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February 2021 in Precious Metals, by Steven Cochran

Welcome to SurvivalBlog’s Precious Metals Month in Review, where we take a look at “the month that was” in precious metals. Each month, we cover gold’s performance, and the factors that affected gold prices.

What Did Gold Do in February?

Gold didn’t have a very good month in February, closing at a second monthly loss in a row. This culminated in a $53 drop in spot gold on the last trading session of the month, hitting $1,716 an ounce before recovering back to $1,730. This puts gold on track for the worst month in four years.
The pain this month wasn’t limited to gold. Treasuries had a major sell-off, and high-flying tech stocks took a beating. This was caused by several things, but it can all be traced back to bets that the economy will recover faster than the Fed thinks it will.

Factors Affecting Gold This Month

SIGNS OF IMPROVING ECONOMY
Most of the economic news from the government this month came in above expectations. This buoyed market sentiment, and pressured gold. For example, retail sales increased by 5.3% in January, helped by the $600 stimulus checks sent out by President Trump. Wholesale prices rose 1.3% in January, the largest monthly jump since 2009.

On February 17th, gold formed a death cross, after losing $70 an ounce over four sessions.
It wasn’t just economic news boosting investor sentiment. The COVID vaccination program finally started getting into gear.

COVID
The US started the month with more people who have had at least one shot of the coronavirus vaccine than there were active cases. COVID infection rates are slowing as more people are vaccinated. Faster rates of vaccinations have people hoping that things will get back to normal by Christmas. Investors are changing their portfolios now to take advantage of it.

However, new more contagious strains of the coronavirus from Britain and South Africa are causing faster infections this month. Health officials are accelerating vaccinations while pharmaceutical companies test new versions aimed at stopping these strains.

BONDS
Higher bond yields were the major direct driver of gold prices in February. The yield on the 10-year Treasury note broke above 1.3% on the 17th, and was partly responsible for gold prices entering a death cross the same day.

These rocketing bond yields are a direct result of the market thinking inflation is just around the corner. 10-year yields started February at 1.117%. It hit 1.2% on the 7th, 1.3% on the 16th, and 1.4% on the 24th.

More than $50 billion worth of bonds were sold in one session on the 25th, pushing yields over 1.6%. The yield on the 10-year Treasury eased back to 1.5% on the 26th, but analysts warn that there is more to come.

STOCKS
Higher Treasuries yields have sparked a “reflation trade” in the stock market. Investors are selling tech stocks and “stay at home” stocks, in favor of companies that will benefit the most from an end to the COVID epidemic. This rotation has been painful for the market as a whole, as stocks alternate between touching new highs, and getting battered down.

Growing worries of inflation suddenly rising are hitting stocks that will be adversely affected, and boosting bank stocks, which do better during inflationary times.

INFLATION WORRIES OVERBLOWN?
The Fed and the Biden Administration aren’t joining in on the market’s stress. In their estimation, a little inflation right now would be a -good- thing. It would show that the economy, and not just the stock market, is recovering from the pits of the COVID depression. It will take some time before the wider economic damage has healed.

Economist Carl Weinberg says that inflation expectations by markets have “detached themselves from reality.” The Fed has promised lower for longer rates, and is focused on unemployment rather than holding a particular line in the sand regarding inflation.

Paul O’Connor, head of multi-asset management at Janus Henderson Investors, disagrees. “Markets are expecting that [tapering] to be a 2022 story, however we are seeing sizable upgrades to U.S. GDP. Somewhere in the middle of this year the discussion around tapering is going to have to take place,” he said.

BITCOIN
Bitcoin hit several new highs in February, breaking above $50,000. This was spurred by Elon Musk announcing that Tesla had purchased $1.5 billion worth of Bitcoin. Other big investors soon followed suit. These moves enticed speculators to dump other assets such as gold and try to ride Bitcoin to a big payday.

Silver

The current worldwide physical silver retail product shortage continues, exacerbated by the “silver squeeze” ploy. People with zero comprehension of how ETFs work thought that they could put a short squeeze on SLV and/or the COMEX shorts. The SEC changed its rules in 1980 to stop the Hunt Brothers, who DID almost corner the silver market. It’s now impossible to hold enough silver futures contracts to corner the market.

This doesn’t mean that these thousands of retail investors and meme lords didn’t affect the price. On February 1st, 1 BILLION oz of silver traded on the London OTR market. The price briefly touched $30, (the highest price since 2013) before falling in afternoon trading.

On the COMEX, it was much the same story. The most-active silver futures rose as much as 13% to $30.35 an ounce, the highest since February 2013. SLV, the world’s largest silver ETF, saw Authorized Participants exchange 37 million ounces of silver for SLV shares to meet demand.
ETFs don’t have a limited number of shares like a regular company. The number of shares goes up and down to meet demand, driven by Authorized Participants. To learn more about how precious metals ETFs work, check out our video here.

