Daily Market Update 6/17/11

GOLD
Active trading today in gold for a Friday, with the Greek debt issue and the U.S. dollar’s weakness being the drivers of the market. At 11am PDT Gold was up $8.80 at $1,538.10 per ounce. It appears as if the Eurozone has come up with a temporary fix to avoid default on Greece’s debt.

Vietnam is the world’s 2nd largest gold hoarder, holding between 460 and 1,000 tons of gold, worth around US$21 to $45 billion, second only to India, according to figures released last week. The World Gold Council ranks Vietnam as among 5 countries with the largest gold hoarding in the world, second after India. Vietnam’s gold takes up 23-29.5% of the world’s total gold during the past 5 years.

India continues to lead the global jewelry export market for the hottest commodities--gold and silver. India’s exports of gold and silver jewelry jumped by more than 50% for the month of May 2011, according to figures released by the Gems and Jeweler Export Promotion Council. 

SILVER
Silver trading is again taking direction from the Gold market. As of 11am PDT silver was up 15 cents on average volume, trading at $35.85 per ounce.  Demand for physical Silver continues strong in both Asia and the U.S.

As a recap, last year’s bullion American Silver Eagles broke the all-time annual record when 34,662,500 were sold. The level smashed the previous annual record set just one year earlier by well over 5 million. Demand remains intense for the Silver Eagle coins in 2011 as well. The last reported sales indicated 18,247,000 coins sold, with nearly 3 million for May alone. It took until the first part of July for the United States Mint to record that many sales last year. 2011 is easily on pace for the new annual record.

9/11 Silver Medals Available June 20
9/11 Silver Medals will go on sale June 20 from the United States Mint. Officially known as the "September 11 National Medal," they are being produced in commemoration of the 10th anniversary of the coordinated terrorist attacks on September 11, 2001, in New York, Pennsylvania, and Virginia.

The 2011 September 11 National Medal’s introductory price will be $59.95 for approximately eight weeks. The price will go up to $66.95 after 5 PM ET on August 18. Those who place their orders before August 18 will receive a commemorative 8"x10" document suitable for framing that will feature the medal’s artwork with the Mint’s official descriptions of the designs. It will also include the signature of the Acting Director of the United States Mint.

THIS IS NOT AN INVESTMENT COIN, COLLECTORS MAY WISH TO PICK UP ONE OR TWO COINS FOR THE HISTORY AND BEAUTY.

For more details, visit the U.S. Mints website

http://www.usmint.gov/mint_programs/medals/?action=911NationalMedal

Today’s Other Important News: 

• The U.S. economy is likely to grow in a "choppy" manner through the summer and autumn, the Conference Board said today as it reported that its index of leading economic indicators grew a surprisingly strong 0.8% in May.
• The International Monetary Fund cut its forecast for U.S. growth in 2011 for the second time in two months, warning that further setbacks to a recovery pose growing threats to the world economy, along with potential contagion from the European debt crisis. 

My 24 page research study on Hyperinflation is completed and now available. After three months of research I am proud to share the information with clients and friends.  The title of the booklet is “U.S. Hyperinflation is Coming Soon, will Gold Confiscation or a Gold Standard be Far Behind?”

For a free copy of the booklet just email  [email protected]