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"Stocks in the Spotlight"
-Futures -
March -- 5 -- 2010
UPDATED WEEKLY
PRECIOUS METALS
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GOLD (CMX) |
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SILVER (CMX) |
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PLATINUM (NYM) |
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| Old Yeller closed at
$1,135.200, up + $16.30
on the week and up
+ $16.30 for
March (weekly close). The "weekly" closing high is $1,175.50 (11/27/09). Gold traded as high as 1210 in intraday trading before backing off.
Blame a stronger dollar on a falling euro as Greece falls apart. It seems the metals and the dollar gained ground
this past week. Looking at the charts above we can see the general trend is still higher on all the metals, with gold closing back over the $1,100 to the ounce level for the 3rd week and the trend still looks like higher ground ahead. Gold gained $135.10 just in the month of November, and lost - $79.30 for December (weekly close), off - $12.40 in January but gained $35.10 in February. Sell dollars and buy gold. Silver closed at $1738 to the troy ounce ($17.38 oz.), up for the 4th week after 4 weeks of lower ground. Silver was able to climb over the $1911 level 13 weeks ago, another record high. The new record weekly closing high of $1,911.00, set on 12/4/09. The metals have been strong because of a weak dollar, but the dollar has been gaining strength as the euro falls. Europe is having big financial problems, which make the dollar more attractive. Expect the dollar to trade in a tight area for awhile. OK to buy gold if it backs off near the strong support at the $950 level. Platinum is on a steady up trend, with less drastic moves then gold and silver, and slight support at the $1400 level. Buy the stock in the mining companies in stead of the actual metal.. |
CURRENCY
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British Pound |
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Euro |
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Japanese Yen |
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| The pound lost on
for week 6, after gaining 1 week, after losing 1 week, while the euro gained for week 2, after losing 4 weeks, after gaining 1 week. The yen lost for week
5, after gaining 2 weeks, after losing 6 weeks. The euro has remained over the dollar for 375 straight weeks with the base near
the 125 level (center chart above). The dollar had been losing ground for several months, mostly due to longer term debt concerns because of heavy borrowing by our government, but has been gaining ground recently. The recent rebound in the dollar is due to inflation worries, plus the problems with a few euro countries with over spending. |
OIL - LIGHT CRUDE
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LIGHT CRUDE (NYM) |
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Friday's close (March's futures) is $81.50 a barrel, versus the week before at $79.66, three weeks ago at $79.81 and $74.13 four weeks ago. Fifty nine weeks ago a barrel of oil closed at $33.87, a price not seen since February/ 2004. The record "weekly" closing high is $146.65 a barrel on 7/11/08. The price of a barrel of oil closed back over the $80 level after staying under it for 6 weeks, back over the $70 level for week 11, over the $60 level for week 33 and over the $50 level for week 50, after remaining under it for 16 weeks. The record high of $146.65 was set 80 weeks ago. The $75 support level seems to have given in to higher prices, but there is no reason for oil to climb much higher over the near term. Look for oil prices to back off soon. Oil prices effect the entire world because, in one way or another, we all use oil
Crude Oil prices were at a low of $11.26 a barrel in February of 1999.
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MEMBER LIST |
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J.R. Budke has been a stock broker since 1981, an options principle since 1982 and a branch office manager since 1987. He is currently inactive as a stockbroker as of 12/31/99. J.R. has been writing the articles and opinions for the Stocks in the Spotlight, in conjunction with the editor B.G. Santos, since 1990. The stories and stocks found on this site, or any "Stocks in the spotlight" written material, are the opinions of J.R. Budke unless other wise stated and are opinions only and are not to be construed as advice. You should not purchase any stocks solely on the opinions found on the "Stocks in the Spotlight's" web site or in any of it's written material. You should also be aware that options are not for everybody and carry a high degree of risk. You should always consult with your broker or investment advisor before purchasing any stock. |
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