The Silver Institute estimates that silver demand this year will hit an eight-year high of just over a billion oz. Industrial demand is expected to hit 510 million oz, with physical bar and coin demand about 25% of the total.

While production at primary silver mines is expected to fall, these mines only provide about one third of annual silver production. Most silver is mined as a by-product in copper, lead, or tin mines. As copper trades at 10-year highs in anticipation of infrastructure stimulus in the US and China, more copper and silver will be mined.

Central Banks

The BANK OF ENGLAND has been talking about imposing negative rates again. Officials there say that they would need to give banks a six-month warning before pushing rates negative, so that they could adequately prepare. (which will cause economic panic six months before they are actually implemented)

Fed Chairman Jerome Powell says unemployment at 6.3% is too high. The “real unemployment” (by which he means U6) is closer to 10%. (U6 was 11.1% that day). He noted during his testimony before Congress, that more than 10 million people are still out of work. This is 4.4 million more than before the pandemic, hitting low-income households the hardest. He also said that ”“The economy is a long way from our employment and inflation goals, and it is likely to take some time for substantial further progress to be achieved.” Still, the bond and stock markets don’t believe him. Activity in both markets are exactly what a “taper tantrum” looks like. This time, though, no one on the Fed side is even talking about it.

Central Bank Gold Purchases
The December 2020 Central Bank gold reserves report was released this month. Again, we are seeing developing nations in central Asia buying, while large nations are preoccupied with providing quantitative easing to their giant economies.

Uzbekistan was the big buyer in December, adding 8.4 metric tons. This is the fourth month in a row that Uzbekistan has purchased exactly 8.4t. It has also made them the top central bank gold purchaser for four months in a row.

Other buyers included India for 3.7t, and Kazakhstan for 1.5t. The only sellers of note were Turkey and Mongolia, selling 2.8t and 2.3t, respectively.

Gold ETFs

Globally, gold ETFs saw 13.8t of inflows in January, but all the heavy lifting was done by Europe. European gold ETFs saw net inflows of 17.5t ($1.1bn). North America saw a net outflow from gold ETFs of 6.3t ($303mn). Asian gold ETFs saw minimal action in January, while the “Other” category gained 2.7t.

On The Retail Front

Falling gold prices haven’t dented physical demand. Most government and private mints simply can’t keep up with the demand for physical gold and silver bullion investment products.

The US Mint sales as of February 26 showed a final total of 4,775,000 2021 American Silver Eagles sold in January, and 3,191,500 sold so far in February. This is already almost half the total ASE sales in 2019.

2021 American Gold Eagle sales also continue hitting multi-year highs for the first two months. 220,500 troy oz of AGEs of all sizes were sold in January, and 125,500 ozt in February as of the 26th. Gold Buffaloes are also seeing heavy demand. The final total for January was 61,500 ozt in January and 16,000 in February.

Silver Eagles and Canadian Silver Maple Leaf bullion coins have been under allocation (rationed) since early January.

Silver Eagle shortages in the first quarter have been compounded by plans to change the reverse of the coin by mid-year. The US Mint is running a balancing act between meeting present Silver Eagle demand that is at multi-year highs, and having enough of the new design ready for the rollout planned for this summer. Sales of the new design are expected to dwarf monthly records, if the Mint can actually meet demand.

A statement I received from the US Mint gives details:

“In 2021, demand for gold and silver has continued to remain strong with the U.S. Mint selling 220,500 American Eagle Gold Bullion Coins in January alone, compared to 56,500 in January of last year. This is an increase of 290% over last year.

In 2021, the U.S. Mint will have a limited production window to produce current design American Eagle Gold and Silver Bullion Coins. The recently announced redesigned American Eagle Gold and Silver Bullion Coins are slated to launch during the summer of 2021, and coins for that program must be produced in advance of the launch date.

Due to continued exceptional market demand, a limited number of blank suppliers, and plant capacity, the allocation model currently in place for distribution of the U.S. Mint’s silver bullion coins to Authorized Purchasers will remain in place for the foreseeable future. In addition, the U.S. Mint is adopting an allocation model to distribute its gold and platinum bullion coins to Authorized Purchasers.”

Perth Mint silver coin sales were up by 23% in January, with more than 1.1 million oz sold. 76,103 ozt of minted gold products were sold in January, down less than 1% from December
General Manager of Minted Products Neil Vance said “we are still selling everything that we can currently make in silver” while trying to replenish stocks of gold bullion coins.
The current shortage of silver bars and coins is due to fabrication bottlenecks, which have been made worse by mints being forced to reduce production to comply with COVID safety measures. There is plenty of actual silver to go around. Companies just can’t turn 1,000 oz Good Delivery silver bars into retail products fast enough.

