Salient to Investors: Meghan O’Sullivan at Harvard writes: Many analysts anticipate North American energy independence by 2020, while our rising energy fortunes strongly counter the now-common global narrative that the US is in decline. Europe, China, Japan and other large economies face futures of ever-growing dependence on imported energy. montaukplayhouse.org/www/ The
READ MORE... →Salient to Investors: Christopher Kent at Reserve Bank of Australia said: China’s demand for commodities will grow strongly for some time, and the slower pace still represents a large quantity of new demand. The resource investment boom will crest this year. A broad range of indicators indicate that China’s growth has stabilized
READ MORE... →Salient to Investors: George Soros and Louis Moore Bacon cut their stakes in gold ETPs in Q4 2012. Lone Pine Capital and Scout Capital Mgmt sold their entire stakes in the SPDR Gold Trust, but John Paulson maintained his holding. UBS reduced its one-month price target by 6.8 percent, saying economic optimism takes the shine
READ MORE... →Salient to Investors: The World Gold Council said the gap between India, 2012’s biggest gold buyer, and the second-largest consumer, China, narrowed to the smallest ever: together they account for 52 percent of global consumer bullion demand. Marcus Grubb at the Council said India consumption may climb 11 percent to 965 tons in 2013,
READ MORE... →Salient to Investors: Jordan Kotick at Barclays said New York oil’s 2-year mean is underpinning closing prices on the weekly chart at around $95.15 a barrel – buyers are emerging near the $95 level, signaling oil may test the $98.25 to $98.35 range, and may rise to $100 a barrel if buying
READ MORE... →Salient to Investors: David Lennox at Fat Prophets said there’s more confidence in the dollar relative to other trading currencies as confidence grows in US growth. Lennox said a decline in ETP holdings may also pressure gold prices, though price declines may be capped as North Korea conducted its third nuclear test
READ MORE... →Salient to Investors: The median analyst expects gold to advance to $1,825 by the end of 2013. Russia is the world’s largest oil producer and gold buyer. The IMF said Russia added 570 metric tons of gold over the past decade, a quarter more than runner-up China. Tim Ash at Standard Bank
READ MORE... →Salient to Investors: Hedge funds et al boosted net-long positions across 18 US futures and options last week, marking the longest stretch of gains in more than 6 months. Michael Strauss at Commonfund said economically sensitive commodities will do well in a favorable global environment for commodities. The Intl Copper Study Group and Johnson Matthey estimate the
READ MORE... →Salient to Investors: JPMorgan Chase, Barclays, and Morgan Stanley upped Q4 GDP estimates to show a gain. The US trade deficit in December narrowed to the lowest since January 2010 and lower than 73 economist estimates on record petroleum exports. The US met 84 percent of its own energy needs in the first
READ MORE... →Salient to Investors: Money managers increased net-long positions on rising US oil prices to a nine-month high last week, in the longest weekly run of gains in records back to June 2006. John Kilduff at Again Capital says oil is in a bull market and headed for $100 or above. Miswin Mahesh
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