the best long-term investment,” they survey said.

For gold, this is a 2% rise since last year’s survey, which potentially points to a shift in Americans perspectives.

 

 

 

Increased interest in gold is also visible through its price gains over the past year. Spot gold is up nearly 35% since April 2019. At the time of writing, spot gold was trading at $1,725.60, down 0.23% on the day.

 

“It's possible that the economic fallout from COVID-19 could scramble Americans' preferences, with the stock market in peril and the real estate market's future unclear. In 2011, in the aftermath of the global financial crisis that caused both stock and housing values to plummet, gold was perceived as the supreme investment,” the survey said.

 

Back in 2011 and 2012 surveys, gold held the number one position as the best long-term investment. At the time, 34% of Americans said gold was the best long-term investment.

Gallup’s 2020 annual Economy and Finance survey was conducted between April 1 and April 14, polling 1,017 U.S. adults.

 

By Anna Golubova

For Kitco News

David – http://markethive.com/david-ogden

Gold needn't get any better to make investors a lot of money right now: Keec

The Resource Insider co-founder talked to Kitco today. "It is one of those rare times when investing in a junior company in some ways carries a lot less risk than a mining company or even a later stage development company," said Keech. Keech notes that there are high costs to keeping a mine on care and maintenance. "There's millions or hundreds of millions of dollars of equipment that needs to be cared for and maintained. "There's cyanide moving and percolating through heap leach pads. There are a huge costs associated with making sure that even if a mine is not running, that it is safe and well cared for," said Keech. Regarding Keech's investment strategy, he said there has been a big change, and he is looking at later stage companies, such as producing mining companies and royalty businesses. "This is very different than our typical strategy, which involves primarily investing through private placements in junior stage companies or in new companies–companies that are still private, which are typically about 12 months from going and going public. "So we're actually buying things on the market right now, and the main reason is that you're able to get cash-flow in companies that are long-term established businesses that we know are going to be able to survive a shutdown or be able to survive the pandemic. And hopefully be able to see a massive rebound." Keech is delighted with precious metal prices. "Gold does not need to get any better for people to be making a lot of money right now. Mining companies are a lot more valuable than they were even a year ago, and there's going to be a lot of projects that were sub-economic that are going to be able to print money at these valuations. Additionally, companies are starting to wake up and realize that their supply is constrained, especially in gold." Listen to our conversation with Jamie Keech.

David – http://markethive.com/david-ogden

Gold closes below $1700, despite dollar weakness

It may have been gone as soon as it appeared gold above $1700 per ounce was short-lived as market forces and a changing market sentiment took the precious yellow metal $37 lower today, with gold futures currently fixed at $1694.50. The first indication that gold futures might correct occurred on Tuesday, April 14. This was also the same day that gold futures traded to the highest level of 2020, when it traded to an intraday high of $1788.80. The indication which we spoke about on Tuesday, Wednesday as well as Thursday was the development of a three-day candlestick pattern called a “Three River Morning Star”.

On Monday gold futures had closed at $1760 the former highest price this year. This was until Tuesday when pricing opened above the close of Monday’s candle, and closed at approximately the same price point which formed a “Doji” star in the evening position. On Wednesday gold opened below Tuesday’s opening price creating a gap above the star above the highs of Monday and Tuesday.

These three candles collectively completed the pattern. The following day, on Thursday gold pricing resulted in a red candle that contained a lower low, and a lower high than the previous candle (star). Most candlestick technicians believe that on any short-term pattern one should wait for a confirming candle which gives the prior signal much greater weight, Thursday’s candle confirmed the pattern which began on Monday.

In a report from MarketWatch, Lukeman Otunuga, Senior research analyst at FXTM said: “Risk sentiment has been bolstered by U.S. President Donald Trump and reports suggesting a potential coronavirus treatment” from U.S. drug company Gilead Sciences Inc. “Market hopes around plans to ease lockdown measures are set to rise, especially after Trump set guidelines that allow social distancing rules to be lifted as soon as four weeks. While gold may sink lower on the good news, the downside will most likely be limited as disappointing economic data across the world drags investors back to reality.”

