GOLD: $1294.50 up $6.50
Silver: $16.84 up 13 cents
Closing access prices:
Gold $1294.00
silver: $16.84
For comex gold:
DECEMBER/
NUMBER OF NOTICES FILED TODAY FOR DECEMBER CONTRACT: 138 NOTICE(S) FOR 13800 OZ.
TOTAL NOTICES SO FAR: 9194 FOR 919,400 OZ (28.592 TONNES),
For silver:
DECEMBER
256 NOTICE(S) FILED TODAY FOR
1,280,000 OZ/
Total number of notices filed so far this month: 6403 for 32,015,000 oz
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Bitcoin: BID $13,577/OFFER $13,760 DOWN $1651 (morning)
BITCOIN : BID $14,994/OFFER $15,099 /DOWN $709 CLOSING
end
Let us have a look at the data for today
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In silver, the total open interest SURPRISINGLY FELL BY A CONSIDERABLE 3955 contracts from 200,321 FALLING TO 196,966 DESPITE YESTERDAY’S GOOD 17 CENT RISE IN SILVER PRICING. WE HAD SOME COMEX LIQUIDATION AND WITHOUT A DOUBT THIS WAS A MAJOR BANK SHORT- COVERING OPERATION. NOT ONLY THAT , WE WERE AGAIN NOTIFIED THAT WE HAD ANOTHER HUGE SIZED NUMBER OF COMEX LONGS TRANSFERRING THEIR CONTRACTS TO LONDON THROUGH THE EFP ROUTE: A MONSTROUS 2652 EFP’S FOR MARCH (AND ZERO FOR DEC AND OTHER MONTHS) AND THUS TOTAL ISSUANCE OF 2652 CONTRACTS. HOWEVER THE MOVEMENT ACROSS TO LONDON IS NOT AS SEVERE AS IN GOLD AS THERE SEEMS TO BE A MAJOR PLAYER TAKING ON THE BANKS AT THE COMEX. STILL, WITH THE TRANSFER OF 2652 CONTRACTS, WHAT THE CME IS STATING IS THAT THERE IS NO SILVER (OR GOLD) TO BE DELIVERED UPON AT THE COMEX AS THEY MUST EXPORT THEIR OBLIGATION TO LONDON. YESTERDAY WITNESSED 840 EFP’S FOR SILVER ISSUED. ALSO KEEP IN MIND THAT THERE CAN BE A DELAY OF 24 HRS IN THE ISSUING OF EFP’S. I BELIEVE THAT WE MUST HAVE HAD SOME MAJOR BANKER SHORT COVERING
ACCUMULATION FOR EFP’S/SILVER/ STARTING FROM FIRST DAY NOTICE/FOR MONTH OF DECEMBER:
48,003 CONTRACTS (FOR 19 TRADING DAYS TOTAL 48,003 CONTRACTS OR 240.015 MILLION OZ: AVERAGE PER DAY: 2,526 CONTRACTS OR 12.632 MILLION OZ/DAY)
TO GIVE YOU AN IDEA OF THE SIZE OF “PHYSICAL” TRANSFERRED TO LONDON: 240.015 MILLION OZ/700 MILLION OZ (EX CHINA EX RUSSIA) = 34.28% OF ANNUAL GLOBAL SILVER PRODUCTION
RESULT: A CONSIDERABLE SIZED LOSS IN OI COMEX DESPITE THE STRONG 18 CENT RISE IN SILVER PRICE WHICH USUALLY INDICATES HUGE BANKER SHORT-COVERING. WE ALSO HAD A HUGE SIZED SIZED EFP ISSUANCE OF 2656 CONTRACTS WHICH EXITED OUT OF THE SILVER COMEX AND TRANSFERRED THEIR OI TO LONDON AS FORWARDS. FROM THE CME DATA 2652 EFP’S WERE ISSUED TODAY (FOR MARCH EFP’S) FOR A DELIVERABLE CONTRACT OVER IN LONDON WITH A FIAT BONUS. WE REALLY LOST 1203 OI CONTRACTS i.e. 2652 open interest contracts headed for London (EFP’s) TOGETHER WITH A DECREASE OF 3955 OI COMEX CONTRACTS. AND ALL OF THIS HAPPENED WITH THE RISE IN PRICE OF SILVER BY 17 CENTS AND A CLOSING PRICE OF $16.71 WITH RESPECT TO YESTERDAY’S TRADING. YET WE STILL HAVE A MASSIVE AMOUNT OF SILVER STANDING AT THE COMEX.
In ounces AT THE COMEX, the OI is still represented by just UNDER 1 BILLION oz i.e. 0.985 BILLION TO BE EXACT or 140% of annual global silver production (ex Russia & ex China).
FOR THE NEW FRONT DECEMBER MONTH/ THEY FILED: 256 NOTICE(S) FOR 1,280,000 OZ OF SILVER
In gold, the open interest ROSE BY A SMALL SIZED 1878 CONTRACTS UP TO 458,348 DESPITE THE STRONG RISE IN PRICE OF GOLD WITH YESTERDAY’S TRADING ($5.05). HOWEVER, THE TOTAL NUMBER OF GOLD EFP’S ISSUED YESTERDAY FOR TODAY TOTALED A HUMONGOUS 11,125 CONTRACTS OF WHICH THE MONTH OF DECEMBER SAW 0 CONTRACTS AND FEB SAW THE ISSUANCE OF 11,125 CONTRACTS. The new OI for the gold complex rests at 458,348. DEMAND FOR GOLD INTENSIFIES GREATLY AS WE CONTINUE TO WITNESS A HUGE NUMBER OF EFP TRANSFERS TOGETHER WITH THE MASSIVE AMOUNT OF GOLD OUNCES STANDING FOR DECEMBER. EVEN THOUGH THE BANKERS ISSUED THESE MONSTROUS EFPS, THE OBLIGATION STILL RESTS WITH THE BANKERS TO SUPPLY METAL BUT IT TRANSFERS THE RISK TO A LONDON BANKER OBLIGATION AND NOT A NEW YORK COMEX OBLIGATION. LONGS RECEIVE A FIAT BONUS TOGETHER WITH A LONG LONDON FORWARD. THUS, BY THESE ACTIONS, THE BANKERS AT THE COMEX HAVE JUST STATED THAT THEY HAVE NO APPRECIABLE METAL!! THIS IS A MASSIVE FRAUD: THEY CANNOT SUPPLY ANY METAL TO OUR COMEX LONGS BUT THEY ARE QUITE WILLING TO SUPPLY MASSIVE NON BACKED GOLD (AND SILVER) PAPER KNOWING THAT THEY HAVE NO METAL TO SATISFY OUR LONGS. LONDON IS NOW SEVERELY BACKWARD IN BOTH GOLD AND SILVER (BIG RISE IN BOTH GOFO AND SIFO) AND WE ARE WITNESSING DELAYS IN ACTUAL DELIVERIES. IN ESSENCE WE HAVE A GOOD GAIN OF 13,003 OI CONTRACTS: 1878 OI CONTRACTS INCREASED AT THE COMEX AND A GOOD SIZED 11,125 OI CONTRACTS WHICH NAVIGATED OVER TO LONDON.
YESTERDAY, WE HAD 2056 EFP’S ISSUED.
ACCUMULATION OF EFP’S/ GOLD(EXCHANGE FOR PHYSICAL) FOR THE MONTH OF DECEMBER STARTING WITH FIRST DAY NOTICE: 216,387 CONTRACTS OR 21.6387 MILLION OZ OR 673.405 TONNES (19 TRADING DAYS AND THUS AVERAGING: 11,388 EFP CONTRACTS PER TRADING DAY OR 1.1388 MILLION OZ/DAY)
TO GIVE YOU AN IDEA AS TO THE HUGE AMOUNT OF “PHYSICAL’ TRANSFERRED SO FAR THIS MONTH: 673 TONNES/2200 TONNES = 30.59% OF ANNUAL GLOBAL PRODUCTION OF GOLD. THIS IS IMPOSSIBLE AND EXPLAINS FULLY THE FRAUD!!
