President Joe Biden and his administration announced last month that it would begin refilling the Strategic Petroleum Reserve (SPR) by purchasing three million barrels of crude oil after wiping out approximately 40 percent of emergency stocks. Well, not anymore. Bloomberg reported that the White House had postponed replenishment after concluding that the offers it received […]
Archives for January 2023
December jobs report shows a slowing U.S. economy; 8 million people working multiple jobs to survive
The goldilocks jobs report sent a thrill down the leg of investors as the financial markets recorded an exceptional rally. All of the leading benchmark indexes were up more than one percent. The metals markets rallied, energy commodities posted gains, and crypto enjoyed a boost. Why? The U.S. economy added 223,000 new jobs in December, […]
Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis accidentally admits U.S. is in a recession
The consensus everywhere is that the United States will slip into a recession. Although economists and market analysts say the U.S. is bracing for an economic downturn, most Americans think the nation is already in a recession, according to a Politico-Morning Consult poll. Who else shares this opinion? The Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis. […]
Central banks purchased 400 tons of gold in first nine months of 2022
Are central banks preparing for the end of times? It certainly looks like it, as net purchases in the first nine months of 2022 doubled from the same period in the previous year. Here is a chart courtesy of Metals Focus, which compiled data from Bloomberg and U.S. Global Investors: