The John Brimelow Report
Physical demand has gone crazy" - Mitsui
Tuesday, Jan 4, 2004
Indian ex-duty premiums: AM $8.86, PM $9.32, with world gold at $429.30 and $426.50. Very high; suggestive of heavy Indian demand.
The Shanghai Gold Exchange prices imply premiums to world gold of $3.59 to $4.00, levels last seen in the late April/ early May downswing last year.
Mitsui-London remarks today
"Physical demand has gone crazy, and now everyone is looking for supplies for India, Turkey and the Mid East."
The second attachment is a bar chart of Turkish imports, courtesy Refco Research. While the magnitude of the off take acceleration is obvious, what is actually more impressive is the contrast with previous November/December periods. Usually this is a very weak phase of the year.
Japan re opened for a half day to find world gold down over $15 from the close on December 28th. Naturally this led to limit down moves. All contracts closed down the 40 yen limit, although the equivalent of 7,211 Comex lots did trade, with open interest up 1,335 Comex equivalent. Some anticipate Japanese buying.
NY yesterday traded a very heavy 93,540 lots, with open interest slipping 7,743 contracts (another 24 tonnes.) UBS judiciously remarks:
"Since last Tuesday…Comex open interest indicates that at least 1.23moz of long liquidation took place on Wednesday and Thursday; Friday’s price action implies more speculative selling …The net long gold position probably stands at about 15-16 million ounces, the smallest long position since the end of October."
Gold since Christmas has twice come in for very heavy bouts of selling in New York (today is possibly a third, with an estimated 71,000 contracts trading). This has had the effect of adversely altering the relationships the metal has been recently showing with older parameters. HSBC says
"it is difficult to explain the recent fall in gold prices from over USD450/oz to under USD430/oz simply by reference to currency moves alone…based on an exchange rate of 1.35 against the euro, and on the trading relationship which has been in place since August 2003, the gold price should be around USD445/oz."
Gold’s fall preceded and exceeded the fall in the Euro, and preceded, at least, the punishment base metals have taken today. Probably these developments are related. The fact remains premiums and anecdotes in the physical market resemble serious lows, not highs.
The noted bear points out that the standard measures of public involvement in gold were down year-on year, yet gold was up. He asserts this is puzzling, yet the explanation is obvious: strong off take by the consuming countries. He does not mention Turkey, about which in fact Mitsui is very well informed by direct involvement.
JB