Investment in Australia’s resources sector is expected to peak at a record $85 billion this year, led by unprecedented spending in the oil and gas sector.
Consulting Group Wood Mackenzie predicts spending on upstream gas will reach $48 billion this year and $50 billion in 2014, accounting for around half of all resources investment in Australia over two years………………………………………..Full Article: Source

Gold has the worst 12-month outlook among key commodities markets and could see falls over the coming months, according to a client survey from Credit Suisse. The survey, published yesterday and based on responses from a poll of around 185 Credit Suisse clients, showed that 60% of investors named gold as the commodity with the worst forecast when compared with copper, crude oil and corn.
More than half of respondents expect gold to trade below $1,400 per ounce in a year’s time, down from the current $1,465 per ounce………………………………………..Full Article: Source

Commodities revenue at the 10 largest banks fell 54 percent in the first quarter from a year earlier, according to analytics company Coalition.
Commodities revenue of the top banks in the Coalition index dropped to $1.2 billion from $2.6 billion a year earlier, the London-based Coalition said in an e-mailed report today. Revenue fell 24 percent last year, it said in February…………………………………….Full Article: Source

Global investment banks suffered another bruising decline in commodity trading in the first three months of this year, new reports showed on Wednesday, with Morgan Stanley’s revenues collapsing to a quarter of what they were a year ago. Morgan Stanley Q1 commodity revenues fall 77 pct.
While industry heavyweights Goldman Sachs and JPMorgan reported slightly higher revenues year-on-year in detailed quarterly filings made with the SEC in the past week, the overall sector continues to be squeezed by increased regulation, tepid markets, and low levels of client activity…………………………………….Full Article: Source

Investors who want to begin investing in exchange traded funds have so many choices, it could be difficult to begin. There are many risks involved with using ETFs, just as there are plenty of rewards.
“To put things in perspective, there are probably six or seven times as many mutual funds as exchange-traded funds. So think of ETFs like tools in a toolbox. Some ETFs are basic tools that you might use every day. A large-cap index might be equivalent to a flat-head screwdriver that you use on a regular basis,” Michael Sapir of ProShares said……………………………………Full Article: Source

Major investors are sweeping their portfolios clear of commodities as they start to fret again that the Chinese economy could suffer a ‘hard landing’, hitting demand for the world’s raw materials.
Allocations to commodities among global fund managers have fallen to their lowest point in four-and-a-half years, according to a study of 231 money managers responsible for $661 billion worth of assets. One in four investors are now worried that a Chinese ‘hard landing’ is the greatest tail-risk – or known unknown – they face………………………………………Full Article: Source

Money managers are the most bearish on commodities in more than four years as a majority expected a weaker Chinese economy for the first time in 14 months, a Bank of America Corp. survey showed.
A net 29 percent of the fund managers surveyed were underweight the asset class in May as their positions “collapsed” to the lowest level since December 2008. One in four now consider a “hard landing” in China as the biggest risk to their investments. The bank surveyed professional investors who together oversee $517 billion………………………………………Full Article: Source

Prolonged low inflation has sent commodities allocations among fund managers to a four-year low, according to a new survey. A quarter of respondents to the Bank of America Merrill Lynch’s monthly poll on manager sentiment said a commodity collapse is the number one tail risk, an increase from 18% in April.
The panel of 231 managers, with a combined £432bn of assets under management worldwide, have responded to the perceived threat by reducing allocations to commodities and emerging markets and upping their weighting to bonds………………………………………Full Article: Source

Are diamonds an investor’s best friend? The collapse of gold prices earlier this spring seems to have been met with a kind of muted elation from those promoting the idea that diamonds, like the precious metal, could become a recognized asset class and another form of haven investment.
It’s perfect timing for the diamond industry: With an exchange-traded fund backed by diamonds due to roll out sometime next year, once it has received the stamp of approval from the U.S. Securities & Exchange Commission, supporters of the idea admit that they need to educate investors in North America on the advantages of diamonds as investments………………………………………Full Article: Source