Today gold had the largest single day decline this week, which resulted in a lower weekly close. Many analysts including myself believe that this current price weakening will be short-lived at best, so the question becomes at what price point will gold find support.

Based on our technical studies, now that gold has broken below $1708 per ounce which is the 38% Fibonacci retracement, should gold continue to trade under pressure next week the most likely targets are the 50% retracement at $1682.90, with major support at the 61% Fibonacci retracement which occurs at $1657.

Wishing you as always good trading,

 

By Gary Wagner

David – http://markethive.com/david-ogden

Gold, silver bulls bask amid bullish charts, safe-haven buying

Gold futures prices are trading not far from unchanged on the day Tuesday at midday, after scoring a 7.5-year high early on, at $1,788.80, basis June Comex futures. Silver prices are sharply up and at a four-week high today. Gold bulls are enjoying the strong near-term technical advantage to continue to suggest more upside for the yellow metal in the near term. Safe-haven demand continues to boost gold, and to a lesser degree silver, as the global economy is still on very shaky ground. June gold futures were last up $0.10 an ounce at $1,761.30. May Comex silver prices were last up $0.503 at $16.04 an ounce.

Global stock markets were mostly higher in overnight trading. U.S. stock indexes are solidly higher at midday. More and more it appears North America and Europe have “turned the corner” on the Covid-19 pandemic. New York Governor Cuomo said Monday his state has seen the worst of the pandemic. Other hotspots in the U.S. have also showed signs of simmering down. Leading U.S. health officials are now saying the world’s largest economy can very likely begin to reopen in stages beginning in May.

The present Covid-19 situation appears to be a sweet spot for the precious metals. There is enough confidence in the marketplace for traders to want to trade markets, but the global economies are still in very bad shape and it’s uncertain when they will be fully operational or healed.

Major corporate earnings reports are now starting to be released, which will show the early impact of the Covid-19 pandemic, and be a sobering reminder of the tough economic times at present. JP Morgan’s results today were a testament of a crippled U.S. economy.

In overnight news, China, the world’s second-largest economy, saw its March exports down 6.6%, year-on-year, which was less than expected. Imports were down 0.9% in the period, also way less than expected. China watchers deemed this data as upbeat, showing the Chinese economy is recovering from the pandemic.

The important markets today see Nymex crude oil prices trading solidly lower, around $21.00 a barrel. Oil market bulls are sorely disappointed the weekend OPEC and other major oil producers agreement to restrict oil output did not boost crude oil futures prices. However, there is no consensus on how much oil production will be reduced. Some market watchers think 10 million barrels a day and the more optimistic bulls think 20 million. There is more agreement among analysts that worldwide oil demand has dropped by at least 20 million barrels a day.

Meantime, the U.S. dollar index is lower at midday. The 10-year U.S. Treasury note yield is trading around 0.735% today.

Technically, June gold futures bulls have the strong overall near-term technical advantage. More upside is likely in the near term. Gold bulls' next upside near-term price breakout objective is to produce a close above solid technical resistance at $1,800.00. Bears' next near-term downside price breakout objective is pushing prices below solid technical support at $1,700.00. First resistance is seen at today’s high of $1,788.80 and then at $1,800.00. First support is seen at today’s low of $1,755.30 and then at $1,750.00. Wyckoff's Market Rating: 9.0

May silver futures prices were nearer the session high and hit a four-week high at midday. The silver bulls have the overall near-term technical advantage. Prices are in a four three-week-old uptrend on the daily bar chart. Silver bulls’ next upside price objective is closing prices above solid technical resistance at $17.00 an ounce. The next downside price breakout objective for the bears is closing prices below solid support at $14.50. First resistance is seen at today’s high of $16.30 and then at $16.50. Next support is seen at today’s low of $15.655 and then at this week’s low of $15.385. Wyckoff's Market Rating: 6.5.