Result: A SMALL SIZED INCREASE IN OI DESPITE THE GOOD SIZED RISE IN PRICE IN GOLD TRADING ON YESTERDAY ($5.05). WE HAD A HUMONGOUS SIZED NUMBER OF COMEX LONG TRANSFERRING TO LONDON THROUGH THE EFP ROUTE: 11,125. THERE OBVIOUSLY DOES NOT SEEM TO BE MUCH PHYSICAL GOLD AT THE COMEX AND YET WE ALSO OBSERVED A HUGE DELIVERY MONTH FOR THE MONTH OF DECEMBER. I GUESS IT EXPLAINS THE HUGE ISSUANCE OF EFP’S…THERE IS HARDLY ANY GOLD PRESENT AT THE GOLD COMEX FOR DELIVERY PURPOSES. IF YOU TAKE INTO ACCOUNT THE 11,125 EFP CONTRACTS ISSUED, WE HAD A NET GAIN IN OPEN INTEREST OF 13,003 contracts:
11,125 CONTRACTS MOVE TO LONDON AND 1879 CONTRACTS INCREASED AT THE COMEX. (in tonnes, the gain in total oi equates to 40.44 TONNES)
we had: 138 notice(s) filed upon for 13800 oz of gold.
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With respect to our two criminal funds, the GLD and the SLV:
GLD:
Today, NO CHANGES IN GOLD INVENTORY AT THE GLD
Inventory rests tonight: 837.50 tonnes.
SLV/
THIS MAKES A LOT OF SENSE: SILVER UP 13 CENTS AGAIN TODAY:
ANOTHER CHANGE IN SILVER INVENTORY AT THE SLV: A WITHDRAWAL OF 1,251,000 OZ
INVENTORY RESTS AT 323.459 MILLION OZ/
end
First, here is an outline of what will be discussed tonight:
1. Today, we had the open interest in silver FELL BY A CONSIDERABLE SIZED 3955 contracts from 200,321 DOWN TO 196,966 (AND now A LITTLE FURTHER FROM THE NEW COMEX RECORD SET ON FRIDAY/APRIL 21/2017 AT 234,787) DESPITE THE GOOD SIZED RISE IN PRICE OF SILVER TO THE TUNE OF 17 CENTS YESTERDAY. WE HAD WITHOUT A DOUBT A MAJOR SHORT COVERING FROM OUR BANKERS AS THEY HAVE CAPITULATED. NOT ONLY THAT BUT OUR BANKERS USED THEIR EMERGENCY PROCEDURE TO ISSUE ANOTHER 2652 PRIVATE EFP’S FOR MARCH (WE DO NOT GET A LOOK AT THESE CONTRACTS AS IT IS PRIVATE BUT THE CFTC DOES AUDIT THEM). EFP’S GIVE OUR COMEX LONGS A FIAT BONUS PLUS A DELIVERABLE PRODUCT OVER IN LONDON. WE HAD CONSIDERABLE COMEX SILVER COMEX LIQUIDATION. BUT, IF WE TAKE THE OI LOSS AT THE COMEX OF 3955 CONTRACTS TO THE 2652 OI TRANSFERRED TO LONDON THROUGH EFP’S WE OBTAIN A LOSS OF ONLY 1203 OPEN INTEREST CONTRACTS DESPITE THE MAJOR BANKER SHORT COVERING. WE STILL HAVE A HUGE AMOUNT OF SILVER OUNCES THAT ARE STANDING FOR METAL IN DECEMBER (SEE BELOW). THE NET LOSS TODAY IN OZ: 6.015 MILLION OZ!!!
RESULT: A GOOD SIZED DECREASE IN SILVER OI AT THE COMEX DESPITE THE GOOD SIZED RISE OF 17 CENTS IN PRICE (WITH RESPECT TO YESTERDAY’S TRADING). BUT WE ALSO HAD ANOTHER 2652 EFP’S ISSUED TRANSFERRING COMEX LONGS OVER TO LONDON . TOGETHER WITH THE HUGE AMOUNT OF SILVER OUNCES STANDING FOR DECEMBER, DEMAND FOR PHYSICAL SILVER INTENSIFIES
(report Harvey)
.
2.a) The Shanghai and London gold fix report
(Harvey)
2 b) Gold/silver trading overnight Europe, Goldcore
(Mark O’Byrne/zerohedge
and in NY: Bloomberg
3. ASIAN AFFAIRS
3a)THAILAND/SOUTH KOREA/NORTH KOREA
i)North Korea
b) REPORT ON JAPAN
3 c CHINA
4. EUROPEAN AFFAIRS
5. RUSSIAN AND MIDDLE EASTERN AFFAIRS
6 .GLOBAL ISSUES
7. OIL ISSUES
8. EMERGING MARKET
9. PHYSICAL MARKETS
10. USA stories which will influence the price of gold/silver
Let us head over to the comex:
The total gold comex open interest ROSE BY A SMALL 1878 CONTRACTS UP to an OI level of 458,348 DESPITE THE GOOD SIZED RISE IN THE PRICE OF GOLD ($5.05 GAIN WITH RESPECT TO YESTERDAY’S TRADING). WE NOT ONLY HAD ZERO COMEX GOLD LIQUIDATION BUT WE ALSO HAD ANOTHER GAIN IN TOTAL OPEN INTEREST AS WE WITNESSED ANOTHER HUMONGOUS COMEX TRANSFER THROUGH THE EFP ROUTE AS THESE LONGS RECEIVED A DELIVERABLE LONDON FORWARD TOGETHER WITH A FIAT BONUS. THE CME REPORTS THAT 0 EFPS WERE ISSUED FOR DECEMBER AND 11,125 EFP’S WERE ISSUED FOR FEBRUARY FOR A TOTAL OF 11125 CONTRACTS. THE OBLIGATION STILL RESTS WITH THE BANKERS ON THESE TRANSFERS.
ON A NET BASIS IN OPEN INTEREST WE GAINED TODAY: 13,003 OI CONTRACTS IN THAT 11,125 LONGS WERE TRANSFERRED AS FORWARDS TO LONDON AND WE GAINED 1878 COMEX CONTRACTS. NET GAIN: 13,003 contracts OR 1,300,300 OZ OR 40.430 TONNES
Result: AN SMALL SIZED INCREASE IN COMEX OPEN INTEREST WITH THE GOOD RISE IN THE PRICE OF YESTERDAY’S GOLD TRADING ($5.05.) WE HAD NO GOLD LIQUIDATION ANYWHERE. TOTAL OPEN INTEREST GAIN ON THE TWO EXCHANGES: 13,003 OI CONTRACTS…
We have now entered the active contract month of DECEMBER. The open interest for the front month of December saw it’s open interest FALL by 120 contracts DOWN to 0. We had 33 notices filed upon yesterday so we LOST 87 COMEX contracts or an additional 8700 oz will NOT stand for delivery AT THE COMEX in this active delivery month of December and these morphed into EFP’s which gives the long holder a fiat profit plus a deliverable London based forward.
January saw its open interest LOSE 324 contracts DOWN to 536. FEBRUARY saw a gain of 140 contacts up to 332,660. April saw a loss of 225 contracts down to 37,409
We had 138 notice(s) filed upon today for 13800 oz
PRELIMINARY VOLUME TODAY ESTIMATED; 232,302
FINAL NUMBERS CONFIRMED FOR YESTERDAY: 216,244
comex gold volumes are RISING AGAIN
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And now for the wild silver comex results.
Total silver OI FALL BY A CONSIDERABLE 3955 CONTRACTS FROM 200,321 DOWN TO 196,966 DESPITE YESTERDAY’S GOOD 17 CENT RISE IN PRICE WHICH SEEMS TO INDICATE WE HAD ANOTHER MAJOR ROUND OF BANKER SHORT-COVERING. NOT ONLY THAT, WE HAD ANOTHER HUMONGOUS SIZED 2652 EMERGENCY EFP’S FOR MARCH ISSUED BY OUR BANKERS (ZERO FOR DECEMBER) TO COMEX LONGS WHO RECEIVED A FIAT BONUS PLUS A DELIVERABLE PRODUCT OVER IN LONDON.THE TOTAL EFP’S ISSUED: 2652. IT SURE LOOKS LIKE THE SILVER BOYS HAVE STARTED TO MIGRATE TO LONDON FROM THE START OF DELIVERY MONTH AND CONTINUING RIGHT THROUGH UNTIL FIRST DAY NOTICE JUST LIKE WE ARE WITNESSING TODAY. USUALLY WE NOTED THAT CONTRACTION IN OI OCCURRED ONLY DURING THE LAST WEEK OF AN UPCOMING ACTIVE DELIVERY MONTH. THIS PROCESS HAS JUST BEGUN IN EARNEST IN SILVER STARTING IN SEPTEMBER. HOWEVER, IN GOLD, WE HAVE BEEN WITNESSING THIS FOR THE PAST 2 YEARS. WE HAD CONSIDERABLE LONG COMEX SILVER LIQUIDATION AS WELL AS TOTAL SILVER OI LIQUIDATION AS IT SEEMS THAT WE ARE HAVING SOME BANKER SHORT-COVERING. WE ARE ALSO WITNESSING A HUGE AMOUNT OF SILVER OUNCES STANDING FOR COMEX METAL IN DECEMBER AS WELL AS THAT CONTINUAL MIGRATION OF EFPS OVER TO LONDON. ON A PERCENTAGE BASIS THERE ARE MORE EFP’S ISSUED FOR GOLD THAN SILVER AS IT SEEMS THAT A MAJOR PLAYER WISHES TO TAKE ON THE CROOKED COMEX SHORTS. ON A NET BASIS WE LOST 1203 OPEN INTEREST CONTRACTS:
3955 CONTRACTS LOSS AT THE COMEX COMBINING WITH THE ADDITION OF 2652 OI CONTRACTS NAVIGATING OVER TO LONDON.
NET LOSS: 1203 CONTRACTS
We are now in the big active delivery month of December and here the OI loss by 256 contracts down to 0. We had 256 notices filed ON YESTERDAY so we neither lost nor gained any silver ounces standing in this active delivery month of December.
