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Weekly Survey of Gold and Silver Prices
Single Ounce Silver Market Price Benchmark
Money Daily has been providing business and financial market news, views, and coverage on a nearly continuous basis since 2006. Complete archives are available at moneydaily.blogspot.com.
PRIOR COVERAGE:
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Friday, June 13, 2025, 9:24 am ET The week was coming to an end without much excitement, so Israel took the initiative, kicking off WWIII by bombing Iran, blowing up multiple nuclear-related sites and killing top military officials with targeted missile strikes. Metaphorically, shockwaves from the unprovoked attack were felt worldwide. In Japan, China and the Far East, stock indices were down across the board. In Europe, the same, with Germany's DAX and Spain's IBEX taking the brunt of the selling, each down more than one percent. England's FTSE opened down 60 points, but recovered to nearly unchanged midday. Apparently, the Brits feel that war is good for stocks, which, in the case of arms suppliers is probably true, but overall, it's a pretty poor proxy for making money in the stock market. Stocks like Lockheed Martin, Raytheon, and other defense contractors will likely benefit from increased tensions, but, for the most part, war is good for nothing more than increasing the deep state's stranglehold on the world's economy. President Trump, who campaigned on being a "peace president" said the U.S. had nothing to do with the strike on Iran, which is almost certain to be untrue, just like saying the U.S. knew nothing about the drone attacks on Russia's nuclear-capable bombers a few weeks ago. So much for Trump's image and his deal-making skills. He had been trying to persuade Iran to halt its nuclear program, which the nation said was purely for peaceful purposes, but failed to convince the Iranians to seek a peaceful solution. This morning, he's warning Iran to "make a deal", supposedly intended to scare them off any retaliation against the belligerent aggressors in Tel Aviv. The whole affair - and on a larger scale - the entirety of international geo-politics reeks of deep state undertones. South Carolina Senator Lindsay Graham is absolutely thrilled at the prospect of World War III, tweeting Thursday night, "It's on." Many Americans wish the senator would go and do his own fighting instead of cheering on death and destruction around the world. As far as U.S. stocks are concerned, stock futures are down, but well off their lows from earlier. at 9:00 am ET, Dow futures are down 400 points. NASDAQ futures are off 270, and S&P futures are down more than 50. It would be a shame to see the little gains for the week wiped out on Friday, but, the way the game is being played, there are probably plenty of insiders with options plays that will benefit from a downturn, though, realistically, markets are likely to turn positive as the session develops. It's just a sick set-up. As of Thursday's close, the Dow had posted a gain of 204 points for the week. NASDAQ was higher by 132 points, and the S&P was up nearly 45 points. Screams of all-time highs had been heard through the canyons of lower Manhattan for the past two weeks. Perish the thought that a little World War would upset such carefully-crafted plans. One of the beneficiaries of the Iran strikes is gold, which actually is at an all-time high, hitting $3,456.80 per ounce prior to the opening bell. Silver, since it had its moment in the sun earlier this week, is not participating in the rally, despite it being an essential element in missile technology. The people in charge of your money just can't allow anything that was money for more than 5,000 years to rise to its true level, which, using a gold:silver ratio of 20, would be around $172 an ounce. The military needs that cheap silver, you know, so they can blow up things without going too far over budget. Oil was the commodity most affected in a positive way. Just as gas prices were hitting multiple-year lows, WTI crude oil spiked to nearly $76 overnight. Back in early May, WTI was trading in the 50s. So, Israel, on the pretext of destroying Iran's nuclear capability (completely unproven), has saved the U.S. shale industry. Pick a side. Globalists are such a-holes. Trump's presidency, thus far, is a dismal failure on geo-political grounds and just about everything else.