May N.Y. copper closed up 285 points at 233.10 cents today. Prices closed near the session high and closed at a four-week high close today. The copper bulls have the slight overall near-term technical advantage. A price uptrend is in place on the daily bar chart. Copper bulls' next upside price objective is pushing and closing prices above solid technical resistance at 250.00 cents. The next downside price objective for the bears is closing prices below solid technical support at 220.00 cents. First resistance is seen at this week’s high of 235.25 cents and then at 238.00 cents. First support is seen at 230.00 cents and then at this week’s low of 226.35 cents. Wyckoff's Market Rating: 5.5.

 

 

By Jim Wyckoff
For Kitco News

David – http://markethive.com/david-ogden

Cracking the work from home code, this couple built a business empire out of it

In an environment where many small businesses are struggling to adapt to the mass quarantines around the world, one business is seeing demand rise.

BELAY, founded by husband and wife team Bryan and Shannon Miles, is a provider of virtual assistants.

“We definitely serve a lot of small businesses that have been impacted by the current crisis, so while the majority of our business is not only stable and moving forward, we have experienced loss with some of our clients, which has been really hard to see, they’ve had to shut their doors and therefore cancel, but not many. The new leads that we’re seeing come in, no longer ask the question ‘how does remote work?’” said Shannon Miles.

The inspiration behind the company came from rock climbing, as the founders sought to help small businesses advance with the aid of virtual assistants.

“Belay is a rock climbing term, and I’m a mountain climber,” said Bryan Miles. “We use the term belay to basically say, ‘it’s time for you to go ahead and climb higher.’ That’s what we do at BELAY, our virtual assistants, book keepers, and webmasters, essentially they act in a support role for our clients as they climb higher.”

 

By Kitco News
For Kitco News

David – http://markethive.com/david-ogden

Kevin O'Leary-backed venture creating new asset class during crisis

Venture capital through crowdfunding is a new way investing for retailers, and contrary to traditional venture capital, this asset class has seen increased activity during the pandemic, said Howard Marks, CEO of StartEngine.

“StartEngine is a crowdfunding equity platform. Our mission is to help entrepreneurs achieve their dreams and we raise capital for equities directly from the general public online. Since the crisis has started, our number of investors has gone up on our platform,” Marks told Kitco News.

The outbreak of the coronavirus has essentially shut down mainstream venture capital, Marks said.

“It’s very clear at this point, that access to capital for small businesses has been basically shuttered. A lot of the venture capitalists are now internally working with their own portfolio, deciding which company they will build to continue to fund and which one they won’t. Companies who were looking for capital had term sheets ready, everything is just shut down at this point,” he said.

For entrepreneurs, raising capital through crowdfunding is an “extraordinary new way to market your company,” owing to a few unique benefits, Marks noted.

“You should consider equity crowdfunding as a means for raising capital. The main reason is that you want to stay in control, you’re not giving control to anybody,” he said. “Number two, you create an army of fans. These investors could be your best customers, they could also be your army of grand ambassadors.”

 

By Kitco News

David – http://markethive.com/david-ogden

'Floodgates are open for gold to move higher': Inflation, retail in focus 

Gold is up nearly 6% on the week and more gains are just around the corner, according to analysts, who still see the COVID-19 uncertainty as ruling the day and benefitting gold prices.

Despite rallying equities, a lot of uncertainty around the economic fallout from the COVID-19 outbreak remains, which is attracting new investors to the gold market.

“There is a danger here that we follow more of a W-shaped recovery in stocks rather than the V-shaped one. We are certainly not out of the woods in terms of the pandemic. We are still going to get some negative data,” T.D. Securities head of global strategy Bart Melek told Kitco News Thursday.

Total cases of coronavirus worldwide are now at more than 1,580,000, with at least 94,500 deaths. The U.S. has the most cases – 455,000 with at least 16,000 deaths. The latest data out of Italy, Spain and Germany are also not encouraging with new cases still rising.

“We are a long way off from the peak in many countries in terms of the virus,” said Capital Economics assistant commodities economist Kieran Clancy. “This uncertainty will continue to benefit gold.”

The economic projections vary, but the latest from banks like Citigroup and JPMorgan Chase is that markets will see at least a $5 trillion hit to the world economy over the next two years due to all the coronavirus-related shutdowns.

The gold market is looking strong this month, with many analysts expecting gold prices to keep rising in Q2, Q3, and Q4.

“Investors are still uncertain over the U.S. equity rally; therefore, the underlying need for safety still exists on the back of everyone’s mind … There is still a lot of uncertainty. People are a little bit over-optimistic on how the money coming from the Federal Reserve will make into the pockets of the consumer,” Blue Line Futures chief market strategist Phillip Streible told Kitco News.

Streible is forecasting for gold to average $1,750 in Q2, $1,850 in Q3, and $2,000 in Q4.

The Federal Reserve is fairly limited in the tools that it has and it looks like it will be letting inflation run, which is a big deal for gold in the long-term, Streible pointed out. “The Fed said it is not concerned about inflation right now. That really lets the floodgates open on gold moving higher. I think that gold looks better in the next couple of quarters,” he said.

Melek's short-term target is $1,800 an ounce, followed by gold, eventually rising to $2,000.

“That won’t happen overnight. But we are more likely than not heading to $2,000 level. I have to say; we are getting close to my $1,800 shorter-term target,” he said. “It will be tough to get above $1,800 in Q2 due to lack of economic activity, not putting pressure on inflation.”

However, if you are a long-term investor, you can’t forget about inflation, Melek added. “You have to start wondering what happens if people go bankrupt,” he stated. “Risk is that there is a debasement of currency or purchasing power via really low interest rate environment. For long-term investors, we will continue to see moves of money into gold.”

More upside for gold in the short-term is also being projected by Standard Chartered Bank analyst Suki Cooper, who sees an average of $1,725 for Q2.

“Spot gold prices have started to consolidate around $1650/oz, but the macro backdrop remains conducive for further price gains,” Cooper noted. “Unprecedented monetary and fiscal stimulus, negative-yielding debt and low interest rates for longer imply gold will continue to attract a flight to safety and quality.”

Cooper sees retail investor demand boosting prices higher. “Various Mints around the world have reported March sales reached multi-year highs. In the U.S., April sales are already at their highest since April 2013,” she said.

 

 

By Anna Golubova
Thursday April 09, 2020 15:23

 

 

 

David – http://markethive.com/david-ogden

$20,000 gold price: Franco Nevada chairman makes the case

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Gold prices should skyrocket to much higher levels, even $20,000 in two to five years’ time, as gold reaches a price level close to the level of the Dow Jones Industrial Index, this according to Pierre Lassonde, chairman of Franco Nevada.

“When I look at where we are today, the money creation will take time to [money] into people’s hands. I look at supply chain disruption, I think we’re looking at a two to five year period and I do believe that we will see, if not one to one [in the Dow/gold ratio], then very close to one to one,” Lassonde told Kitco News.

Gold prices have historically seen periods when the levels are close to, if not equal to, the Dow index.

“I just don’t know if the Dow will still be 23,000 or if it will still be $16,000, and even if [the ratio] is two to one, all I’m trying to point out is that the gold price will be materially higher than what it is today,” he said.

Lassonde noted that gold is still in the relatively early stages of a bull market that, especially gold mining stocks.

“The equities have such a long, long way to go to catch up, they’re going to be multiples of where they are today,” he said.

 

By Kitco News

David – http://markethive.com/david-ogden