The Dollar Will Die with a Whimper, Not a Bang

“The dollar collapse has already begun. The time to acquire inflation insurance is now. – Jim Rickards” In this interesting post Rickards looks at the history of the US $ and how it replaced the British Pound as the world’s reserve currency. Jim sees this as being a gradual process that started in 1914 and not something that was decided at Bretton Woods at the conclusion of the second world war in 1944.

Rickards looks at the following factors that could affect the Dollar’s reserve currency status.

• Dollar assets as a % of global reserves has slipped from 70% in 2000 to 63% today.
• China is a major creditor nation and is aggressively buying gold bullion.
• The so called BRICKS Development Bank has been established that offers an alternative to the American dominated IMF and World Bank.

Read the full article here.

Silver is a Special Metal

[su_pullquote align=”right”]Silver could then jump up to the $22 -$24 levels, its next step. By then, it could clearly test the $30, which would be the following step. – Mary Anne & Pamela Aden[/su_pullquote]In this blog post by the Aden sisters they look at market forces that they say will push silver prices higher. Anne and Pamela Aden agree with Richard Russell who alleges that JP Morgan is aggressively buying physical silver and believe this will put upward pressure on silver prices. (This is a contentious point and in this post Bron Sushecki of the Perth Mint disputes the Russells research.)

According to their analysis if silver can stay above it 7 month support of $15.40 it could test it’s 2013 support of $18.50 which would put it on a bullish path to $24.00 and possibly $30.00.

Read the full article here.

Why Lower Lows In Gold Price Will Be Seen

[su_pullquote align=”right”]And, until I see at least 2 of the 3 criteria – or preferably all 3 criteria met, I will continue to look for another drop to lower lows in the precious metals market. – Avi Gilbert[/su_pullquote]Avi Gilbert uses Elliott Wave analysis to try and forecast future trends in the gold price. Gilbert successfully used Elliott Wave analysis to predict the top in the in gold in 2011 and in the post details his analysis to substantiate his call for lower lows in the gold price.

Read the full article here.

Silver no longer the poor man’s gold as solar demand surges

[su_pullquote align=”right”]The majority of PV cells use silver paste in their construction and that industry alone is expected to account for 70m ounces of supply through to the beginning of 2016. – The Telegraph
[/su_pullquote]Commodities editor at the Telegraph, Andrew Critchlow, looks at the industrial demand for silver, specifically in the Solar industry, and how increased demand from the sector could drive prices higher.

Key points:

• Demand for solar energy for electricity is predicted to rise 30 % in 2015.
• A climate change agreement in Paris this year would further increase demand.
• Silver mine production is growing at a slower rate than current demand.

Read the full article here.

Germans are buying gold at a frantic pace.

[su_pullquote align=”right”]You’re talking about a group of people who have been burned before by governments overprinting currency. They’ve been through hyperinflation back in the 1920s – Van Simmons
[/su_pullquote]In this main stream media blog post on CNN Money the author looks at the possible reasons for the first quarter 20% increase in German demand for gold bars and gold bullion coins.

Some of the possible reasons listed in the article:

• Many Germans still point to the hyper inflation in the 1920’s in the Weimar Republic as a key reason for owning gold today.
• Global Central Bank monetary policy.

Read the full article here.