A reduction in gold import duties by the Modi government and the nation’s economic revival from COVID lockdowns have revived jewelry and investment gold demand in India. The spring and fall wedding seasons were effectively canceled by COVID lockdowns. As a result, this spring is jam-packed with weddings, and all those brides need new gold jewelry and gifts. Commercial gold demand in India hit 67 tons just in January.

Chinese gold demand during the Lunar New Year’s celebrations exploded, according to the China Gold Association. Gold sales were 80% higher than last year, when festivities were curtailed by the COVID outbreak. Government orders to stay near home instead of traveling led many millions of Chinese to spend money set aside for traveling on gifts for themselves.

Market Buzz

COVID-related mine closures resulted in gold production for 2020 falling by 5.2%. South Africa was the hardest hit of the major gold producers, with 10.9% less gold mined in 2020. China’s gold production fell by 7%, but Australia increased its gold production by 4.3%.
————
PLATINUM was the big story in precious metals in early February, hitting a 6-year high on 14th. Supply shortages this year are due to mine closures from COVID in South Africa. This is the third year in a row of supply shortages in platinum.

The immediate effects of the platinum shortage have been pushed back temporarily, as automakers have shut down factories due to a shortage of microchips used in cars and trucks.
———–
With the gold crush that’s going on, some investment banks are focusing on the “here and now”, rather than 12 months from now.

Standard Chartered sees “strong support” at $1765, but if that falls, the next resistance is at $1690. They do note that gold is heavily in oversold territory right now.

Commerzbank has much the same view, calling $1760 and $1670 as resistance.

Citi addresses the present Bitcoin mania, predicting that we will continue to see gold and BTC move lockstep in opposite directions. They have lowered their year-end forecast to $1950, down from $2100.

Goldman Sachs is suggesting that investors put 1% of their portfolio in Bitcoin, because demand is greatly outstripping supply right now. On the subject of gold, they have revised their year-end forecast down from $2300 to $2000.

Looking Ahead To Next Month

Boy, what a ride we had this month. I’m not going to predict anything for March, except some sort of fiscal stimulus out of Washington, and the Fed trying to talk the market down from its inflation panic. Are we going to see Powell try Yield Curve Control? The Aussies and Japanese have tried it already, and aren’t really big fans.

We end this month with the story of a Canadian antique dealer who purchased the contents of a deceased Irish music teacher’s house for $10,000 only to find she had been a millionaire hoarder!
He told the Irish Sun: “Our most impressive finds included wallets full of cash, a 100-ounce silver bar, and bags full of gold and diamond rings.”

This column is intended for educational purposes only. It is not intended as investment advice. Past performance does not guarantee future results. – Steven Cochran of Gainesville Coins [1]

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Comments Disabled To "February 2021 in Precious Metals, by Steven Cochran"

#1 Comment By Sailor On March 1, 2021 @ 1:57 pm

Active covid cases are decreasing AND more people are being vaccinated. It would be unwise to assume that the latter is the main cause of the former.

#2 Comment By OneGuy On March 1, 2021 @ 2:54 pm

Why would it be unwise?

#3 Comment By Avalanche Lily On March 1, 2021 @ 3:37 pm

One does not know exactly what is put into that “vaccine”! I do not trust the Powers That Be at all. One should look up the ingredients in any vaccine and call the Poison Control Center and ask them about each ingredient , if it is a poison or not. If you were applying these ingredients to your child’s diet on a regular basis on purpose, you would be sighted by the courts of law for child abuse and attempted murder. But it is okay for the doctors to inject them into a child’s body in the name of medicine!!!!

An additional thought: We have severe allergies in this society because the vaccines are made in these mediums: Casein, peanut oil, eggs, etc.

Just some of the other ingredients are Monosodium glutamate, sorbitol, formaldehyde, Thimerosal, Aluminum, polysorbate 80 and 20, acetone, E.coli, DNA. Seriously, look up these poisons.

#4 Comment By Zeke34 On March 1, 2021 @ 8:14 pm

Thimersol is the disturbing one to me. Many of the nurses/doctors are unaware that it is in the vaccines. I once got a flu shot after being reassured that it did not have thimersol in it, only to find out after that it did have thimersol. For those who don’t know thimersol is mercury and there is no “safe amount” or so i have read.

#5 Comment By Noah Body On March 1, 2021 @ 9:02 pm

I am 65, and I know I was vaccinated for polio and smallpox as a child. I’m not sure I had any other vaccines. Obviously, I survived. I got all the childhood diseases, measles, mumps, chicken pox, rubella. Survived with no complications. Most kids did likewise.
I can’t recall ever hearing about kids getting seriously I’ll from these diseases. I also don’t remember ever hearing about kids having cancer, food allergies, or autism. Not saying there is a causal relationship, but something has gone wrong.

