Hot on the heals of the Sunday Night Discussion, here comes the Monday version. If you have a few minutes, I'd really appreciate your feedback on the following items.
First, a quick update on the open interest changes for Friday. Recall, first, that it was a relatively flat day with gold up $1.50 and silver down 13 cents. The gold OI was quite curious in that the front-month June dropped by a scant 24 contracts and the next delivery month of August dropped by only 1. One! Now, with total volume for Friday coming in at 137,937, do you find it more than a little strange that the two most active months only saw a drop of 25 contracts, combined? Just another sign that almost all of the Comex volume these days is HFT WOPRs that open and close positions intraday. (It could also be another sign that the CME-supplied data is simply bogus.) In silver, the total OI rose to a new 2012 high of 121,702 with most of the gains coming in the OI of the Sep12 contract. I will be very interested to see the OI numbers tomorrow (basis today) after today's EE beatdown. I would suspect that the total OI will show another rise to new 2012 highs as brand new shorts were added today.
Next, an interesting note for Mike Krieger's new site. Lots of folks seem to incorrectly misinterpret the abundance of "WE BUY GOLD" stores as a sign of a gold bubble when, in fact, it's the opposite signal. Additionally, the willingness of regular people to unload their gold in exchange for much-needed fiat speaks volumes to the true state of the economy. Now comes this story about pawn shops seeing a dramatic dropoff in the amount of gold exchanges. Is this "supply" of gold from weak hands nearly exhausted? Maybe. https://libertyblitzkrieg.com/2012/04/23/are-pawn-shops-running-out-of-gold/
In world news, I thought this next piece neatly summarized the deteriorating situation in Europe where things are going from bad to worse to awful to crisis very quickly. https://www.zerohedge.com/contributed/2012-17-23/graham-summers’-weekly-market-forecast-here-comes-spain-edition
Lastly, please take five minutes and read this excellent new piece from Jim Quinn. As preparation for the FOMC nonsense this week and the BLSBS next, this article will strengthen your fortitude against the SPIN, MOPE and outright propaganda that is sure to come. https://www.theburningplatform.com/?p=32878
OK, off you go then. See you tomorrow. TF