The January contract month FELL by 122 contracts DOWN to 566. February saw a gain OF 64 OI contract RISING TO 147. The March contract gained 3107 contracts up to 156,462.
We had 256 notice(s) filed for 1,280,000 oz for the DECEMBER 2017 contracts
FINAL standings for DECEMBER
Dec 28/2017.
| Gold | Ounces |
| Withdrawals from Dealers Inventory in oz | nil oz |
| Withdrawals from Customer Inventory in oz |
N/A oz
|
| Deposits to the Dealer Inventory in oz | nil oz |
| Deposits to the Customer Inventory, in oz |
nil oz
|
| No of oz served (contracts) today |
138 notice(s)
13800 OZ
|
| No of oz to be served (notices) |
0 contracts
(nil oz)
|
| Total monthly oz gold served (contracts) so far this month |
9194 notices
919400 oz
28.5972 tonnes
|
| Total accumulative withdrawals of gold from the Dealers inventory this month | NIL oz |
| Total accumulative withdrawal of gold from the Customer inventory this month | xxx oz |
For DECEMBER:
Today, 0 notice(s) were issued from JPMorgan dealer account and 0 notices were issued from their client or customer account. The total of all issuance by all participants equates to 138 contract(s) of which 15 notices were stopped (received) by j.P. Morgan dealer and 8 notice(s) was (were) stopped/ Received) by j.P.Morgan customer account.
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To calculate the INITIAL total number of gold ounces standing for the DECEMBER. contract month, we take the total number of notices filed so far for the month (9194) x 100 oz or 919,400 oz, to which we add the difference between the open interest for the front month of DEC. (138 contracts) minus the number of notices served upon today (138 x 100 oz per contract) equals 919,400 oz, the number of ounces standing in this active month of DECEMBER
Thus the INITIAL standings for gold for the DECEMBER contract month:
No of notices served (9194) x 100 oz or ounces + {(138)OI for the front month minus the number of notices served upon today (138) x 100 oz which equals 919,400 oz standing in this active delivery month of DECEMBER (28.592 tonnes). THERE IS 33.29 TONNES OF REGISTERED GOLD AVAILABLE FOR DELIVERY SO FAR.
WE LOST 87 COMEX CONTRACTS STANDING OR AN ADDITIONAL 8700 OZ WILL NOT STAND AT THE COMEX AND THE REST MORPHED INTO LONDON FORWARDS
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ON FIRST DAY NOTICE FOR DECEMBER 2016, THE INITIAL GOLD STANDING: 39.038 TONNES STANDING
BY THE END OF THE MONTH: FINAL: 29.791 TONNES STOOD FOR COMEX DELIVERY AS THE REMAINDER HAD TRANSFERRED OVER TO LONDON FORWARDS.
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Total dealer inventory 1,070,309.229 or 33.29 tonnes (dealer gold continues to disappear)
Total gold inventory (dealer and customer) = 9,143,181.135 or 284.39 tonnes
I have a sneaky feeling that these withdrawals of gold in kilobars are being used in the hypothecating process and are being used in the raiding of gold!
The gold comex is an absolute fraud. The use of kilobars and exact weights makes the data totally absurd and fraudulent! To me, the only thing that makes sense is the fact that “kilobars: are entries of hypothecated gold sent to other jurisdictions so that they will not be short with their underwritten derivatives in that jurisdiction. This would be similar to the rehypothecated gold used by Jon Corzine at MF Global.
IN THE LAST 14 MONTHS 70 NET TONNES HAS LEFT THE COMEX.
end
And now for silver
AND NOW THE DECEMBER DELIVERY MONTH
DECEMBER FINAL standings
| Silver | Ounces |
| Withdrawals from Dealers Inventory | nil oz |
| Withdrawals from Customer Inventory |
N/A oz
|
| Deposits to the Dealer Inventory |
nil
oz
|
| Deposits to the Customer Inventory |
N/A oz
Scotia
|
| No of oz served today (contracts) |
256
CONTRACT(S)
(1,280,000 OZ)
|
| No of oz to be served (notices) |
0contract
(nil oz)
|
| Total monthly oz silver served (contracts) | 6659 contracts
(33,295,000 oz) |
| Total accumulative withdrawal of silver from the Dealers inventory this month | NIL oz |
| Total accumulative withdrawal of silver from the Customer inventory this month |
CANNOT RETRIEVE COMEX INVENTORY DATA
The total number of notices filed today for the DECEMBER. contract month is represented by 256 contract(s) FOR 1,280,000 oz. To calculate the number of silver ounces that will stand for delivery in DECEMBER., we take the total number of notices filed for the month so far at 6659 x 5,000 oz = 33,295,000 oz to which we add the difference between the open interest for the front month of DEC. (256) and the number of notices served upon today (256x 5000 oz) equals the number of ounces standing.
.
Thus the INITIAL standings for silver for the DECEMBER contract month: 6659(notices served so far)x 5000 oz + OI for front month of DECEMBER(256) -number of notices served upon today (256)x 5000 oz equals 33,295,000 oz of silver standing for the DECEMBER contract month. This is EXCELLENT for this active delivery month of November.
WE NEITHER LOST NOR GAINED ANY SILVER OUNCES STANDING IN THIS ACTIVE DELIVERY MONTH OF DECEMBER.
ON FIRST DAY NOTICE FOR THE DECEMBER 2016 CONTRACT WE HAD 15.282 MILLION OZ STAND.
THE FINAL STANDING: 19.900 MILLION OZ AS QUEUE JUMPING INTENSIFIED.
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ESTIMATED VOLUME FOR TODAY: 63,836
CONFIRMED VOLUME FOR FRIDAY: 60,773 CONTRACTS
YESTERDAY’S CONFIRMED VOLUME OF 60,773 CONTRACTS EQUATES TO 303 MILLION OZ OR 43.4% OF ANNUAL GLOBAL PRODUCTION OF SILVER
COMMODITY LAW SUGGESTS THAT OPEN INTEREST SHOULD NOT BE MORE THAN 3% OF ANNUAL GLOBAL PRODUCTION. THE CROOKS ARE SUPPLYING MASSIVE PAPER TRYING TO KEEP SILVER IN CHECK.
Total dealer silver: 59.182 million
Total number of dealer and customer silver: 240.232 million oz
The record level of silver open interest is 234,787 contracts set on April 21./2017 with the price at that day at $18.42
The previous record was 224,540 contracts with the price at that time of $20.44
end
NPV for Sprott and Central Fund of Canada
1. Central Fund of Canada: traded at Negative 1.3 percent to NAV usa funds and Negative 1.3% to NAV for Cdn funds!!!!
Percentage of fund in gold 63.0%
Percentage of fund in silver:36.7%
cash .+.3%( Dec 28/2017)
2. Sprott silver fund (PSLV): NAV RISES TO -1.03% (Dec 28 /2017)??????????????????????????????
3. Sprott gold fund (PHYS): premium to NAV FALLS TO -0.66% to NAV (Dec 28 /2017 )
Note: Sprott silver trust back into NEGATIVE territory at -1.03%-/Sprott physical gold trust is back into NEGATIVE/ territory at -0.66%/Central fund of Canada’s is still in jail but being rescued by Sprott.
Sprott WINS hostile 3.1 billion bid to take over Central Fund of Canada
(courtesy Sprott/GATA)
END
And now the Gold inventory at the GLD
Dec 28/NO CHANGES IN GOLD INVENTORY AT THE GLD/INVENTORY RESTS AT 837.50 TONNES
Dec 27/NO CHANGES IN GOLD INVENTORY AT THE GLD/ INVENTORY RESTS AT 837.50 TONNES
Dec 26/no change in gold inventory at the GLD
Dec 22/ A DEPOSIT OF 1.48 TONNES OF GOLD INTO GLD INVENTORY/INVENTORY RESTS AT 837.50 TONNES
Dec 21′ NO CHANGE IN GOLD INVENTORY AT THE GLD/INVENTORY RESTS AT 836.02 TONNES
Dec 20/DESPITE THE GOOD ADVANCE IN PRICE TODAY/THE CROOKS RAIDED THE COOKIE JAR TO THE TUNE OF 1.18 TONNES/INVENTORY RESTS AT 836.02 TONNES
Dec 19/NO CHANGE IN GOLD INVENTORY AT THE GLD/INVENTORY RESTS AT 837.20 TONNES
Dec 18 SHOCKINGLY AFTER TWO GOOD GOLD TRADING DAYS, THE CROOKS RAID THE COOKIE JAR BY THE SUM OF 7.09 TONNES/INVENTORY RESTS AT 837.20 TONNES
Dec 15/NO CHANGES IN GOLD INVENTORY/RESTS AT 844.29 TONNES.
Dec 14/a good sized gain of 1.48 tonnes of gold into the GLD/inventory rests at 844.29 tones
Dec 13/no changes in gold inventory at the GLD/inventory rests at 842.81 tonnes
Dec 12/SURPRISINGLY NO CHANGES IN GOLD INVENTORY AT THE GLD/INVENTORY RESTS AT 842.81 TONNES
Dec 11/SURPRISINGLY NO CHANGES IN GOLD INVENTORY AT THE GLD DESPITE THE CONSTANT RAIDS ON GOLD/INVENTORY RESTS AT 842.81 TONNES
Dec 8/NO CHANGES IN GOLD INVENTORY AT THE GLD/INVENTORY RESTS AT 842.81 TONNES
Dec 7/A BIG WITHDRAWAL OF 2.66 TONNES FROM THE GLD/INVENTORY RESTS AT 842.81 TONNES
Dec 6/No changes in GOLD inventory at the GLD/Inventory rests at 845.47 tonnes
Dec 5/A WITHDRAWAL OF 2.64 TONNES FROM THE GLD/INVENTORY RESTS AT 845.47 TONNES
Dec 4/A MASSIVE DEPOSIT OF 8.56 TONNES OF GOLD INTO THE GLD/THE BLEEDING OF GLD GOLD HAS STOPPED/INVENTORY RESTS TONIGHT AT 848.11 TONNES
Dec 1/NO CHANGE IN GOLD INVENTORY AT THE GLD/INVENTORY RESTS AT 839.55 TONNES
Nov 30/no change in gold inventory at the GLD. Inventory rests at 839.55 tonnes
Nov 29/a withdrawal of 2.66 tonnes at the GLD/Inventory rests at 839.55 tonnes
NOV 28/ no change in gold inventory at the GLD/inventory rests at 842.21 tonnes
Nov 27 Strange!! we gold up by $6.40 today, we had a good sized withdrawal of 1.18 tonnes from the GLD. Here is something that is also strange: we have had exactly 1.18 tonnes of gold withdrawn from the comex on 5 separate occasions in the past 30 days..explanation?
Nov 24/no change in gold inventory at the GLD/Inventory rests at 843.09 tonnes
Nov 22/no change in gold inventory at the GLD/Inventory rests at 843.39 tonnes
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Dec 28/2017/ Inventory rests tonight at 837.50 tonnes
*IN LAST 300 TRADING DAYS: 103.45 NET TONNES HAVE BEEN REMOVED FROM THE GLD
*LAST 235 TRADING DAYS: A NET 53.83 TONNES HAVE NOW BEEN ADDED INTO GLD INVENTORY.
*FROM FEB 1/2017: A NET 212.72 TONNES HAVE BEEN ADDED.
end
Now the SLV Inventory
Dec 28/DESPITE THE RISE IN SILVER AGAIN BY 13 CENTS, WE LOST ANOTHER 1,251,000 OZ OF SILVER FROM THE SILVER.
Dec 27/WITH SILVER UP AGAIN BY 17 CENTS, WE LOST ANOTHER 802,000 OZ OF SILVER INVENTORY/WHAT CROOKS/INVENTORY RESTS AT 324.780 MILLION OZ/
Dec 26/no change in silver inventory at the SLV./Inventory rests at 325.582
Dec 21/NO CHANGE IN SILVER INVENTORY AT THE SLV/INVENTORY RESTS AT 326.227 MILLION OZ/
Dec 20/INVENTORY REMAINS CONSTANT AT 326.337 MILLION OZ (COMPARE WITH GLD)
Dec 19/SILVER INVENTORY REMAINS CONSTANT AT 326.337 MILLION OZ
Dec 18.2017//SILVER INVENTORY CONTINUES TO REMAIN PAT./INVENTORY REMAINS AT 326.337 MILLION OZ/
INVENTORY RESTS AT 326.337 TONNES
Dec 15/NO CHANGE IN SILVER INVENTORY AT THE SLV/INVENTORY RESTS AT 326.337 MILLION OZ/
Dec 14/a small withdrawal of 377,000 oz and that usually means to pay for fees./inventory rests at 326.337 million oz/
Dec 13/no change in silver inventory at the SLV/Inventory rests at 326.714 million oz/
Dec 12/WOW!ANOTHER STRANGE ONE: SILVER HAS BEEN DOWN FOR 10 CONSECUTIVE DAYS, YET THE SLV ADDS ANOTHER 1.415 MILLION OZ TO ITS INVENTORY. IN THAT 10 DAY PERIOD, SLV ADDS 9.584 MILLION OZ/
INVENTORY RESTS AT 326.714 MILLION OZ
Dec 11/WOW!! ANOTHER STRANGE ONE: SILVER DESPITE BEING DOWN FOR 9 CONSECUTIVE TRADING DAYS ADDS ANOTHER 944,000 OZ TO ITS INVENTORY. FROM NOV 30 UNTIL TODAY SILVER HAS BEEN DOWN EVERY DAY. HOWEVER THE INVENTORY OF SILVER HAS RISEN 8.169 MILLION OZ.
Dec 8/A HUGE DEPOSIT OF 2.642 MILLION OZ/INVENTORY RESTS AT 324.355 MILLION OZ/
Dec 7/strange!! with the continual whacking of silver, no change in silver inventory at the SLV/Inventory rests at 321.713
Dec 6/no change in silver inventory at the SLV/Inventory remains at 21.713 million oz.
Dec 5/THIS ONE HIT ME LIKE A TON OF BRICKS: SLV ADDS 2.507 MILLION OZ DESPITE THE HUGE DRUBBING SILVER TOOK TODAY. (PRICE DISCOVERY?)
Dec 4/NO CHANGE IN SILVER INVENTORY AT THE SLV
INVENTORY RESTS AT 319.207 MILLION OZ/
Dec 1/VERY STRANGE!! WITH SILVER IN THE DUMPSTER THESE PAST FEW DAYS, SLV ADDS 2.076 MILLION OZ/???
INVENTORY 319.207 MILLION OZ/
Nov 30/no changes in silver inventory despite the huge drop in price/inventory rests at 317.130 million oz
Nov 29/no changes in silver inventory at the SLV/Inventory rests at 317.130 million oz/strange!! at drop of 32 cents and no change in inventory?
Nov 28/no change in silver inventory at the SLV/Inventory rests at 317.130 million oz.
Nov 27/NO CHANGE IN SILVER INVENTORY DESPITE A ZERO GAIN IN PRICE /QUITE OPPOSITE TO GOLD WHICH SAW 1.18 TONNES OF GOLD WITHDRAWN DESPITE A RISE IN PRICE OF $6.40
Nov 24/A WITHDRAWAL OF 944,000 OZ OF SILVER FROM THE SLV//INVENTORY RESTS AT 317.130 MILLION OZ
Nov 22/no change in silver inventory at the SLV/Inventory rests at 318.074 million oz.
Dec 28/2017:
Inventory 323.459 million oz
end
WOW!!!
6 Month MM GOFO
Indicative gold forward offer rate for a 6 month duration
+ 2.15%
12 Month MM GOFO
+ 2.13%
30 day trend
end
Major gold/silver trading /commentaries for THURSDAY
GOLDCORE/BLOG/MARK O’BYRNE.
GOLD/SILVER
many cryptocurrencies battered due to South Korea cracking down on them:
(courtesy zerohedge)
Blockchain Names Battered After South Korea Cracks Down On “Irrationally Overheated” Bitcoin
Overnight saw South Korean financial regulators announce a series of crackdowns on what they described as “irrationally overheated” cryptocurrencies that slammed Bitcoin and the rest notably lower. Since then prices have stabilized but blockchain-based companies such as RIOT, LFIN, and LTEA are all tumbling this morning.
Bloomberg News reported that South Korea will require cryptocurrency transactions to name participants and ban banks from offering virtual accounts.
The government may also direct law enforcement officials to close some exchanges.
“Cryptocurrency speculation has been irrationally overheated in Korea,” the South Korean government said in a statement reported by Bloomberg.
“The government can’t leave the abnormal situation of speculation any longer.”
This smacked Cryptos lower but they have since stabilized…
However, blockchain-related stocks including On Track Innovations, Riot Blockchain, Digital Power, Overstock.com, Pareteum, LongFin fall pre-market…
In the pre-market: OTIV -3.2%, RIOT -8.8%, DPW -5.6%, OSTK -3%, TEUM -10%, LFIN -5.4%, SSC -3%
South Korea is an important market for cryptocurrency trading.
Mati Greenspan, an analyst with trading platform eToro, said in an email this month: “Recent estimates state that 21% of all global BTC volume are done in Korean Won.”
This is not the first attempt at a crackdown on cryptocurrencies by South Korea.
Earlier in December, South Korean officials reportedly banned local finance firms from handling bitcoin futures.
South Korea has taken a tough stance on digital currencies, banning initial coin offerings (ICOs) earlier this year.
Your early THURSDAY morning currency, Asian stock market results, important USA/Asian currency crosses, gold/silver pricing overnight along with the price of oil Major stories overnight/9 AM EST
Global Stocks Rally To New Record Highs As Dollar Tumbles
U.S. equity futures point to a higher open in the second to last trading day of 2017 as the dollar slid against most major currencies, headed for its worst year in more than a decade as oil, gold and most industrial metals rise.
MSCI’s world equity index has risen 22% this year and looks set for a record 14th straight month of gains. S&P 500 Index futures rose 0.1% to 2,688, the highest in more than a week.
European stocks are little changed on thin trading volume amid a holiday-shortened week. The Stoxx Europe 600 Index is flat, with carmakers dropping and miners tracking metal prices higher. The benchmark is poised for an annual gain of 8%, the best advance in four years. In Italy, Prime Minister Paolo Gentiloni is expected to hold a press conference marking the end of his administration, kickstarting the process for elections early next year
In addition to Europe, this year’s equity rally has been led by the bumper performance in Asia, which is on track for its best year since 2009, with the MSCI Asia Pacific Index rising 0.4% to the highest on record, in thin trading ahead of New Year holidays and emerging market equities rose, with the MSCI Emerging Market Index rising 0.8% to the highest in almost five weeks.
Japan’s Nikkei 225 Stock Average decreased 0.6 percent to the lowest in almost two weeks while Hong Kong stocks advanced, with Sunny Optical Technology Group Co. and AAC Technologies Holdings Inc. among the best performers after a two-day selloff. Country Garden Holdings Co. climbed to a record. The Hang Seng Index rose 0.9% to close at highest since Nov. 24, rising 2.2% over the last four sessions. The Hang Seng China Enterprises Index climbs 0.6% while China’s mainland Shanghai Composite Index rose +0.6%, and the big-cap CSI 300 Index +0.7%.
China’s largest liquor maker Kweichow Moutai soared over 8% in Shanghai after the company said it expects revenue and profits to jump 50% and 58% this year and announced that it would raise prices by 18% starting next year. A notable move took place in Chinese short-term funding rates, where the Treasury bond repo rate surged for the 3rd day in a row, closing at 17.7%after it hit a high of 24%, as a result of a year-end cash squeeze after the PBOC refrained from conducting open market reverse repos for the 5th day in a row.
In overnight macro, in an otherwise quiet session, the dollar was the notable mover dropping against most major currencies as an earlier slide in Treasury yields and year-end rebalancing flows weighed on the currency that’s heading for its worst year in more than a decade.
The greenback declined against all G-10 peers after benchmark U.S. Treasury yields tumbled by the most since September on Wednesday. The USD also faced a setback as the recent strong demand for dollar funding over year-end eased. As Bloomberg highlights, the dollar was on track for an almost 12 percent decline this year versus the euro, its worst performance since 2003. Volatility in foreign-exchange markets was exacerbated amid thin trading volumes.
“The dollar bears are getting their last licks in for 2017, perhaps foreshadowing of things to come in 2018,” said Stephen Innes, head of Asia-Pacific trading at OANDA.
“Month-end flows in illiquid market conditions are the primary driver” of the dollar’s weakness, says Jason Wong, a currency strategist at Bank of New Zealand. “Risks are skewed for dollar losses against the pound and euro in 2018.”
“Lower yields are generally not good for the dollar so that’s an important reason,” said Georgette Boele, a currency strategist at ABN Amro Bank NV, adding that “this time of the year currency markets are mainly technical driven and order driven.”
The euro climbed 0.4 percent to $1.1932 as of 9:39 a.m. in London, after touching $1.1947, its highest since Nov. 27. The Bloomberg Dollar Spot Index fell 0.3 percent, extending its decline this year to 8.2 percent, its biggest slide since data starting at the end of 2004. Ten-year Treasury yields rose two basis points to 2.43 percent on Thursday, after tumbling seven basis points the previous day, the steepest drop since Sept. 7.
German bunds lead declines in Europe, erasing Wednesday’s gain, and pulling Treasury yields higher after yesterday’s. 10Y German bund yield climbed three basis points to 0.41%. Elsewhere in rates, the yield on 10-year Treasuries rose two basis points to 2.43%. Britain’s 10-year yield gained two basis points to 1.192%. Japan’s 10-year yield increased less than one basis point to 0.058 percent, the highest in a week.
U.S. 10-year yields retreated after briefly last week breaking above the key 2.50% level, falling as much as seven basis points on Wednesday. Meanwhile 2Y yields too are off nine-year highs after U.S. consumer confidence dropped from 17-year highs.
The Bloomberg Commodity Index extended its longest rising streak in more than 12 years as oil, gold and copper gained. WTI gained 0.2% to $59.73 a barrel. Gold gained 0.4% to $1,292.35 an ounce, the highest in a month, while copper rose 0.6% to $3.30 a pound.
“Commodities are driving trade in the final days of 2017,” analysts at London Capital Group said in a note. “Copper has rallied 25 percent since the beginning of June, and with this in mind Dr Copper is telling us we could be in for a strong 2018,” they added, referring to the perception of copper as a key barometer of economic growth.
As reported overnight, bitcoin tumbled on Thursday, extending a sell-off that began last week, as South Korean regulators stepped up scrutiny of their citizens’ dealings with cryptocurrencies, threatening to shutdown local crypto exchanges to curb speculation.
Today’s economic data include wholesale inventories, initial jobless claims.