#6 Comment By OneGuy On March 2, 2021 @ 2:10 am

I’m 77 and I can remember getting the polio vaccine in grade school. Polio was feared for good reason. I was a 4 YO when my mother went to visit her uncle in the hospital in an iron lung. I remember it well if you could have lived through those times you would have a different opinion of vaccines. I was 6 YO when my little brother died from whooping cough. three of us young brothers slept in the same room. My mother would come in and hold him trying to help him breathe and get past his coughing. I can still hear his coughing until there was no air in his lungs and then not breathe for a minute or more. I made believe I was asleep because it was to scary and sad to deal with. I can also still hear my mother crying for my brother as he went through a week or two of this before he died. I’ve had most vaccines mostly due to 20 years in the service and overseas assignments. I thank the lord and our medical community for vaccines, probably the biggest life saving medical treatment ever created. statistically half of the people who post here would have died in childhood without vaccines.

#7 Comment By ant7 On March 2, 2021 @ 8:49 pm

“I thank the lord and our medical community for vaccines, probably the biggest life saving medical treatment ever created. statistically half of the people who post here would have died in childhood without vaccines.”

all true. but this misses the point. no-one opposes legitimate vaccines but our present overlords obviously don’t have our interests in mind but only their own and clearly view this present “vaccination” effort as an opportunity to advance their own goals – which include a lot fewer of us and a lot more loot for themselves.

#8 Comment By OneGuy On March 2, 2021 @ 9:19 pm

You believe that there is some conspiracy involved with this vaccine and you are certainly welcome to your opinion. I don’t believe that. I got my two shots and happy to get them. I am also happy to let anyone who chooses to not get them have that free choice too.

I believe that Covid is a serious risk. I believe that the vaccine gives me (anyone) some degree of protection possibly even to include mutations of Covid. If there is another vaccine developed for any new mutations I will take that too.

#9 Comment By James Wesley Rawles On March 2, 2021 @ 9:42 pm

It is with regret that we’ve decided to close our Comments section. It is Con Te Partiro time. The existing comments will still be available in the SurvivalBlog archives, but no more can be added.

We reached this decision after some deliberation. We concluded that because the spamming and trolling were getting out of hand that the Comments had become a “No-Win Scenario.” It had become a huge time sink and the source of a lot of anxiety. It was very difficult to maintain editorial neutrality, particularly on controversial topics. So in the absence of Comments, we are now reverting the Old School approach, where you send us letters for possible posting, at our discretion. Please try to stick to just preparedness-related topics in your letters–with a minimum of religion or politics.
Comments Statistics

SurvivalBlog has been posted daily since August of 2005. But the Comments feature was relatively new. Just FYI, here are some statistics on our archived Comments, since we started allowing them in April of 2017:

Approved Comments: 78,937
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We Want To Hear From You

We look forward to receiving your e-mailed letters. Be advised that we won’t have the space to post all of them in the blog thread. The highest priority will go to letters that are directly related to family preparedness topics. If your letter isn’t chosen for posting, please don’t feel offended. Oh, and if your letter has great spelling and punctuation, that will make it that much easier for us — and again, it will be more likely to be posted. Please carefully proofread any letters intended for posting.

You can send your e-mails to me at: [2]

You can send your e-mails to Avalanche Lily at: [3]

Please be sure to put “FOR POSTING: ” in the subject line.

Again, the existing comments will still be available in the SurvivalBlog archives (both online and on the USB sticks), but no more can be added.

Thanks! – JWR

#10 Comment By ThoDan On March 1, 2021 @ 9:40 pm

DNA is a poison?
E.coli is a bacterium living in the human body

Sorry but fear is not a good advisor

#11 Comment By jima On March 2, 2021 @ 12:03 am

True, everyone has their individual DNA and it’s NOT a poison , obviously.. The issue many people have with the vaccine is concern over how their individual DNA is being modified by the mRNA effecting the DNA strand. My son, an orthopedic surgeon and Summa Cum Laude biochemistry , says that we ingest mRNA daily in various ways and it has NO affect on our DNA. We are a little bit at odds over this issue, and my position on it is to simply wait and see as long as possible before I decide to get the vaccine. Right now there are too many unanswered questions for me.. In regard to nano-technology, my position is that if nefarious actors or PTB wanted to do that then it would not have to be in the CoVid vaccine but could have occurred in eating your oatmeal, whatever..
Do you carry a cell phone??

#12 Comment By ThoDan On March 2, 2021 @ 4:38 pm

Your son is right.
DNA Modification aka mutation is a natural and regularly happening event, since live exist on this earth

Why should they use Nanotech for what use?

Yes , i do

#13 Comment By BWL On March 1, 2021 @ 4:55 pm

One thing to consider is how many people have had the CCP virus. The “official” totals only count tested positive. I know upward of 50 people who had it based on symptoms (loss of taste) and only two were actually tested. In May of last year, New York reported on antibody testing done in April. The results indicated around 20% of New York city residents and 11% for my rural county were positive for antibodies. At that time fewer than 200 cases were reported in our county. Current U.S. confirmed cases is approaching 29 million but I’m willing to bet actual cases are now over 200 million and possibly much higher. CDC testing proved the virus was here in 2019, months before the official start of the pandemic.

