Sprott Debuts Physical Platinum-Palladium Fund
As the end of the year draws closer, tensions in Washington D.C. are starting to boil as gridlock may push us over the much-feared “fiscal cliff” and back into recession. Diminishing hopes that policymakers can strike a deal before the deadline has kept a lid on confidence while prices have remained fairly stable, which may be setting up stock markets for a disastrous open in 2013. Amid the mixed landscape, Toronto-based Sprott Asset Management rolled out a physical platinum and palladium fund on the NYSE [for more economic news and analysis subscribe to our free newsletter].
Physical White Metals ETF (WITE): Two Years Later
Two years ago, ETF Securities launched the first ever physically-backed precious metals ETF that focuses exclusively on silver, platinum and palladium. Since its inception in December 2010, WITE has accumulated just over $40 million in assets under management and trades on average over 3,000 shares daily. As the global market moves steadily into recovery, WITE remains a strong and moderately-priced portfolio for commodity investors [for more precious metals news and analysis subscribe to our free newsletter].
Inside Citi’s 2013 Precious Metals Outlook
As 2012 nears its close, investors are beginning to look toward a new year, one that will hopefully be less volatile for the commodity world. The precious metals world, in particular, saw a fair amount of volatility through out the past year as this elite group of four has rarely had a quiet period. With the approaching fiscal cliff and economic uncertainty fresh in the minds of many, predicting where these commodities will end up next year has become a hobby of analysts all across the market [for more precious metals news and analysis subscribe to our free newsletter].
3 Metals Outshining Gold
As is typical for the commodity world, all eyes have been fixated on gold in recent months. The precious metal has been under a microscope since the announcement of QE3 and the impending fiscal cliff. Some have called for gold to surge to new historical highs, while others are not quite so sure. But one thing is certain, gold is getting handsomely outperformed by all three of its precious metal counterparts in recent weeks, as the safe haven metal has failed to keep pace as of late [for more precious metals news and analysis subscribe to our free newsletter].
PIMCO Recommends Hard Commodities to Weather Inflation
Joining the likes of Jim Rogers and George Soros, PIMCO has now thrown its hat into the hard asset ring. As the economic outlook for the U.S. has continually grown more and more bleak, we have seen a number of investors and experts hop on the commodities train as the best way to protect yourself from coming inflation. In PIMCO’s most recent economic outlook, the firm commented on the current state of the markets, the impact of QE3, and trends they see developing in the coming years, one of which was inflation [for more economic news and analysis subscribe to our free newsletter].
Gold, Copper, Platinum Stuck In Contango
As traders try to make their way through the volatile and often dangerous world of commodities, the futures curve is one of the most important aspects to focus on. Many traders look for contangoed curves to either make savvy trades or avoid potential blunders for their portfolio. Contango, the process by which near month futures are cheaper than those expiring further into the future, is often caused by storage costs of hard assets, but can also be a reflection of future price expectations. In this iteration of our contango report, we focus on three key metals for investors to keep an eye on [for more information on commodities in contango subscribe to our free newsletter].
Platinum/Gold Ratio Suggests Economic Slowdown
Investors and analysts have a wide variety of different ratios that they focus on to get a better read on the market. Some like to look toward the S&P 500/gold ratio while others find solace in P/E figures. However, there is one lesser-known metric that has its roots firmly planted in the commodity world. The platinum/gold ratio is a precious metals combination that many use to gauge how markets are performing. While it may sound a bit unorthodox at first, there is sound reasoning behind watching this comparative metric [for more precious metals news and analysis subscribe to our free newsletter].
For Day Traders: The Most Liquid ETF for Every Commodity
The introduction of commodity ETFs brought trading to a whole new level, as your average retail investor now has the opportunity to trade something like natural gas futures through a single ticker. As the years have gone on, a number of these products have grown to be some of the most widely-used financial instruments for their respective commodity. One advantage to ETFs, however, is that liquidity is not hindered by average volume due the the creation process. Instead, there will just be some funds that are more liquid and tradable than others [for more commodity ETF news and analysis subscribe to our free newsletter].
For Long Term Investors: The Cheapest ETF for Every Commodity
After gathering more than $1 trillion in total assets under management, ETFs have cemented their place in the financial world. Among the universe of nearly 1,500 products, commodity funds have garnered a lot of attention, as these products have democratized an asset class that was once difficult to reach by retail investors. Now, there are a number of exchange-traded options to help you gain exposure to your favorite hard assets, all at a low cost.
Three ETFs To Play the South African Mining Strike
The South African mining strike that began on September 10th has continued to spread throughout the country. As the strike has picked up momentum, investors have begun to worry about the impact on commodities. South Africa is one of the most resource-rich nations on earth, as its soil is home to an abundance of hard assets, especially precious metals. The current strike first impacted the platinum and palladium industry, but quickly spread to the gold industry as well. Dozens have been killed in the protests that involve a fight for better working conditions and more fair wages.