At the Close, Thursday, June 12, 2025:
Thursday, June 12, 2025, 9:21 am ET Trading has been on the old hag side of ugly so far this week, with choppiness and uncertainty evident in trading patterns that shift on any headline. Wednesday's positive slant on May's "improving" CPI reading was thrust into the red mid-afternoon. Apparently, there were some people not convinced that mature companies should be carrying price:earnings ratios above 30 or discovering that AI is only as smart and accurate as information fed into it. The novel concept that people think and computers can only compute is finally making inroads to the investment community, along with some rationalization of the massive expense involved to power the slavish AI interfaces that feed the public with knowledge already known. While the AI "revolution" may not be as unique or world-changing as previously thought, there are more pressing matters like global unrest, distrust of institutions, a couple of proxy wars and the real possibility of a currency crisis. Futures are pointing to a red opening Thursday, with PPI in May advancing 0.1 percent after a 0.2 percent decline in April and an 0.1 drop in March. That reading got little more than a yawn pre-market. Despite getting somewhat of a rise, Dow futures remain moribund, down 165 points. NASDAQ futures have cut their losses in half, down 42 points, with S&P futures down 16. Somewhere, somebody has sensed a disturbance in the farce. Checking the Shiller PE, it is solid at 37.05, but down 0.11 on Wednesday. It's only a few standard deviations from the median PE of 16.04, with data only dating back to the 1880, so the fact that it's at the third highest level - and higher than it was at the beginning of the Great Depression, isn't anything to be concerned about since AI and/or bitcoin will solve all the world's problems. Allegedly. The financial media continues to harp on about how close stocks are to all-time highs, when, in fact, they're not anywhere close. Just because the S&P recently cruised past 6,000 again does not necessarily imply that the all-time high of 6,144.15 is within range. Sure, it's only 2.5% higher, but the number of unresolved issues in the current environment cannot be counted on one hand, which is troubling. Don't those people rioting in Los Angeles know that stocks are doing well? Apparently, they need more AI learning or bitcoin back in their home countries than Americans can afford, so, burning cars, looting, and general aberrant behavior will continue to be the order of the day until they're rounded up and shipped off to whence they came. That's the story the Trump administration has laid out, and, from all indications, they're sticking to it. These people, who supposedly take on the jobs that Americans are reluctant to perform, are leaving, but, not to worry, Google and Microsoft's AI bots can pick fruit and do laundry with the best of them, allegedly. On top of that, Trump is threatening U.S. trading partners with unilateral tariffs. This, just a day after the President took a victory lap over agreeing with China on a trade framework they agreed upon a month ago. Yes, indeed, the wheels of government turn very slowly. Imperceptibly, in this case. That could send the S&P back below 6,000, which, according to Wall Street's experts would signal something like the end of the world. Maybe we should do better as a people, a planet, a species. Maybe go back to a gold standard and stop kidding ourselves that Federal Reserve Notes are just one jump above monopoly money.
At the Close, Wednesday, June 11, 2025:
Wednesday, June 11, 2025, 9:20 am ET Stock futures turned higher after the BLS released May CPI, showing inflation largely tamed and close to the Fed's goal of two percent per year. From the BLS release:
The Consumer Price Index for All Urban Consumers (CPI-U) increased 0.1 percent on a seasonally adjusted basis in May, after rising 0.2 percent in April, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics reported today. Over the last 12 months, the all items index increased 2.4 percent before seasonal adjustment. Despite the positive tone, the core index (excluding food and energy) rose 0.1 percent in May, but is still high at 2.8 percent annually. Tariffs could push discretionary items even higher price-wise. On Tuesday, U.S. and Chinese delegations concluded trade talks in London, agreeing on the framework set out in Geneva last month. The news, while unsubstantial, is being taken as positive towards an understanding on tariffs that would include rare earths from China, chip technology from the U.S., while allowing Chinese students to continue their education at American universities. The two sides will continue to work towards general trade policy with tariffs of 55% on most goods entering the U.S. from China. For whatever reason, and despite OPRC raising production quotas for crude oil, WTI crude is up again Wednesday morning, hitting a high of $66.42/barrel after the inflation data release. The price is the highest for WTI since April 3rd. Gold and silver were relatively flat going earlier in the morning, but also jumped on the CPI news. Gold is trading around $3360 at 9:00 am ET. Silver has cooled off after big gains the past few days hovering between $36.50 and $36.50 per ounce. Stock futures are generally positive, Dow and NASDAQ futures are both up 51 points. S&P futures are ahead by 13, though all three are dropping from earlier highs. Stocks continue to approach all-time highs, but so too, gold and silver. Bonds have been settled down, with the 10-year at 4.42% and 30-year bonds yielding 4.94%. The general tone is full speed ahead on the economy and stocks, riots and National Guardsmen in Los Angeles of little interest.
At the Close, Tuesday, June 10, 2025:
Tuesday, June 10, 2025, 9:40 am ET Stocks go up and down all the time. Over the past 10 years, they've mostly gone up, to the great delight of many a Baby Boomer who has his or her net worth tied to stocks and their primary residence. That's all well and good, but even the least-jaded septuagenarian might consider stocks and housing a little bit on the overpriced side of the ledger. Maybe the boomers down the street have just retired. Maybe the kids of some early boomers - now in their 80s - are salivating over the prospect of inheriting stocks and real estate worth millions. OK, fine. How many boomers own gold or silver? Not many. The estimates are that less than five percent of individuals in the United States own more than $1000 worth of precious metals. That would be a fractional gold coin (1/2 ounce should do it) or less than 30 ounces of silver in various denominations, maybe even some "junk silver" which wasn't so "junky" when it was actual money prior to 1965. You boomers saved your baseball cards and comic books. Why didn't you hold on to some of the dimes, quarters and halves from your paper route days? Probably, some with foresight (something possessed by less than half of the boomer population) probably did. This isn't an advertisement for gold or silver. Perish the thought that anyone would push people into buying what former Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke said wasn't money when pressed by then-U.S. House Representative Ron Paul back on July 13, 2011. (see the clip below. It's very entertaining.) For the record, year-to-date, gold and silver are basically kicking stocks in the butt.
Here are YTD stats: If, like some people, you began investing in gold and silver right around the year 2000, gold was about $270 and silver was somewhere in the range of $6 or $7 an ounce. With prices today at $3,359 for gold and $36.85 for silver, they haven't done too badly, and without much in the way of worry. In fact, the crazier the world becomes, the higher the price for solid assets that act as hedges, insurance, or shock absorbers against financial cataclysm. Works every time. It's been said that the stock market climbs a "wall of worry." Well, there's certainly more than enough going on these days to be worried about life's saving going "poof" if they're all in stocks. Real estate, not so much, but you do have to live somewhere and a home with a paid off mortgage beats a cardboard box in downtown Los Angeles any day. But, gold and silver holders don't worry. Their holdings just sit there, in vaults, shoeboxes, on closet shelves, wherever. And, as Ron Paul stated, gold has been money for 6,000 years. Silver, has been also, though the central bankers and financial media would rather have you believe its only uses are industrial, when, in fact, it is "the indispensable element." The financial media talking heads would rather get you lathered up over stocks heading back toward all-time highs than sit around marveling at the shiny stuff in your bedroom or den. But, "muh portfolio," you say. Diversification doesn't just mean owning stocks in different sectors. It might mean owning different asset classes, like stocks, fixed income, precious metals, art, collectibles, commodities, small business assets. There are choices.
At the Close, Monday, June 9, 2025:
Sunday, June 8, 2025, 2:20 pm ET This was a week for giving up. President Trump gave up trying to end the Ukraine-Russia conflict. Elon Musk gave up trusting the government. HSBC gave up shorting silver, and, with Friday's BLS announcement of 139,000 jobs created in May, Wall Street whiners gave up on hopes of the Fed cutting interest rates ever again, or so it would seem, considering the ferocity of Friday's rally after the Non-farm payrolls announcement. While the jobs number was a little better than expected, revisions tempered the "strong economy" meme somewhat as March was revised down by 65,000, from +185,000 to +120,000, and the change for April was revised down by 30,000, from +177,000 to +147,000. Regrettably, the BLS did not give up lying and making up numbers, and so, up goes the stock market, Friday's gains accounting for almost all the week's upside on the Dow and more than half of the NASDAQ and S&P.
The week was relatively uneventful. If, by being boring means stocks just go up on any good news headline or even headlines that appear to be positive, then the algorithms have found the winning formula. Few companies of any importance will be reporting first quarter earnings this week. The focus in the week ahead will be on inflation data and trade developments, still in a state of flux. GameStop (GME) is Tuesday after the close along with Gitlab (GTLB). Oracle (ORCL) and Adobe (ADBE) report after the close, Wednesday and Thursday, respectively. U.S. and Chinese officials are meeting in London on Monday, seeking to move forward on trade and tariff talks. They could become a comedy or a tragedy, given the diverse interests of the two parties. While the last round of discussions had resulted in a temporary truce, sentiment has recently become less conciliatory and more mendacious. Expect there to be some degree of dissent and disagreement. Trade negotiations between the world's two biggest economies are not going to be settled in weeks or even months. It will be yars before finalizing some of the details in the now "hot" trade war. May readings for the consumer price index (CPI) and the producer price index (PPI) are on the economic calendar for Wednesday and Thursday, respectively.
Yields on treasuries of longer maturities - 10s, 20s, 30s - are all elevated again as the world's "most liquid market" continues to show signs of stress, irrelevance, and old age. Spreads remained stretched, with 2s-10s at +47 and full spectrum blown out to +69. The treasury curve may be beginning to steepen, but, with the entire spread remaining less than a full percentage point, the ability for banks to make money remains challenging. Just to add fuel to the entire government funding, fiat money fiasco fire, The U.S. Treasury last week bought back $10 billion of its own debt, designed to repurchase bills and notes maturing between July 15th, 2025 and May 31st, 2027, thus retiring them early and saving some interest expense. Secretary Bessent is apparently acting while the Fed refuses to budge, and will likely be repurchasing more of its own issuance, much like Wall Street firms buy back their own stock. This movement brings up a couple of issues, namely, where is the Treasury getting the money to buy back its own debt, and, could this action be seen as a preliminary move to replace Federal Reserve Notes with government issued currency? The answer to the first question is compelling, since the government is deeply in debt and desperately needs to raise the debt ceiling, meaning that the money by which they're buying back debt is essentially borrowed funds. The answer to the second question is one only Secretary Bessent, President Trump and maybe a few select advisors can address, and they're not talking. If this pre-emptive move by the U.S. Treasury is indeed designed to finish off the Fed once and for all, there's certainly plenty of rooting on the financial sidelines for Bessent and whatever he's got up his sleeve. There's a FOMC meeting in 10 days (June 17-18). BFD. The Federal Reserve has become about as useful in setting interest rates, keeping prices under control and employment positive as the U.S. government is at balancing budgets. Their days of being the lender of last resort, moving markets, and influencing politics are waning, thus, what used to be market-moving events focused on Fed policy are being relegated to sideshows for Wall Street dinosaurs. Spreads:
2s-10s
Full Spectrum (30-days - 30-years)
The Saudis don't like competition. The generally prevailing understanding is that shale drillers are not profitable with oil prices below $60, which is where they were a few weeks ago when OPEC first started flirting with the idea of flooding the market with crude. Pushback in oil futures is the expected response. Whether the market players can maintain control to such an extent remains to be seen. There's much more beneath the surface (please excuse the pun) in the oil market than meets the eye. Oil's going to be cheaper near term, and then maybe more expensive depending upon the degree to which President Trump and his economic team can lower the dollar in FX markets. It's a complex game in which everybody wants to be a winner. It won't happen that way. There will be losers, but, at this juncture, who they are is a great unknown. Gasbuddy.com is reporting the national average for a gallon of unleaded regular gas at the pump at $3.09, down three cents from last week, even as the price of crude oil is rising. The highest prices in the country remained California's prize, at $4.65, down another nine cents on the week. Mississippi retained the low spot at $2.59, five cents down from a week ago. Oklahoma comes in at $2.64, Louisiana at $2.68, Tennessee and South Carolina, $2.69, and Alabama and Arkansas, $2.70. Georgia is higher than the rest of the Southeast, at $2.82, while Florida pays a premium at the pump, $3.06. The Northeast continues to be led by Pennsylvania ($3.20), down four cents on the week. New England and East coast states all range between $2.87 (New Hampshire), $2.88 (Delaware) and $3.05 (New York). Prices remained relatively stable throughout the region. Midwest states are led by Illinois ($3.32), the price down four cents from last week and down significantly since late winter, early spring. Kentucky is the lowest in the region, at $2.80, followed by Kansas and South Dakota ($2.86). Indiana drivers are paying $3.00, down another eight cents this week and 23 cents from two weeks back. Similarly, Michigan's prices bumped back up to $3.16 after falling to $3.07 last week. The rest of the Midwest ranges from $2.89 (North Dakota) to $3.01 (Ohio). Along with California, Washington is the only state above $4.00, down four cents from last week, at $4.35. Oregon ($3.92) was lower this week, along with Nevada ($3.76). Arizona ($3.27) is still priced at a premium to neighboring New Mexico, a relative bargain, more than 50 cents cheaper, at $2.75. Idaho and neighboring Utah were the most stable, at $3.25 and $3.23, respectively. Sub-$3.00 gas is found in seven more states this week than last, with 30 under the line, Colorado being the latest to fall under $3.00, and Wyoming, Ohio, and Indiana close to taking the dive. Lower gas prices for American drivers are becoming a reality with now 3/5ths of the states below $3.00.