#14 Comment By Sailor On March 1, 2021 @ 10:36 pm

The official data only shows positives of those tested, including the sometimes-significant false positives. Almost nowhere has testing covered sufficient of the population to know what the level of asymptomatic carriers are. Lots of places have been discovered to have had the official data ‘manipulated’, sometimes more than once as it progresses up the reporting chain, and in both directions, depending on the political and financial objectives of each stage, and there have been some huge admin errors also. There are huge questions about what the tests are actually measuring, especially given the apparent almost complete disappearance of influenza. Then there’s what the death toll would normally be at this time of year. Add in that the drop in cases and/or deaths may simply be due to natural mutation of the virus to less lethal but more contagious forms. Is this the end of the second wave anyway? Then there’s the questions as to whether those people dying of covid would have normally been killed by pneumonia two months later anyway in a normal year? How many potentially serious victims are actually left alive at this point?
I should add that you will find all of these questions in the medical literature at the moment, I’m not just mouthing off. In at least half of the questions, we have nowhere near enoguh quality data to even have a SWAG (Scientific Wild-@ssed Guess) at the answer.

#15 Comment By Sailor On March 1, 2021 @ 10:44 pm

Then there’s also:
Whether the exceptions are effectively rendering the lockdowns useless, whether or not people are actually observing them.
The effectiveness of hygiene measures, again whether or not people are doing them properly.
Whether people are actually reporting all the cases (especially e.g. gig workers)
Whether some people have even noticed (druggies, the homeless, anyone else in generally poor health).
Whether people are self-medicating, and whether this is efficacious.
Whether the length of time the measures have been imposed for is seriously affecting people’s ability to be rigorous, even if they are still trying to be.
Etc.

#16 Comment By Les On March 1, 2021 @ 8:36 pm

You are correct!
Now that ‘who’ lowered the specs for the pcr tests, fewer folks are coming up ‘positive’. The whole testing thing was a complete scam – like everything else about this Red Chinese flu.

#17 Comment By Paul On March 2, 2021 @ 7:35 pm

Precisely. Cases here were down 77% over last 6 weeks, vaccinations just started, very few people have received them, but the government and drug companies will take credit for the fall in cases.

#18 Comment By alfie On March 1, 2021 @ 2:00 pm

I remember back in the 1980s when the Hunt brothers were trying to corner the market on silver and some of the guys I worked with were buying silver for $40 and $45 and $50 an ounce, bragging about the killing they were going to make. I don’t remember exactly what and where it happened, but the price of silver dropped out the bottom and some of the guys ( maybe more ) were crying real tears because of all the money they paid for silver. And the Hunt brothers don’t know what happened with them, but they probably came out smelling like rose.

#19 Comment By Steven Cochran On March 1, 2021 @ 4:45 pm

Alfie,
The Hunt Brothers lost everything when it was all said and done.
from Wikipedia:

“The Hunts lost over a billion dollars through this incident, but the family fortunes survived. They pledged most of their assets, including their stake in Placid Oil, as collateral for the rescue loan package they obtained. However, the value of their assets (mainly holdings in oil, sugar, and real estate) declined steadily during the 1980s, and their estimated net wealth declined from $5 billion in 1980 to less than $1 billion in 1988.[4]

In 1988, the brothers were found responsible for civil charges of conspiracy to corner the market in silver. They were ordered to pay $134 million in compensation to a Peruvian mineral company that had lost money as a result of their actions. This forced the brothers to declare bankruptcy, in one of the biggest such filings in Texas history.”

#20 Comment By S H On March 1, 2021 @ 3:20 pm

I think it should be noted that some of the cause of the wide gap between COMEX spot price in silver and what people are paying on the market is due to the Silver Squeeze – [4]

This is similar to the “Crash JPMorgan/Buy Silver” effort spearheaded by people like Max Keiser back in 2011 but round 2 and inspired in part by the activism behind /r/wallstreetbets (Gamestop, AMC stocks to hurt predatory hedgers)

APMEX, JM Bullion and other such large dealers with lots of bullion are charging some pretty hefty markups for silver as well as limiting purchases due to lack of inventory.

In contrast with the Hunt Bros push to corner the silver market, this time it’s about deliberately hurting the people who rig the COMEX market price for precious metals. Because they are scum. JPMorgan finally got stuck with a billion dollar bill for rigging the PM markets but for them that is just (cue Mafia voice) just da price a doin bidness.

Bad time for the average stacker to buy, though. Great time for gold and as JWR has said for a while, platinum.

#21 Comment By Kelley On March 1, 2021 @ 3:32 pm

Cases are not coming down due tot he vaccine rollout as Minnesota cases were falling noticeably before vaccines were starting in that state. Iceland went through a rise and fall of cases before the vaccines started rolling out. I told a friend that we would see a fall in cases around the first of January for Arizona and I was off by about 3 weeks. Check the charts. No where near enough people have been vaccinated to affect the numbers of cases in the US.

#22 Comment By Chris in Arkansas On March 1, 2021 @ 3:39 pm

I appreciate these updates provided by Mr Cochran of Gainesville coins. I have bought from them in the past and always been satisfied. Their pricing on some products can be pretty good compared to competitors.

I think we are underestimating the impact of cryptos on precious metals pricing. Bitcoin and others are becoming a store of value. This crypto is now being accepted as payment almost globally, and it is easily transferrable with very low transactional cost to gold or silver. Yes, governments can go to war on cryptos with regulation, restrictions or outright bans but that is likely far down the road (another 2-3 years). Instead I see some banks are beginning to align with these currencies instead of fighting them. In my opinion this is taking some of the shine off of gold and silver.

One question on current precious metals pricing remains: Why are premiums still so stubbornly high? Outside of silver eagles – where the mint is currently retooling for a mid year design change – why are premiums on 1 oz gold from government mints in the $150 range and silver roughly $5 over spot for even generic stuff? One could argue that tight supplies are driving this, but I’m only hearing that from dealers and the numbers don’t seem to support it currently. There seems to be plenty of supply currently. Anyone buying silver eagles today at $38-$40 each is severely overpaying IMO. Know how much you’ll get for them from a dealer? Spot price ($27-$28) in most cases. Maybe more selling to a buyer in your local community but it’s still going ro be a loss.

If we knew the margins dealers were making that might paint a clearer picture.

For now I am waiting. Premiums have dropped over the past four weeks and I expect that will continue. I have seriously considered taking whatever meager budget I have for PMs and buying bitcoin on major dips but haven’t pulled that trigger yet. I absolutely don’t like saying this because I was dead set against cryptos until recently – but maybe the PM dealers are going to see a movement away from their product over time.

#23 Comment By ant7 On March 1, 2021 @ 5:32 pm

“Why are premiums still so stubbornly high?”

because people pay them.

#24 Comment By eam On March 1, 2021 @ 3:41 pm

This is not just a market problem. I have been involved in precious metals since before they were popular. The fact is ALL fiat currencies return to zero! There has never been a ‘fake’ currency that has survived the ‘test of time’. It is not a question of ‘if’ the dollar will collapse only ‘when’. The greater factor in the demise of the dollar is the attitude of the American public.

There are many of us that have studied enough history to understand the strength of our position in regards to fiat money, but I am sorry to say we are the minority. The dollar bribes being used by the government to ‘buy’ the ‘submission’ of the masses has been taking place since 1935 and the adoption of the Social Security Act and the continuing bribes of Medicare and on and on.

A majority of Americans are under the thumb of the Federal Government! Think not? Would you be willing to give up your ‘benefits’ to save the Republic? The major fear I have at this time is the speed at which the Federal Government is sweeping in to swallow up the majority of the middle class! The COVID relief/stimulus checks are the ‘chains’ that will turn the middle class into chattel, as if we aren’t already.

Mark my words, if this is not stopped now, if we allow the government to give this ‘assistance’ to the general public it will continue to the point that it will be available to all the ‘illegals’ in the future. There will be no stopping it! When the government supplies your very subsistence YOU ARE A SLAVE!

#25 Comment By ant7 On March 1, 2021 @ 5:38 pm

“There has never been a ‘fake’ currency that has survived the ‘test of time’. It is not a question of ‘if’ the dollar will collapse only ‘when’.”

have to disagree, your understanding is a bit flawed. fiat currencies collapse only when there is an alternative. in times past alternatives were readily (more or less) available, but today that is not the case. today the dollar is almost universally accepted and the international payments system operates almost exclusively on dollars, so implementing an alternative is almost impossible. and furthermore this is before active controls mandating dollars (or some other fiat currency) are implemented and enforced. both of these together will make any alternative form of economic exchange almost impossible and render any that does take place incidental at best.

#26 Comment By GGHD On March 1, 2021 @ 3:46 pm

People need to review through this article, and other articles on SurvivalBlog, to have at least a plan, on how to deal with a dire economy and/or increasing inflation.

China Joe wants to make Communist China great again. Many of the items necessary for Solar and Wind Power originate in Communist China. (Its on the Internet) =

“What most experts saw was the Texas grid’s vulnerability to harsh weather — and a warning that climate change-induced disasters could devastate the nation’s leading energy producer.”

“The resulting crisis could be a boon to Biden’s proposal to spend huge sums of money to harden the nation’s electric grid as it connects giant wind and solar power plants to cities and states thousands of miles away.
~~~>That’s an essential step if the U.S. is to make a major turn toward relying on solar, wind and other renewable energy to keep the lights on.”
[02/16/2021 ~ Politico]
***
“Gas up 18% since election, could surpass $4 under Biden” ~ February 11, 2021 (opinion from the Washington Examiner site)
********
********
(Me-GGHD) =
The people being appointed in the Biden Administration are retreads from the Washington DC Swamp. The ‘swamp’ creatures and cronies will gain the most benefits. The politics of favoring the biggest political ~bribe will prevail, once again. … Politics as usual is back in business. [Both crooked Democrats and crooked Republicans will make bank.]

Texans will have different ideas about the ‘green’ unreliable power sources. … BUT, the ‘Make China Great Again’ people are in charge of the Federal Government. The entire USA is subjected to Bidenoids for the near future.

It seems many Americans now days follow terrible economic policies, with religious fervor similar to devotees of Moloch, the pagan god of child sacrifice.
[Moloch, one of the false gods condemned in the Bible; plus, even condemned by the pagan ancient Roman Empire.]

#27 Comment By ant7 On March 1, 2021 @ 5:59 pm

“China Joe wants to make Communist China great again”

biden doesn’t know what he’s signing. his handlers, however, know exactly what they want. they’ll want china destroyed, and soon, so I predict very serious war with china soon.

#28 Comment By Tom On March 1, 2021 @ 9:42 pm

really ? war with China?, no logic in your thinking. China has everything to lose !. China does NOT have the military might to take the US on, they may possibly do in a decade. Economic war?, again, they rely on Westerners buying their goods.

#29 Comment By HP On March 1, 2021 @ 9:56 pm

Read Unrestricted Warfare
China has been at war with the US for atleast a decade. This is 5GW, not traditional tanks and paratroopers.

#30 Comment By Sailor On March 1, 2021 @ 10:55 pm

Not a new thing – Reagan won the Cold War by bankrupting the USSR as they chased to catch up with a deliberately over-hyped Star Wars “gap”.

#31 Comment By ant7 On March 1, 2021 @ 11:30 pm

“no logic in your thinking”

I didn’t say the chinese wanted war. least not right away. but biden’s handlers most certainly do want war with china, because they want it gone leaving no significant opposition to themselves and their power.

#32 Comment By Tom On March 2, 2021 @ 12:02 am

over the years, I have dealt with many Chinese and also Russians, both highly different cultures, Biden is up to no good, that is my nuanced view, he is being managed. Biden ( or those handling him ) may wish to be rid of China, by a shooting war ( not likely anytime soon ), economic war? with the USA?, partially yes, partially no, by the way, Russia has flatly refused to be used for a NWO. I bring Russia into it, because, the people who stage-manage the sheep, still have not achieved the perfect environment to bring a reset. The chess board is constantly moving, changing, some wins, some losses.

#33 Comment By Anon On March 2, 2021 @ 2:34 pm

Tom, I disagree. I could easily beat the U.S. in war if I controlled China. I could destroy their military within a few days and invade their country over a week killing or imprisoning everyone. You badly under estimate China.

#34 Comment By ThoDan On March 2, 2021 @ 4:44 pm

The US or NATO

#35 Comment By KayBee On March 1, 2021 @ 5:47 pm

Regarding physical Gold holdings and Texas: one question I’ve had is how safe would gold be in this state run depository? [5]

It’s sounds good on paper. But how safe would it be? For instance, how good is security in a structure like this when Texas loses their energy, and with bursting water pipes everywhere due to the severe cold, as happened recently. Or what happens in a true pandemic with high death rates? Can security be maintained in Black Swan events?

The depository seems to be the only kind of its sort in this country.

#36 Comment By ant7 On March 1, 2021 @ 6:00 pm

“Can security be maintained in Black Swan events?”

for the new owners? sure. for you? not so much.

#37 Comment By Aubrey Turhan On March 1, 2021 @ 6:15 pm

Other elements effecting future metal prices will be environment issues and money printing to pay for them.

All commodities will be hit. Disposables first for obvious reasons, followed by everything else.

It will get far more expensive to mine and refine. Just like it will cost far more to make ammo and just about anything else.

Regardless of the price – It is cheap when you are paying in soon to be worth much less dollars.

#38 Comment By Mr. Ree On March 1, 2021 @ 9:04 pm

I’m not an expert regarding silver. I’ve no educational background regarding any type of precious metals. However; I still to this day buy when I can. Granted, I would love to pay $10 an ounce, but I’m still comfortable buying it at the price it is selling for now (which is the most I’ve ever paid for it). I would guess the average price I’ve paid, per ounce, is in the $12 range. So even with the high premiums we are paying now, I’m able to justify stacking a few more ounces.

