Daily Market Update 2/18/11

Another very active day in the precious metal markets.

Gold closed at $1,387.50, up $4 on continued Middle East concerns on the report of Iranian warships traveling through the Suez Canal on their way to the Mediterranean. Gold continues to maintain a flight-to-safety bid amid the uncertainty in the Middle East,

A report from Jeff Toshima, Tokyo director of the World Gold Council, in today’s Nikkei Money, that over one million Chinese have setup up gold saving accounts in Chinese banks within a year. Asian Gold demand, led by India and China, together constituted 51% of total jewelry and investment demand during 2010. 

Silver closing at $32.20 up $0.80, again setting a new 30 year record high.

Backwardation continues (See 2/15 Blog) as the major shortage of physical silver continues to increase. Refiners are not producing exchange acceptable 1,000 ounce .999 Silver bars. Refiners are choosing to produce more profitable silver grain, powder, flake, and sponge, due to extraordinary demand in electronics and solar panels industries.

Every Saturday night at 9pm PST I host a radio show on KABC 790. The show is called “What’s it Really Worth” and we discuss precious metals, rare coins and collectibles.  You can listen to it on 790 AM radio in the Southern California area or at www.kabc.com on the internet. We take questions live on the air. Please tune in or listen to the past shows at www.whatsitreallyworthshow.com