The Dollar buying ends

• Currencies and metals rally in the overnight markets last night.

• China is doing the smart thing with their currency.

Good Day... And a Tub Thumpin' Thursday to one and all! Well, my trip to the oncologist produced a blood level that was better, but still way below the minimum level... So, there's till concern there, but not as much as last month! She also made me go for a chest x-ray, since I had that awful cold, and wanted to make sure my lungs were clear... They were... I'm still off the chemo for now, because chemo can lower blood levels... I'm still sleeping 3 to 4 hours each afternoon... When that stops, I'll know that my strength, and stamina, have returned...  Paul McCartney greets me this morning with his song with the band Wings... Maybe I'm Amazed... 

When I left you on Tuesday this week, Gold was getting sold by the short paper traders, and looked to be on the ropes... But Gold did a rope-a-dope maneuver and got off the ropes, and ended the day down just $7... Silver didn't fare as well, and lost 51-cents on Tuesday... Gold Closed at $2,492.80, and Silver at $28.01 on Tuesday... 

Yesterday, Gold came back, and gained $4, while Silver gained 34-cents... Gold closed yesterday at $2,496.50, and Silver closed at $28.35... Maybe, just maybe the short paper traders have decided that they've done enough damage to Gold & Silver, and that investors should shy away from buying now... These takedowns by the short paper traders were done ahead of the FOMC rate cut... 

Which by the way, the Futures Market has the chances of a 50 Basis Points Rate Cut growing by leaps and bounds... Yesterday the JOLTS (Job Openings report) showed a larger than expected drop, and that alone caused more pundits to jump on the 50 Basis Points rate cut bandwagon... For those of you who are new to class... 50 Basis Points is 1/2%...  

The dollar which on Tuesday was still getting bought like funnel cakes at a State Fair, finally saw some selling after the ISM Manufacturing Index dropped further below 50 at 47... The BBDXY lost 2 index points on Tuesday, but in essence it lost 6 index points, from the intraday high... On Wednesday, the dollar saw more selling and the BBDXY lost 1 index point... 

The euro, which appeared ready to be taken below 1.10, after sniffing around the 1.12 level last week, recovered a bit and moved higher in the 1.10 handle. The rest of the currencies are taking their time recovering the lost ground they had suffered. 

The price of Oil continues to get hammered, and ended yesterday trading with a $69 handle... Wouldn't you know it, I filled up my gas tank last week! Well, I don't think the price of Oil is going to turn around soon, so there's that... 

And the 10-year's yield has dropped from major buying of the 10-year... The bond price is soaring, while the 10-year's yield is dropping like a rock... It ended yesterday trading with a 3.76% yield... 

In the overnight markets last night... There was little to no movement in the BBBDXY overnight... So, the dollar selling abated for now, but with all the data that's due to print today and tomorrow, this lack of movement in the dollar won't last. If I were a betting man, I would bet that the data will only produce more fodder for the rate cut boys and girls... The BBDXY trades this morning at 1.232... Gold is back on the rally tracks this morning, with the shiny metal up $26 to start the day... Silver is also on the rally tracks and is up 47-cents to start the day... There's some pent up buying going on here, as investors, hedge funds, etc. have been waiting for the short paper traders to finish up so that they could get in there a buy Gold before we get too close to the FOMC rate meeting, which will be a two-day meeting on Sept 17 & 18, with the rate announcement on the 18th... 

The price Oil remained trading with a $69 handle overnight, and the 10-year saw some more buying of the bond, which moved its yield lower to 3.73%... The bond boys seem to be ahead of everyone else with regards to their outlook for the FOMC meeting... 

And I can't forget to mention that the Chinese renminbi has really been in rally mode in recent days... Hey! I would do the same thing if I ran a country that had record exports to the U.S.... I would allow the currency to get very strong and reap the benefits.... I'm just saying....

OK... Late again this morning... I tell you if I had this lack of willpower back in the day when I had a job, I would have been shown the door much sooner! C'est la Vie... I was getting all excited about a proposed meeting tomorrow with former colleagues, Ty & Jack! But it fell through... Drats!  OK, I'm going a different direction today, with a discussion on Central Bank Digital Currencies... (CBDC's) Yes, I've been through all this on several occasions in the past, but... There are always new readers to class, and of course there are those of you who didn't pay attention, to the previous notes on this dastardly thing that our Gov't is going to stick down our throats, and the time is getting closer...  So, with no further ado... 

Well, it appears now that Central Banks all over the world are on board with the call to move to digital currencies, and eliminate the use of folding cash... The good folks at GATA sent me this long piece but I cut out a snippet; "According to the Atlantic Council’s ‘GeoEconomics Center’, which maintains, 134 countries (which represent 98% of global GDP) are involved in, or exploring, the rollout of a central bank digital currency. Four years ago in 2020, there were only 35 countries in that same position, so you can see the huge increase in numbers of central banks involved with CDBCs over the 2020 – 2024 period.

Currently, 69 countries are in the advanced phase of readying their CBDC, a figure which covers CBDCs in the development, pilot, or launch stages. Another 44 countries / central banks are in the research stage."

Chuck again... I have a dear reader that lives down under, and he tells me that Australia is very advanced in their rollout of a digital currency...  You know, I've explained all the privacy losses we a citizens will suffer when we no longer can pay for things with cash.... Yes, using a card will be convenient but other than that, it's a 1984, and state of Gov't surveillance, and in the end, it will be like China social credit rating...  Oh, the Gov't will tell us that they would never do stuff like that, but we all know they lie... Wasn't taxing supposed to only be for the Corporations? Wasn't the removal of Gold as the backing of the dollar only supposed to Temporary? Those are just two fo the big lies they've told us, thinking that by the time they move on, no one will remember... 