Investors withdrew a record $9.3 billion from commodity exchange-traded products as gold sales pushed the metal into a bear market, BlackRock Inc (BLK) said. The outflow for commodities in April pushed the total for the first four months this year to $17.8 billion, compared with inflows of $6 billion for the same period last year, BlackRock said in a report dated April 30.
The previous record for commodity sales was $5.2 billion in February. Gold outflows were an all-time high of $8.7 billion last month as the metal slid to a two-year low in London on April 16, two sessions after falling into a bear market………………………………….Full Article: Source

The Australian, Canadian and New Zealand dollars may be set for a decline, dragged down by a slowdown in China and a sharp fall in commodity prices. Tuesday’s 0.8 percent slide by the Aussie versus the U.S. dollar, prompted by a rate cut, was just a foretaste.
The Australian and New Zealand dollars are up 70 percent against the U.S. dollar since late 2008, driven up by near-zero rates in many developed countries. The euro zone crisis also led investors and central bank reserve managers to seek higher-yield, low-risk assets………………………………………..Full Article: Source

Jim Rogers gave us the scoop on his latest interests in agriculture. Rogers pointed to several factors he believes will push agricultural commodities prices much higher in the years ahead.
One factor is demographics. Farmers across the world are aging and it’s not a sector attracting a lot of young career-hunters. Another key reason for higher prices: demand is outpacing supply………………………………………..Full Article: Source

Though credited with stabilizing gold price, the recent gold-buying spree in China reveals a lack of investment options for Chinese households looking to retain asset value. Despite a new price swing, the precious metal will stay buoyant at 1,542 US dollars per ounce for 2013, thanks in part to strong retail demand from China and India, predicted HSBC recently.
Chinese households came under the spotlight with their generous purchase of the yellow metal amid a growing chorus to short-sell gold to shore up the dollar and the US economy. Chinese buyers have swarmed into retail stores in the mainland and Hong Kong over the past two weeks, snapping up 300 tons of gold, according Chinese media reports………………………………………..Full Article: Source

While gold might be losing shine due to falling prices, silver had dimmed last year itself. Demand and imports into India fell 80 per cent in 2012. The fall in demand has a direct reflection on import, though India produces sizable silver, unlike gold where the country is totally import-dependent.
The fall in demand for silver is attributed to a fall in investment. In 2012, India’s silver demand for investment was just 300 tonnes, against 1,549 tonnes in 2011, according to Thomson Reuters GFMS, which compiles the data. India’s total demand for silver was 3,234 tonnes in 2012 against 4,437 tonnes in 2011……………………………………….Full Article: Source

For those of you who have been following the precious metals sector you know that things aren’t going too well currently. Silver prices have fallen ~25% year to date, gold has fallen ~16% year to date, and platinum has fallen ~8% year to date.
The general trend of the precious metals sector, one of downward momentum and negative investor sentiment, looks to continue, with no telling when the rebound will occur. Last week was especially dismal for investors when gold and silver prices tumbled 10 and 12 percent respectively. The only difference: gold rebounded a little whereas silver continued to fall………………………………………..Full Article: Source

The flow of investments out of commodities slowed down sharply in March to a net $2.6bn from $4bn in February. The main reason for this slowdown was a halving in the value of funds withdrawn from precious metals ETPs to $2.6bn.
Inflows to commodity indices stayed positive but at just $200m, were a long way below the February total of $1.4bn, while there was a small pickup in commodity structured products, which saw $320m of new issuance………………………………………..Full Article: Source

Global investment banks have adjusted near-term price forecasts for energy, metals and agricultural commodities after the mid-April market tumble.Brent crude oil fell below $100 a barrel the first time in nine months; gold suffered its biggest loss in dollar terms; and copper sunk to an 18-month low after the selloff, triggered by worries of stagnating China growth, fresh concerns about the euro zone and U.S. economic uncertainty.
Goldman Sachs, Wall Street’s most influential name in commodities, has lowered its forecast for Brent crude in the second quarter, while turning bullish on copper due to inventory drawdowns in China. It also withdrew its previous call to short gold, as bullion prices moved back above $1,400 an ounce………………………………………..Full Article: Source