Market Snapshot
- S&P 500 futures up 0.1% to 2,688.00
- STOXX Europe 600 up 0.01% to 390.58
- MSCI Asia Pacific up 0.5% to 173.53
- MSCI Asia Pacific ex Japan up 0.9% to 568.28
- Nikkei down 0.6% to 22,783.98
- Topix down 0.6% to 1,819.03
- Hang Seng Index up 0.9% to 29,863.71
- Shanghai Composite up 0.6% to 3,296.39
- Sensex unchanged at 33,913.22
- Australia S&P/ASX 200 up 0.3% to 6,088.14
- Kospi up 1.3% to 2,467.49
- German 10Y yield rose 2.9 bps to 0.414%
- Euro up 0.4% to $1.1933
- Brent Futures up 0.4% to $66.67/bbl
- Italian 10Y yield rose 0.8 bps to 1.653%
- Spanish 10Y yield fell 0.3 bps to 1.467%
- Brent Futures up 0.4% to $66.67/bbl
- Gold spot up 0.4% to $1,292.67
- U.S. Dollar Index down 0.3% to 92.72
Top Overnight News from Bloomberg
- Analysts forecasting the U.S. economy in 2017 pulled off a rare feat: missing to the upside on their forecasts for both inflation and the jobless rate; that may offer a lesson for pundits predicting the outlook for next year
- Rex Tillerson defended U.S. foreign policy during his first year as secretary of state, touting gains in pressuring North Korea, battling Islamic State and supporting Ukraine in the face of Russian aggression
- Oil traded above $59 a barrel as crude production in Libya fell below one million barrels a day after a pipeline explosion Tuesday
- President Trump’s legal team intends to portray ex-national security adviser Michael Flynn as a dishonest person looking to protect himself should he accuse Trump or his aides of wrongdoing, Washington Post reports, citing three unidentified people familiar with the strategy
- A coalition of 11 mostly Republican-led states urged a federal appeals court to enforce U.S. President Donald Trump’s executive order punishing so- called sanctuary cities, which largely forbid local law enforcement from cooperating with federal immigration authorities
- Justice Department attorneys argue that when Seattle judge ruled Dec. 23 that refugees from nations covered by the ban who have ties to the U.S. must still be admitted, he should have excluded “formal assurance by a refugee resettlement agency” as a qualifying condition for entry
- Nomura CEO Targets U.S. in Push That Could Include Acquisitions
- Flattening U.S. Yield Curve Nears Decade Lows in Final 2017 Push
- Bond Titans With Over $7 Trillion Lay Out Top Trades for 2018
- China Approves Becton Dickinson, C. R. Bard Deal With Conditions
- Turkey’s Corendon Air Purchases One B-737 MAX8 With May Delivery
- J&J Treatment Granted Orphan Drug Status by FDA
- Putin Orders Agents to ‘Liquidate Bandits’ After Terror Attack
- Apple CEO Cook Gets 74% Bonus Boost After Earnings Rebound
- Copper’s Rally Is Longest in a Generation as Bulls Stand Ground
Asian stocks rose 0.4% to the highest on record, in thin trading ahead of New Year holidays and emerging market equities rose, with the MSCI Emerging Market Index rising 0.8% to the highest in almost five weeks. Japan’s Nikkei 225 Stock Average decreased 0.6 percent to the lowest in almost two weeks while Hong Kong stocks advanced, with Sunny Optical Technology Group Co. and AAC Technologies Holdings Inc. among the best performers after a two-day selloff. Country Garden Holdings Co. climbed to a record. The Hang Seng Index rose 0.9% to close at highest since Nov. 24, rising 2.2% over the last four sessions. The Hang Seng China Enterprises Index climbs 0.6% while China’s mainland Shanghai Composite Index rose +0.6%, and the big-cap CSI 300 Index +0.7%.
Top Asian News
- Japan Industrial Production, Retail Sales Rise in November
- Indonesia’s 2017 GDP Growth Seen Expanding 5.05%: C. Bank
- Bank Indonesia to Issue Rule on Market Operator: Warjiyo
- Bank of Japan Maintains Pace of Bond Purchases in January Plan
- India Is Said to Renew Demand for Additional Dividend From RBI
European stocks are little changed with the Stoxx Europe 600 Index flat, as carmakers drop and miners track metal prices higher. The benchmark is poised for an annual gain of 8%, the best advance in four years. In Italy, Prime Minister Paolo Gentiloni is expected to hold a press conference marking the end of his administration, kickstarting the process for elections early next year
Top European News
- Set Brexit Risks Aside, 2017 Was No Annus Horribilis for GBP
- ECB Says Euro-Area Economic Expansion Is Solid and Broad-Based
- Crude Storage in ARA Little Changed, Genscape Weekly Data Show
- Austria Dec. Manufacturing PMI 64.3 vs 61.9 in Nov.
In commodities, the Bloomberg Commodity Index extended its longest rising streak in more than 12 years as oil, gold and copper gained. WTI gained 0.2% to $59.73 a barrel. Gold gained 0.4% to $1,292.35 an ounce, the highest in a month, while copper rose 0.6% to $3.30 a pound. “Commodities are driving trade in the final days of 2017,” analysts at London Capital Group said in a note. “Copper has rallied 25 percent since the beginning of June, and with this in mind Dr Copper is telling us we could be in for a strong 2018,” they added, referring to the perception of copper as a key barometer of economic growth.
In currencies, the greenback declined against all G-10 peers after benchmark U.S. Treasury yields tumbled by the most since September on Wednesday. The USD also faced a setback as the recent strong demand for dollar funding over year-end eased. The dollar was on track for an almost 12 percent decline this year versus the euro, its worst performance since 2003. Volatility in foreign-exchange markets was exacerbated amid thin trading volumes.
US Event Calendar
- 8:30am: U.S. Initial Jobless Claims, Dec. 23, est. 240k, prior 245k; Continuing Claims, Dec. 16, est. 1.9m, prior 1.93m
- 8:30am: U.S. Wholesale Inventories MoM, Nov. P, est. 0.3%, prior -0.5%
- 9:45am: U.S. Chicago Purchasing Manager, Dec., est. 62, prior 63.9
end
3. ASIAN AFFAIRS
3 a NORTH KOREA/USA
NORTH KOREA/
This is disturbing: North Korean defectors are showing signs of radiation exposure
(courtesy zerohedge)
North Korean Defectors Show Signs Of Radiation Exposure
South Korean scientists and doctors who have been examining North Korean defectors have stumbled upon yet another horrifying discovery: At least four of the defectors have shown signs of radiation exposure,the South Korean government said on Wednesday – although researchers could not confirm if the radiation was related to Pyongyang’s nuclear weapons program.
Earlier today, we noted that one of the defectors had also tested positive for Anthrax antibodies, suggesting that North Korean leader Kim Jong Un has continued his chemical weapons program despite signing an international chemical weapons treaty. Of course, the North Korean government has denied that chemical weapons are being used.
All four men are former residents of Kilju county, an area in North Korea that includes the nuclear test site Punggye-ri. According to Reuters, they were likely exposed to radiation between May 2009 and January 2013. All of the men defected to the South before the most recent test, according to a researcher at the Korea Atomic Energy Research Institute.
The researcher cautioned that people can be exposed to radiation in many ways, and that none of the defectors who had lived in Punggye-ri itself showed specific symptoms.
Fears that North Korea could unintentionally trigger a nuclear disaster via its nuclear tests have escalated since the North’s Sept. 3 nuclear test, prompting China to increase monitoring of radioactive activity along its border with its restive neighbor. Seismic activity detected in the aftermath of the test suggests the test site is suffering from “Tired Mountain Syndrome” – a condition detected at former Soviet nuclear testing sites. The destabilizing impact of the tests was made evident when a tunnel at Punggye-ri collapsed, killing 200 North Korean workers.
Still, the North has pushed ahead with building new tunnels at the test site, suggesting that – instead of abandoning Punggye-ri altogether, as their Chinese peers have advised, they intend to move the tests to a different part of the mountain.
Ultimately, scientists worry that the mountain could implode, releasing a plume of toxic radioactive dust into the atmosphere that could wreak untold havoc on the health of people across the region.
end
Trump warns China on their cheating in that they are providing oil to North Korea
(courtesy zerohedge)
Trump Warns China – “No Friendly Solution” If They Keep Cheating On Korean Oil Exports
President Trump took aim at President Xi this morning in a very clear tweeted warning that follows US spy satellite evidence that showed China allowing oil exports to North Korea.
Trump exclaimed “caught red-handed” and said he was “very disappointed” by China’s actions. Perhaps more notable is that he explained “there’s no friendly solution” if this continues…
Caught RED HANDED – very disappointed that China is allowing oil to go into North Korea. There will never be a friendly solution to the North Korea problem if this continues to happen!
As a reminder, this is what President Trump is upset about, according to South Korea’s Chosun Ilbo, U.S. recon satellites have photographed around 30 illegal transactions involving Chinese vessels selling oil to North Korea on the West Sea in October. The images allegedly showed large Chinese and North Korean ships transacting in oil in a part of the West Sea closer to China than South Korea. The satellite pictures even showed the names of the ships.
A government source said, “We need to focus on the fact that the illicit trade started after a UN Security Council resolution in September drastically capped North Korea’s imports of refined petroleum products.” Meanwhile, on paper, China’s trade with North has recently collapsed after U.S. President Donald Trump unleashed a barrage of sanctions in September targeting North Korea’s imports of refined petroleum products.
Back in November, the US. Treasury Department sanctioned an additional six North Korean shipping and trading companies and 20 of their ships after the satellite pictures surfaced. In the above picture, the North Korean ship named Ryesonggang 1, was easily identified and connected to the illegal sale of oil from China.
According to Chosun Media, “the department noted that the two ships appeared to be illegally trading in oil from ship to ship to bypass sanctions.”
Ship-to-ship trade with North Korea on the high seas is forbidden in UNSC Resolution 2375 adopted in September, but such violations are nearly impossible to detect unless China aggressively cracks down on smuggling.
Last month, the Communist Party spokespeople slammed new US sanctions targeting Chinese traders doing business with North Koreans, calling them “wrong”. At this point, it’s still unknown if the Chinese government is turning a blind eye to the illegal open sea transactions with North Korea, but as of today it seems as a blatant snub to the Trump administration.