Deep down, my faith tells me that I’m still on the correct path. I believe the currency will eventually fail. Also, the demand for physical continues to grow. Be it solar panels, electric vehicles, or miscellaneous electronics. One silver subject I rarely read about is the military demand for silver. According to *the mighty google*, every Tomahawk missile uses over 500 ounces of silver. I’m not sure of the specs for other *weapons of mass destruction* and their silver usage, I’ve been led to believe that any type of electronic projectile uses many many ounces of silver.

In closing, I don’t believe it is a question of *if* silver will skyrocket, but *WHEN* it will go to the moon. So, in the meantime, I’ll keep buying physical as often as I’m able to.

#39 Comment By ant7 On March 1, 2021 @ 9:19 pm

“my faith tells me”

how so?

#40 Comment By Mr. Ree On March 1, 2021 @ 9:38 pm

“my faith tells me”… I’ll try to explain 😉 Perhaps it is my gut feeling? Perhaps it is because I’m looking at the way things are (things mentioned above) and the direction things are going? Perhaps it is because all fiat currencies eventually fail, and silver (and gold) has been around since Biblical times? Or, perhaps is the simple concept of “supply and demand”?

The above stated, perhaps I may not live to see the day when the prices will go to the moon. When I expire from this Earth, I know that my kids will benefit from this wealth of metals. It is tangible, and it’s value has stood the test of time and will continue to do so.

Repeating the first two sentences of my original comment: “I’m not an expert regarding silver. I’ve no educational background regarding any type of precious metals.”

So yeah, “my faith tells me” 🙂

#41 Comment By tom On March 1, 2021 @ 9:53 pm

relying on one’s ” feelings ” is unreliable. Females biologically rely on their emotions without logical thinking by nature. Faith and belief are entirely subjective and open to wide interpretation.

#42 Comment By ant7 On March 1, 2021 @ 11:36 pm

“gut feeling?” “relying on one’s ‘feelings’ is unreliable”

(shrug) the phrase “gut feeling” usually refers not to any emotion but rather to one’s subconscious awareness trying to communicate with one’s conscious mind.

I thought he was referring to faith so I asked him to explain, but apparently he’s not.

#43 Comment By Tom On March 1, 2021 @ 11:51 pm

Ant7

understood, correct he (?) didn’t explain, gut feeling often means the subconscious, but not always, gut feeling is not always reliable, by the way, faith is highly individualistic, and very much dictated and shaped by one’s past experiences, and upbringing on religious matters ( or lack of ), my point is most religious people are highly defensive when asked to explain their ” faith ” using clear obtrusive ( learned ) beliefs.

#44 Comment By ant7 On March 2, 2021 @ 1:06 am

“most religious people are highly defensive when asked to explain their ‘faith'”

well for calvinists faith is given by god, so either he’s gifted you with faith in which case they don’t need to explain anything, or he hasn’t gifted you with faith in which case you can’t understand any explanation. arminians typically are not well-trained in their faith and so have difficulty explaining it at all. both usually simply believe and have little personal experience in their faith and so cannot relate it to others except as dogma or appeals to authority.

#45 Comment By eam On March 2, 2021 @ 1:05 am

ant 7….I guess I could agree with your thinking if you could convince me that the elites of the world are going to win this battle. Well they may, but they will not win the war, if it is ten years or 10 thousand years in the end the sovereignty of this individual will win out. Unless of course you do not believe in the concept of Deity, in that case all bets are off BUT fiat currency will still fall, it has no value, the Emperor has no clothes!

#46 Comment By ant7 On March 2, 2021 @ 1:12 am

“if you could convince me that the elites of the world are going to win this battle”

they think they’ve already won it, by decree of god – isaiah 49:23 “the kings of the earth will bow with their faces to the ground and lick the dust of your feet” – and they intend to implement that victory – isaiah 60:12 “the nation that will not serve you shall be destroyed”. they have thousands of years of experience and world-wide connections devoted to this, and they’ve made excellent progress to date, and they will continue to make progress until they are identified and removed. if you go by typical christian eschatological teachings they will continue in at least partial success until removed by christ.

#47 Comment By Nathan Hail (not to be confused with generic Nathan) On March 2, 2021 @ 1:46 am

Here is the BEST explanation of Bitcoin and the other crypto-currencies that I have ever seen. It explains completely WHY it has gone up so far.

#48 Comment By Nathan Hail (not to be confused with generic Nathan) On March 2, 2021 @ 1:48 am

Oops- I forgot the link- [6]

#49 Comment By Mel On March 2, 2021 @ 4:06 pm

I just find it satanic inserting a product from aborted fetuses (stem cells) into people — I will not take the first two vaccines — I do not care if the Vatican or anyone else, like Lord Faucii think it is alright. I told my friends that have taken the shot and are anti-abortion that they have nothing to say against it now. As far as metals I wish I could figure out which to keep investing in just in case.