Investors are staying away from commodities, fearing that the worst is yet to come after prices plunged in April on signs of slower world economic growth.Wealth managers have been pulling money from commodities since the start of the year, culminating in a major sell off in April when investors dumped gold, copper and oil.Poor economic data from China, Europe and the United States has hit global growth forecasts, making investors reassess the demand for raw materials.
The 19-commodity Thomson Reuters-Jefferies CRB index was down almost 6 percent following April’s rout and is still off some 4 percent since the start of the year………………………………………..Full Article: Source

Large speculators returned as sellers of precious metals futures and options on the Comex division of the New York Mercantile Exchange and the Nymex, trimming back exposure in all precious metals and slashing gold positions, according to U.S. government data.
For the week ended April 23, large speculators in the Commodity Futures Trading Commission’s weekly commitment of traders report saw their net-long positions in precious metals fall across the board, with the gold net-long position in disaggregated reports fall to its lowest level since mid-March. For the legacy report, the gold net-long is the smallest since early November 2008. Reductions in silver and the platinum group metals were less severe, but still saw a reduction. In copper, speculators reduced their net-short position………………………………………..Full Article: Source

Although the speed and scale of the fall has raised eyebrows, it may be that the world is simply entering a seasonal soft patch, as it did last year. And there are hardly any signs of a major investment shift away from risky assets.
If anything, the sell-off may work in favour of investors who like riskier assets, as cheaper raw materials could allow major central banks such as the Federal Reserve and the Bank of Japan to carry on pumping cash without stoking inflation………………………………………..Full Article: Source

Jim Rogers, who predicted a commodity rally in 1999, said he’s ready to buy gold when it hits bottom, but with prices still climbing after 9 days he may have missed it. Jim Rogers, who predicted a commodity rally in 1999, said he may buy gold if a bear market deepens and prices fall to $1,300 an ounce or below.
Bullion for immediate delivery tumbled to $1,321.95 on April 16, the lowest since January 2011, stoking a frenzy among coin and jewelry buyers from the U.S. to India and Australia. Rogers, the chairman of Singapore-based Rogers Holdings, hasn’t bought any bullion after the slump, he said in an interview………………………………………..Full Article: Source

The New York-based hedge fund manager has long stuck by his thesis that gold will someday be a powerful hedge against inflation, and it was no different on the investor call he held, two people who listened to the call said.
John Reade, a partner at Paulson & Co, said that the firm, which oversees about $18 billion, is not veering off its course even as he cautioned that there could be more price fluctuations in the short term………………………………………..Full Article: Source

What is a “Safe-Haven”? It should be defined as a long-term investment that holds its value internationally, in extreme financial times. Is gold one of these? After all, it has fallen from $1,921 at its peak to $1,344 at its trough.
This is a 30% fall over the last year plus. At one time George Soros described gold as the “Ultimate Safe-Haven”, before saying it was a “disappointing Safe-Haven”. Alan Greenspan described gold as being “money in extremis.”……………………………………….Full Article: Source

If you are invested in the lofty stock markets of the United States or Japan, legendary investor Jim Rogers has a message for you …Euphoric gains always lead to hangover pains – it’s just a matter of when.
“This is artificial, as I’ve [repeatedly] said,” Rogers told Money Morning during an exclusive interview Sunday night. “This is the first time in recorded history where nearly all the central banks in all countries are pumping out lots of money, debasing their currencies, printing money. I’ve never seen this in history, and now we’ve got everybody – or nearly everybody – doing it.”……………………………………….Full Article: Source

Hedge funds increased bets on gold rallying after prices plunged the most in 33 years, underscoring billionaire John Paulson’s view that bullion will rebound.
Fund managers and other speculators increased net-long positions in gold by 9.8 percent to 61,579 futures and options in the week ended April 16, U.S. Commodity Futures Trading Commission data show. Investors turned bullish on silver for the first time in three weeks. Wagers on higher prices across 18 U.S.-traded raw materials climbed 5.1 percent to 453,467 contracts, the first gain in three weeks………………………………………..Full Article: Source

The collapse in the gold price is the result of market manipulation by huge overseas bullion-price speculators rather than an end to the conditions which drove prices sky-high, says one local gold dealer.
Brent Hindman of New Zealand Mint, a private business which sells bullion to investors here and overseas, said there had been a lot of unnecessary hand-wringing over the recent gold price plunge while speculators would be happy with recent events………………………………………..Full Article: Source

Hedge funds and other large speculators increased their net bet on higher gold prices during the week the market recorded its largest-ever two-day selloff, according to government data released on Friday.
Money managers cut the number of bets on lower gold prices by 8.2% during the week ended Tuesday and left their amount of bets on higher prices nearly unchanged, according to data from the Commodity Futures Trading Commission………………………………………..Full Article: Source

Central banks around the globe are expected to continue with gold purchase and activity thus far this year has been firmly on the demand side, stated London based Barclays in its recent market analysis.
Reported data to February show net buying of 29.7 tons so far, with limited appetite to sell. The bank expects net central bank buying to reach 300 tons in 2013 and a similar magnitude for 2014………………………………………..Full Article: Source

You find me a commodity that’s heading higher and I’ll find you a way to play it. Lately the “finding” has gotten a little harder. Price action across the board in commodities hasn’t given us many uptrending commodities – that is, except for one.
Today I want to discuss a commodity that sidestepped this week’s deluge. Instead of a 10+% haircut like we saw in gold, silver, platinum and oil, this commodity held its own. On the year, it’s up 18%. Today, I’ll share with you my four favorite ways to play it……………………………………….Full Article: Source

Investors are reassessing commodities after sharp price falls and years of poor returns, but traders say the long-term outlook is still promising for those with specialized expertise. Global demand for raw materials will continue to increase as the populations of China and other emerging economies consume more, offering support for prices and creating local shortages and price imbalances that can provide attractive margins.
But those margins will be best captured by professionals in the big trading houses and specialists in investment banks or funds, rather than through passive investment funds that just track indexes…………………………………….Full Article: Source

Global investors were less optimistic about the global economy in April as the growth outlook for China deteriorated, weighing on commodity and equity allocations, a closely-watched survey of fund managers showed.
The monthly survey from Bank of America Merrill Lynch, published on Tuesday, showed a net 18 percent of investors underweight commodities, the worst level since January 2009. Fund managers were surveyed before a sharp sell-off in gold and the release of weak Chinese data this week. The index reading shows the difference between overweight and underweight positions…………………………………….Full Article: Source

The status of commodities as a distinct asset class is under threat following another lousy start to the year for investors. Total returns on the two major commodity indices, the Standard and Poor’s Goldman Sachs Commodity Index and the Dow Jones-UBS Commodity Index, show losses of 4.4% and 3.7% respectively so far this year, while an investment in the S&P 500 equity index is up 12%, including dividends.
Both major commodity indices were flat in 2012, with investors missing out on a 16% return on equities. With the exception of the bull market in 2007-2008, commodities have generally underperformed equities since 1989…………………………………….Full Article: Source

We just saw a rather ugly spate of data from China, and the result has been a bit of a selloff in markets, from Asia to the U.S. Not all stocks have been held back. Netflix, for instance, just had its price target raised at Goldman Sachs and rallied 5% to start the week. But commodity stocks as a whole are taking a beating. And don’t expect the pain to end anytime soon.
You see, industrial demand from China remains the single-biggest driver of pricing for a host of materials and commodities. Base metals, from steel to copper to aluminum, and energy commodities like oil and coal and natural gas are all getting brutalized by the China slowdown………………………………………..Full Article: Source

Silver futures were down sharply on Monday, falling by as much as 8% to hit the lowest level since November 2010 as investors continued to liquidate positions after prices broke below key support levels. On the Comex division of the New York Mercantile Exchange, silver futures for May delivery traded at USD24.37 a troy ounce during European morning trade, down 7.5% on the day.
Comex silver prices fell by as much as 8.5% earlier in the session to hit a daily low of USD24.09 a troy ounce, the weakest level since November 3, 2010. Silver prices were likely to find support at USD23.75 a troy ounce, the low from October 29, 2010 and resistance at USD25.03, the high from November 3, 2010………………………………………..Full Article: Source

Your investment portfolio already has stocks and bonds. Do you need to add commodities such as soybeans, copper and oil as well? Some experts argue that you should—and that this may be a good moment in which to make the move.
Studies have found that over a period of a decade or more, adding a basket of commodities to an investment portfolio can reduce volatility and provide strong protection against inflation………………………………………..Full Article: Source

So, how many of you are surprised to see silver trading down below $26 in the futures? As you know, I, for one, am not. In fact, I have been looking for the $22-24 region in silver for a longer term buying opportunity for two years now since silver topped almost exactly 2 years ago.
But, I do owe you an apology at this time, as I did not prepare you for this decline to occur from only the 28 region, whereas I thought we would move to at least the 29 region before this last decline began………………………………………..Full Article: Source

Wall Street is unhappy with the performance of ExxonMobil’s share price. In the race of Big Oil share prices, Chevron is clearly winning. The discussion of relative share price performance is recently focusing on two things that distinguish the two oil giants. Unlike ExxonMobil, Chevron opted to stay out of Iraq and hasn’t yet purchased a US shale gas company. This begs the question: Who was right?
Wall Street is notorious for taking a short term, even quarterly, view. ExxonMobil has made a business out of taking the long view……………………………………..Full Article: Source

Asia-Pacific countries are the best-placed to supply the region’s future commodity demand, but rather than encouraging mining it appears they are making it harder for explorers and producers.
Virtually every key resource-rich nation in the region slipped in annual rankings compiled by the Fraser Institute, a Canadian-based free-market think-tank that surveyed 742 mining companies for its report, released in February. And it’s not just that Asian commodity producers slipped, the results showed that Indonesia was the worst mining jurisdiction, and was joined in the bottom 10 by Vietnam and the Philippines……………………………………..Full Article: Source

JPMorgan Chase & Co. (JPM), the largest U.S. bank by assets and the top investment bank by fees, is questioning the so-called universal bank model’s future.
Top-tier investment banks are “uninvestable at this point with a risk of spinoff from universal banks,” JPMorgan analysts led by London-based Kian Abouhossein wrote in a research note today. They cited potential rule changes and curbs on capital and funding……………………………………..Full Article: Source

Hedge funds reduced bets on a commodity rally by the most since 2008 as rising supplies of everything from copper to sugar and slowing U.S. growth drove prices to the biggest slump in six months.
Speculators cut net-long positions across 18 U.S. futures and options by 31 percent to 468,780 contracts in the week ended April 2, the most since October 2008, U.S. Commodity Futures Trading Commission data show. Investors are betting on a decline in silver for the first time and have record bearish positions in copper and sugar. Corn wagers dropped the most since June 2010, leading the biggest ever decline in agricultural holdings………………………………………..Full Article: Source

Hedge funds and other big speculators have cut their bullish bets on commodities by the most since February, trade data showed on Friday, amid signs of stagnating U.S. economic recovery and uncertainty over raw materials demand.
Money managers slashed by $9.7 billion their net-long holdings across 22 commodities to $59.7 billion during the week to April 2, according to Reuters calculations of data released by the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC)………………………………………..Full Article: Source

Investor sentiment is the single most important factor driving gold prices higher or lower, Says CPM Group MD, Jeff Christian. And, it is for this reason that gold prices are likely to move lower this year.
Christian explains that more than a third of the independent variables that seem to affect gold prices are related to investment demand “and it’s not so much the underlying economic environment as it is investors’ interpretation and sentiments towards the underlying economic environment that are really what’s important.”……………………………………….Full Article: Source

After poor performance in the last few months, some investors have cut back their exposure to commodities and boosted positions in equities. While there are cyclical reasons to support this asset allocation decision, BofAML’s most recent work suggests commodity and equity returns are comparable in the very long run.
The S&P GSCI TR index only has history going back to 1970, while DJ UBS and MLCX TR indices merely date back to 1990. The Bank built a commodity index going back to 1930 and calculated average returns of 8% with a standard deviation of 11% in the 1930-2013 period, compared to 11% returns and 16% deviation for equities (S&P 500 TR)………………………………………..Full Article: Source