Meanwhile, as President Trump and the US celebrate last week’s latest round of new sanctionsfor North Korea at the UN, the likelihood of illegal smuggling routes between the two countries will surely expand. The question then is with all diplomatic avenues exhausted and China violating a UNSC resolution, what happens next?
3 b JAPAN AFFAIRS
c) REPORT ON CHINA
This is not good for the global economy: China warns that its economy is slowing down
(courtesy zerohedge)
China Beige Book Warns Economic Slowdown Has Begun
When it comes to the global economy, few things matter as much as China, the trajectory of its economy and especially the pace and impulse of its credit creation, which is ironic because virtually all data coming out of China is fabricated and manipulated, and thoroughly untrustworthy, either on purpose or “by accident.”
The latest example of the former was highlighted over the weekend, when we discussed that a nationwide Chinese audit found some local governments inflated revenue levels and raised debt illegally, once again making a mockery of China’s credibility on the global stage. As Bloomberg reported ten cities, counties or districts in the Yunnan, Hunan and Jilin provinces, as well as the southwestern city of Chongqing, inflated fiscal revenues by 1.55 billion yuan, the National Audit Office said in a statement on its website dated Dec. 8.
An even more blatant example of the former was highlighted in Octoberahead of China’s Communist Party Congress, when the local securities watchdog literally “advised” some loss-making companies to avoid publishing quarterly results ahead of the Congress as authorities sought to ensure stock-market stability during the critical gathering of China’s political elite. As a result, at least 17 Shenzhen-listed companies announced delays to their earnings reports from Oct. 20 to Oct. 24, up from three during the same period last year.
However, now that the Party Congress is long over, China’s recent economic data offer a “warning for 2018” now that Beijing’s leaders are less motivated to prop up fake “growth” for purely optical purposes. That is the opinion of China Beige Book, and its president Leland Miller who said that “Incentives to ensure the economy was growing smartly at the time of the Communist Party Congress do not apply as next year wears on,” CBB president Leland Miller and chief economist Derek Scissors said in a report released on Wednesday.
According to a private survey by CBB International, which collects anecdotal accounts similar to those in the Federal Reserve’s Beige Book, Q4 results already show some signs of a transition to slower growth, The most recent sampling of 3,300 Chinese businesses showed:
- Hiring stopped accelerating due to a strong base of comparison
- Manufacturing orders also stopped accelerating
- Inventory accumulation “is too fast for comfort”
- Sales-price inflation is weaker than in the second quarter
- Wage gains have stopped accelerating
Come to think of it, the CBB data is not that different from the official Chinese datawhich showed continued slowdown across most economic verticals:
“None of these is genuinely alarming yet, and none would be out of place in a typical quarter,” the CBB’s Miller wrote. “But the first results after a CPC are not a typical quarter. If you expect a noticeable slowdown in 2018, the first post-Congress returns support those expectations.”
To be sure, even here there is confusion: while at the 19th Party Congress, which marked the start of President Xi Jinping’s second five-year term, top leaders signaled less emphasis on pursuing economic growth at all costs, and greater dedication to deleveraging, during the main economic planning conclave in December which set priorities for 2018, they pledged to focus on “critical battles” against financial risk, pollution and poverty in coming years. Meanwhile, deleveraging – Xi Jinping’s endless crusade – was strangely forgotten. Indeed, as Goldman observed last week, “there was no explicit mention of deleveraging” as “recent policy statements increasingly use the phrase “control of leverage”, in our view likely a reflection of increasing realism in policy making.” This significant policy reversal prompted the WSJ last week to report that Beijing has effectively given up on its deleveraging pledge.
Leverage or not, the table below – courtesy of Bloomberg– shows CBB’s breakdown of how support for the expansion may erode:
Furthermore, evidence from the retail sector doesn’t support the government’s claims of a consumption boom, CBB said. While some large firms have strong sales and profitability improved this quarter, retail revenue growth finished last among major sectors, Miller and Scissors wrote.
“Retail’s performance is decidedly uninspiring. Revenue, capex, and hiring are inferior to manufacturing, while inventory growth is much higher.”
The good news: overall hiring has held up and was generally in line with the prior quarter, with 48% of firms staffing up and 3% cutting workers. “Job growth remained stronger at state firms than private, regardless of company size,” CBB’s survey found, although as we will show in a subsequent post, while hiring may remain strong, wages are tumbling in a troubling indication that China’s middle class is set for imminent disappointment and anger.
Meanwhile, inflation in wages, prices, and input costs were also roughly the same as in the prior quarter, and were moderately faster than last year, the report said. Profit growth improved.
That said, despite predictions of gloom as we enter 2018, the world’s second-largest economy proved bears fully wrong this year, exceeding analyst estimates in the first and second quarters, and is now on pace for the first full-year acceleration in growth since 2010, with GDP seen growing at 6.8% this year and 6.5% in 2018. There is a problem: this growth was on the back of a near record credit impulse since the February 2016 Shanghai accord, an impulse which is now over.
Which means that all else equal, and absent another gargantuan credit injection in the coming months, China’s bears are about to have their day in the sun all over again.
4. EUROPEAN AFFAIRS
END
5. RUSSIAN AND MIDDLE EASTERN AFFAIRS
Something that we have been warning you about for the last 4 years:
a top Russian general has now accused the USA of training ISIS warriors at a Syrian border base
(courtesy zerohedge)
Top Russian General Accuses US Of Training ISIS At Syrian Border Base
From ISIS To US-Backed “New Syrian Army” – “They Change Their Spots” Russia Alleges
According to a new Reuters report, the chief of the Russian General Staff has accused the United States of hosting a training facility for ISIS fighters in Syria along the Syria-Iraq border. Al-Tanf base on Syria’s southeast side has been under the control of the US-backed “New Syrian Army” and their US special forces advisers since the area was captured from ISIS in August of 2016.
Russia has previously called the base a 100km wide “black hole” operated by the US wherein an assortment of unaccountable armed groups and militants can operate freely. That American troops have long been deployed there was previously confirmed through multiple photographs and videos released early in the summer of 2017 which showed US elite soldiers on active patrols with Syrian rebel factions associated with the Free Syrian Army (or FSA, elements of which were more recently renamed the New Syrian Army).
Photos above and below were made public last summer which shows ongoing training of “New Syrian Army” fighters by US military advisers. Russia now alleges ISIS members have sought the protection of the base and area under its control. Russia’s top general said this week, “They are practically Islamic State. But after they are worked with, they change their spots and take on another name.” The images were originally published through Hammurabi’s Justice News, a news outlet affiliated with Maghaweir al Thowra (MaT) – a faction which is the latest incarnation of the US-created New Syrian Army. Via the Long War Journal
Image produced by Maghaweir al Thowra (MaT) – the latest incarnation of the US-created New Syrian Army.
The head of Russia’s General Staff, Valery Gerasimov, made the allegations in an interview on Wednesday with Komsomolskaya Pravda newspaper, saying that the US base is illegal (and presumably the other roughly up to 10 or more known bases) as the Americans have no right to violate Syrian sovereignty and have not been invited to be there by Damascus in the first place. Russian military officials have recently indicated that the Syrian Army has essentially cut off the area and isolated US-backed forces’ ability to expand. If true this raises significant doubts concerning how the presumed “anti-ISIL” mission of US coalition forces are valid or relevant, or how a direct US military presence in the remote southeast region could be justified.
Early this month Russian President Vladimir Putin declared that the Islamic State had been destroyed and no longer holds cities or significant territory, though insurgent pockets remain. And at the same time the Russian “mission accomplished” announcement was being widely reported, the Pentagon said US forces would stay in Syria “as long as we need to, to support our partners and prevent the return of terrorist groups.” Meanwhile, this week Russia has moved forward with plans brokered with the Syrian government to maintain two permanent Russian military bases on the Mediterranean – the naval station at Tartus and Khmeimim airbase outside of Latakia.
General Gerasimov told the Russian newspaper that the defense ministry possessed drone and satellite footage confirming large numbers of ISIS-affiliated fighters at the US base at Tanf. “They are in reality being trained there,” Gerasimov said, and continued “They are practically Islamic State. But after they are worked with, they change their spots and take on another name. Their task is to destabilize the situation.”
Thus the allegation appears to be that as ISIS loses territory and is rooted out of various pockets in the east, its fighters then conveniently declare their allegiance to US-backed FSA/New Syrian Army factions, after which they enter training programs hosted by US advisers.
Gerasimov further indicated that some 400 militants recently left a town in the southern al-Hasakah Province for al-Tanf, launching an offensive on the Syrian forces from the eastern bank of Euphrates, after the main ISIS forces were routed there. Russia has over the past months accused the US coalition of essentially relocating ISIS fighters in order to allow their redeploying to locations where they could attack and pressure Syrian and Russian aligned forces.
In one major instance related to the coalition and SDF victory over ISIS in Raqqa, a bombshell investigative report produced by no less than BBC News confirmed that Russia has certainly had reason to be suspicious of the Pentagon’s motives and strategy inside Syria. According the November BBC report:
The BBC has uncovered details of a secret deal that let hundreds of Islamic State fighters and their families escape from Raqqa, under the gaze of the US and British-led coalition and Kurdish-led forces who control the city. A convoy included some of IS’s most notorious members and – despite reassurances – dozens of foreign fighters. Some of those have spread out across Syria, even making it as far as Turkey.
And concerning the latest accusations of US-ISIS complicity in al-Tanf, Gen. Gerasimov further said the pattern continues: “The most important is that we have been seeing the militants advancing from there for several months. When the control [of the Syrian forces] loosened, as many as 350 militants left the area.” He further said of the Russian-Syrian fight against ISIS in the area, “We took timely measures…they have suffered a defeat, these forces were destroyed. There were captives from these camps. It is clear that training is underway at those camps.”
And he continued, “Instead of the New Syrian Army, mobile ISIS groups, like a jack in the box, carry out sabotage and terrorist attacks against Syrian troops and civilians from there.” And though the pretext for the Tanf base’s creation was “the need to conduct operations against ISIS” – the rapid recent demise of ISIS proves that the Americans have ulterior motives, according to the Russian general.
Meanwhile, Syrian President Bashar al-Assad has heightened his rhetoric of late regarding uninvited foreign forces operating on Syrian soil. He said last week in a televised interview which was subsequently posted to multiple Syrian official social media channels: “Those who work with foreigners against their army are traitors.” Assad has also on multiple occasions promised to return all of natural Syria to the control of the Syrian government and army.
The Turkish Lira soars after the USA resumes full visa services in Turkey as diplomatic tensions soften
(courtesy zerohedge)
Turkish Lira Soars After US Resumes Full Visa Services In Turkey
The USDTRY has soared on news that three months after the US halted full visa processing in Turkey as diplomatic tensions between the two countries escalated, these services have now been restored.
In a statement posted on Twitter, the U.S. Embassy in Ankara said that “Since October, Turkey has adhered to the high-level assurances it provided” to U.S. that there are no additional local employees of U.S. mission in Turkey under investigation and that local staff won’t be detained or arrested for performing official duties.
It also said that the Department of State is “confident that the security posture has improved sufficiently to allow for the full resumption of visa services in Turkey” and notes that “we continue to have serious concerns about the existing allegations against arrested local employees of our Mission in Turkey.”
That said, the US remains “concerned about cases against U.S. citizens who have been arrested under the state of emergency.” As a result, U.S. officials to continue to engage w/ Turkish counterparts “to seek a satisfactory resolution” of these cases.
Clearly the full resumption of Turkey visa processing confirms that diplomatic relations between the US and Turkey are improving, and was widely seen by the market as TRY positive, and indeed the Lira has surged as much as 1.1% to 3.7730 against the dollar.
6. GLOBAL ISSUES
7. OIL ISSUES
end
8. EMERGING MARKET
A joke: Venezuela backs its new “Petro” cryptocurrency backed by 5 billion barrels of crude under the ground and gold that has already been sold into the market. The gold will be backed by new deposits from the Arco Minerale deposit.
(courtesy zerohedge)
Venezuela Backs “Petro” Cryptocurrency With 5 Billion Barrels Of Crude & Gold Deposits
Venezuelan President Maduro shocked the market in early December when he followed China’s ‘petro-yuan’ futures announcement by making headlines of himself proclaiming a new national cryptocurrency – the ‘Petro’ – to overcome The West’s “financial blockade.”
Today he followed up by confirming “every single Petro will be backed by a barrel of oil… and gold.”
“The objective is to advance in the Venezuelan economy and overcome the financial blockade, this allows us to continue in the economic and social development supported by Venezuelan riches,” said the president, explaining that his government will make a cryptocurrency issue “backed by reserves of Venezuelan gold, oil, gas and diamond wealth.”
Some joked at the time that a different name might be more suitable…
You sure he didn’t say ‘KLEPTO-currency’? https://twitter.com/lee_saks/status/937401505509978113 …
But now, as RT reports, Maduro confirmed the backing of the national cryptocurrency Petro with the country’s vast natural resource reserves.
“Here’s the document formalizing the provision of the certified Ayacucho oil field No.1 in the Orinoco Petroleum Belt for the support of El Petro cryptocurrency,”Maduro said on national TV.
Maduro said the field’s “reserves amount to five billion barrels of oil,” which is confirmed by the corresponding “international certificate.”
“Every single Petro will be backed by a barrel of oil,” Maduro said, promising to provide cryptocurrency mining throughout the country.
“We will set up a special team of cryptocurrency specialists so they will be engaged in mining in all states and municipalities of our country.”
The Venezuelan leader has also promised to allocate Arco Minero gold deposits from the Orinoco Belt along with the country’s diamond deposits.
The Venezuelan president explained the purpose was “to advance the country’s monetary sovereignty, to carry out financial transactions and to defeat the financial blockade against the country.”
“We are facing a financial war against the country which we have denounced, and the opposition has denied. There are business people who are unaffected by Donald Trump’s blockade. With this, we will join the 21st century,” said Maduro.
Finally, as Pepe Escobar concluded recently, it ain’t over till the fat (golden) lady sings. When the beginning of the end of the petrodollar system – established by Kissinger in tandem with the House of Saud way back in 1974 – becomes a fact on the ground, all eyes will be focused on the NSS counterpunch.
And now your more important USA stories which will influence the price of gold/silver
DOW: UP 63.21 OR .26%
NASDAQ UP 10.82 OR .16%
TRADING IN GRAPH FORM FOR THE DAY
NOT PROVIDED TONIGHT
Chicago PMI Soars To Highest Since 2011
Chicago Purchasing Managers Index shot higher in December, printing 67.6 – the highest since March 2011…
This is above the range of 29 economists surveyed (58-65.4) and 4 standard deviations above the expected print of 62.0.
Under the hood, everything looks rosy…
- Prices paid rose at a slower pace, signaling expansion
- New orders rose at a faster pace, signaling expansion
- Employment rose at a slower pace, signaling expansion
- Inventories rose at a faster pace, signaling expansion
- Supplier deliveries rose at a slower pace, signaling expansion
- Production rose at a faster pace, signaling expansion
- Order backlogs rose at a faster pace, signaling expansion
- Business activity has been positive for 12 months over the past year.
- Number of components rising vs last month: 4
Hannity Promises To Expose CNN & NBC News In “EpicFail”
“Tick tock.”
In a mysterious tweet yesterday evening to his 3.19 million followers, Fox News’ Sean Hannity offered a preview of what is to come from his show next week, warning that he “will expose” CNN and NBC News for what he calls a “#EpicFail.”
He followed up last night’s tweet…
With another tonight, highlighting the “fake news” being spewed forth from various media entities…
So @CNN fake news, HRC’s campaign PAID for the RUSSIAN lies in the dossier. That sounds like COLLUSION!! Lies paid for, to RIG an election. http://click1.email.dailycaller.com/ssskmzszchptfgrdtckjltzvrhtjlmfvlszhhfmvclsl_pcyvlydc.html …
CNN Obsesses Over Trump’s Tweet About The Dossier [VIDEO] Via @dailycaller
Trump’s tweeted only 6 times about dossier all year
dailycaller.com
We will just have to be patient to discover what he has in store for CNN and NBC, but as The Hill notes,Hannity has focused on what he calls “the destroy Trump fake news media” on most nights during his Fox News prime-time opinion program, particularly during his opening monologues that invariably include clips of CNN and MSNBC hosts and pundits going after the president in hyperbolic fashion.
Like many cable news hosts this week, Hannity is on vacation the week between Christmas and New Year’s Day. He will return to the airwaves on Jan. 2.
The past year has been a good one for the 55-year-old staunch conservative, with his candidate of choice in Trump taking office, his move from 10 p.m. to the more-watched time slot of 9 p.m. and his finish on top of the cable news ratings race following the move, averaging 3.2 million viewers.
I will try and see you TOMORROW night
THROUGHOUT THE HOLIDAYS AND THE FIRST WEEK OF THE NEW YEAR, I WILL BE VERY SPORADIC IN MY COMMENTARIES
I WILL AT LEAST PROVIDE FOR YOU THE COMEX DATA AS I FEEL THAT IS ESSENTIAL
HARVEY
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