I know I shouldn't go here, but, what the heck... 

" With CBDCs, transactions are not anonymous, so you have no privacy. Governments and central banks can monitor every transaction and who makes it. This allows total surveillance and erases financial privacy.

• CBDCs are programmable. This allows governments and their central banks to control what goods and services a digital token can buy, to apply expiration dates on balances, and most importantly to exclude or block individuals who might criticise government policies (i.e. think Chinese type social credit score). These are all forms of social and economic manipulation and indeed economic coercion.

• For retail CBDCs to be used, they in practice require each citizen to have a Digital ID, with the CBDC account and balances linked to a digital ID. A global rollout of CBDCs will therefore a) force everyone to have a Digital ID, which b) will create a full surveillance network that tracks everyone and their financial transactions.

• Since CBDCs are issued directly by central banks, they also centralise financial power in the State and its central bank. This is highly dangerous and is the antithesis to the concepts of freedom represented by gold and silver, and the concept of decentralisation represented by private cryptocurrencies.

In summary, CBDCSs are anemia to free societies because they undermine freedom, privacy, and individual liberty and autonomy."

I have just one question for you.... Got Gold? 

And one more thing, the Banks that you use now, will immediately lower interest rates on deposits and CD's, and not worry about you leaving their bank, because every bank will be doing the same thing! i don't know how much longer that we have here in the U.S. but remember what Gandalf the White said: "Understand this. Things are now in motion that cannot be undone."   I shake my head the sheeple that have allowed this to happen...  

The U.S. Data Cupboard on Tuesday had the ISM Manufacturing Index and like I said above, it showed that the index had dived deeper below 50 in July at 47.9... Remember what I've always taught you... That when this index falls to 45, it is an indication that we are in a recession...  On Wednesday, we saw the JOLTS report for July, and it showed that job openings in the U.S. were 7.7 Million... But... The expectation for the data was for 8.3 Million... So, the markets took this a warning that there was a lack of demand on Businesses...  And finally, we saw that the Gov't had their hand in the cookie jar again, and Factory Orders for July were +5%, after recording a negative -3.3% in June... All I'll say is that it IS AN ELECTION YEAR! 

Today's Data Cupboard has the usual Weekly Initial Jobless Claims... The stupid productivity reports for the 2nd QTR... And tomorrow is the Jobs Jamboree for August employment... 

To Recap... The dollar was getting bought like funnel cakes at a State Fair, until it wasn't, on Tuesday this week, the dollar saw some weakness... And then again on Wednesday... Oil's price has fallen out of bed... The 10-year's bond price has soared... And Chuck goes the whole 9 yards in describing digital currency...  

Here's your snippet: "On an annual basis, global silver supply generated by mines seems to have run into a ceiling of about 1 billion ounces. Supply has essentially flat-lined over the past several years.

At the same time, explosive growth in demand from photovoltaics (solar panels) and electric vehicles is driving widening projected supply deficits for physical silver.

Rising silver prices will, in theory, incentivize more production. But the costs of extraction are rising sharply.

Metals markets analyst Steve St. Angelo estimates that in the first half of 2024, the total weighted average of cost of production among the leading silver miners rose to at least $26 per ounce. More marginal, higher-cost operators are facing the prospect of selling their product at a loss even with silver fetching $30 per ounce.

The silver price tends to find major support at its average all-in sustaining cost of production at any given time. That figure is likely to trend higher, possibly much higher, in the future."

Chuck again... This is just a sippet of the article so if you want to read it all simply click the link above... But I found it very interesting that the cost to pull Silver out of the mine is $26... So, the profit margin for the mining companies is marginal whenever the short paper traders take their pound of flesh from Silver... Interesting, very interesting... 

Market Prices 9/5/2024: American Style: A$ .6730, kiwi .6219, C$ .7394, euro 1.1108, sterling 1.3173, Swiss $1.1848, European Style: rand 17.5348, krone 10.6156, SEK 10.2553, forint 353.06, zloty 3.8413, koruna 22.5265, RUB 89.44, yen 142.91, sing 1.3003, HKD 7.7934, INR 83.99, China 7.0911, peso 20.14, BRL 5.6193, BBDXY 1,232.08, Dollar Index 101.05, Oil $69.91, 10-year 3.73%, Silver $28.82, Platinum $934.00, Palladium $943.00, Copper 4.12, and Gold... $2,522.89.

That's it for today... Well, my beloved Cardinals found a way to take 2 of 3 from the Brewers, and have been on a roll of sorts, winning each series... Where was this earlier this season? Too little, too late... Oh well, there's always next year! My Mizzou Tigers get a tougher test this Saturday, when they take on Buffalo... Go Tigers! Well, I noticed yesterday that I when I climbed the stairs, I didn't sound like I had just run a marathon... Still short of breath a little but not as bad... So... Progress is slow... But it's progress! It was nice having all the kids, grandkids and the kid's dogs, here for Labor Day... Ambrosia takes us to the finish line today, with their song: Holdin' On To Yesterday... I hope you have a Tub Thumpin' Thursday today, and a wonderful weekend ahead, and that you'll Be Good To Yourself!