The recent price action of gold has been frustrating for some people. The precious metal logged its second consecutive quarterly loss and remains in consolidation mode amid the greatest financial crisis since the Great Depression. However, there are still plenty of buyers around the world that are interested in gold.
Gold finished 2012 with a solid 7 percent gain, capping its longest steak of annual gains since at least 1920. Despite the performance, gold entered the new year on weakness. The fourth quarter was gold’s weakest quarter in four years and the decline has yet to stop………………………………………..Full Article: Source

If you slept through the first quarter in commodity markets, you didn’t miss much.The Dow Jones-UBS Commodity Index fell 1.1% in the first quarter, and the lackluster performance could add further fuel to detractors’ argument that the commodity supercycle is over for now. The index fell 1.1% in 2012 after declining 13% in 2011.
Most commodity markets are reflecting a modest outlook for the global economy, crimped by slackening Chinese demand, uncertain growth prospects in the U.S. and Europe, adequate stores of raw materials, and a strengthening U.S. dollar undercutting commodity prices. A stronger dollar typically makes dollar-denominated commodities more expensive in other currencies………………………………………..Full Article: Source

Investors are boosting wagers on higher commodity prices at the fastest pace in almost four years, rebounding from the least bullish position since 2009, on signs that the U.S. is accelerating and Europe’s debt crisis is easing.
Hedge funds and other large speculators increased net-long positions across 18 U.S. futures and options by 10 percent to 679,191 contracts in the week ended March 26, data from the Commodity Futures Trading Commission show. The bets surged 67 percent in three weeks, the biggest advance since May 2009. Wagers on higher oil prices climbed the most this year, while those for cattle are at a six-week high………………………………………..Full Article: Source

You no doubt have heard it said: A market requires buying, a lot of buying, to rise, but it can fall for any reason. Really; I hope you heard that before now because like so much of what passes for perceived wisdom on Wall Street, it is wrong, worthy only of the Annals of Unsubstantiated Musings, and therefore would not be said by me.
As a case in point, I recall a March 1989 conversation with a bond market technician who said, almost in passing, “There is not a lot for sale out there.” Yields have declined ever since then. Similarly, stocks have been able to rise in the face of continued outflows from mutual funds as buyers are willing, and indeed forced, to accumulate them at higher prices. Markets that do not sell off on bad news can rise with only minimal buying interest………………………………………..Full Article: Source

Bloomberg reported recently that Russia is now the world’s biggest gold buyer, its central bank having added 570 tonnes (18.3 million troy ounces) over the past decade. At $1,650/ounce, that’s $30.1 billion worth of gold.
Russia isn’t alone, of course. Central banks as a group have been net buyers of gold for at least two years now. But the 2012 data trickling out shows that the amount of tonnage being added is breaking records. Based on current data, the net increase in central bank gold buying for 2012 was 14.8 million troy ounces - and that’s before the final 2012 figures are in for all countries………………………………………..Full Article: Source

According to Goldman Sachs, in 2011 China added $1.3 trillion to global growth. This is the equivalent of adding an economy the size of Greece to the global economy every 12.5 weeks or an economy the size of Australia over the course of the year. In 2012, if you look at all four BRIC (Brazil, Russia, India and China) economies combined, they added $2.2 trillion to global growth.
This is the equivalent of one economy the size of Italy — the eighth-largest economy in the world — over the course of the year. I looked at broad economic data in the U.S., the Eurozone and China, such as industrial production, consumer spending and debt-to-GDP ratios, to present a vision of where we are in the economic cycle………………………………………..Full Article: Source

When you turn on the faucet of your kitchen sink or bathroom shower, it’s easy to forget that behind the water is a really big business. From finding a clean source, to purifying it, and getting it into your home, there are plenty of ways to profit from good old H2O. And the demand for safe, clean water in every corner of the world has never been higher.
We were reminded of its importance last week with the United Nation’s 20th annual World Water Day. Connecticut Water Services (CTWS) marked the occasion by ringing the closing bell at the Nasdaq marketsite. ……………………………………….Full Article: Source