This week: $105,777.50 Nobody knows what caused Thursday night's rout that took bitcoin down more than $4,000, but it was just as quickly reversed Friday. Who cares? Wall Street's favorite slush fund will continue to trudge along, probably higher, until the whales decide to convert to cash, or the Ponzi is exposed. On the other hand, the California Assembly unanimously approved a measure to allow payment of taxes and other state fees in crypto-currencies. One has to figure, if crypto is going to be accepted for payment in the land of make-believe, then it can't be any fu--ing good. While states with common sense are passing bills making gold and silver legal tender, the loonies on the coast are going all in on crypto. Expect the morons in Washington and Oregon to follow suit. The highly-touted GENIUS Act is no nearer a full Senate vote than at any time in recent memory. Senators have lobbed an additional 82 amendments at the bill, leaving it in a legislative tug-of-war. Each of the amendments should be debated and voted upon before the entire package moves forward. Once again, the U.S. government shows its true colors, engaging in gas-lighting and sleight-of-hand rather than doing any actual work. The GENIUS Act, sponsored by Senator Cynthia Loomis (which sounds a lot like "looney") may end up back in committee as the Senate tackles the real issue of how best to loot taxpayers with the big, beautiful continuing resolution that will add more than $2 trillion to the U.S. debt load annually for the next 10 years. Government obsession with crypto-currencies underscores their absolute inability to make sensible financial decisions. Since the counterfeit fiat currency known as the U.S. dollar is destined to be inflated to oblivion, what better way to control the masses than with digital, programmable currencies? These people - otherwise acknowledged as "elected officials" are no doubt the greatest threat to the peaceful continuation of the United States of America as a rational entity. Yeah, let's replace cash with crypto. Sure, that should work out just fine. Idiots.
Gold:Silver Ratio: 92.19; last week: 100.15 Per COMEX continuous contracts:
Gold price 5/9: $3,329.10
Silver price 5/9: $32.88 It isn't often that the price of silver rises by more than $3 in a week. The move began in earnest on Monday, when silver rose to just below $35 ($34.93) on the COMEX before being beaten back down to a low of $34.21. For the next two days, it languished alongside gold, but was still gaining, almost imperceptibly. It wasn't until Thursday that buyers on the Shanghai Exchange began to emerge (or shorts finally capitulated), sending the price over $35. By the time stock markets were opening in New York, the price was already over $36, the long-standing stranglehold at $35 taken out in one hue upside rush. The usual insiders responded as they usually do, sending the price back into the high $35s, though the effort appeared to be just one last attempt to hold the line. Once again, overseas buyers took control overnight into Friday, pushing to another 13-year high at $36.39, managing to hold above $36 into the weekend. Michael Lynch offers perspective on silver's sudden price surge this week. There may be some connection to tariffs involved in silver's sudden price hike, though, as is usually the case, it's speculative. Some of the comments in Lynch's substack, linked above, seem to indicate that China's hoarding and price suppression may be changing due to Trump's insistence on tariffing the world into submission. For its part, China may see no good reason to keep silver prices down if the U.S. government is going to slap tariffs on solar panels, electronics, and anything else that has a silver component. This long-overdue price action in silver is likely to have legs if not sprout wings and fly in the face of all that is fiat, fake, and phony currency. Silver, discarded as a monetary metal by central bankers and governments, is still regarded as a medium of exchange by ordinary folks who keep a stash on hand in case of emergency. Because there's so much of it having been broken down into small denominations, because it was - not so long ago - actually used as money, and because the price suppression has been so successful over the past 150 years (roughly since the "Crime of '73") making it easily accessible to the unwashed masses, there is a lot of silver in many private hands around the world. Silver has been a winning investment for a long time, unless one's cost basis was formed during the blowout of 2010-11. While not quite on a par with gold, it is likely to do some catching up as the gold:silver ratio returns to more rational levels. Proponents of precious metals like Mike Maloney, Andrew Maguire and many others believe that triple digit silver is not a far-fetched dream, but, rather, a mathematical probability given gold's recent and ongoing appreciation, and the apparent end of the debt-based slave currency model of fractional reserve banking with counterfeit currency. Central bankers have been buying up gold hand over fist for the past decade, and some - particularly Russia and China - have been quietly accumulating silver, getting ahead of what appears to be a reordering of the global financial paradigm. On top of the obvious uses for silver in solar panels, EVs, and electronics, militaries around the world use silver in munitions, especially advanced missile systems. If the silver price run is real, it might not be long before the industrial users begin making bulk purchass on the physical market, a condition that would likely result in a price explosion, making this past week look like just another fun day at Silver Lake. Having government contractors, military procurements, electronics, solar, and EV manufacturers all seeking silver in quantity at the same time would send silver's price soaring past previous all-time highs and well beyond $50, $60, and $70. While it may not happen as quickly as some might hope, there is little doubt that the stranglehold on silver is being unknotted and a return to sound money will - if not "officially", then at least colloquially and in so-called "black markets" - become preferable to inflating fiat currencies. Money Daily has long held that a silver price explosion is a strong signal that fiat currencies are on their collective deathbeds, and could be a triggering event for global financial upheaval. It's time seems to be at hand. Here are the most recent prices for common one ounce gold and silver items sold on eBay (numismatics excluded, free shipping):
The Single Ounce Silver Market Price Benchmark (SOSMPB) rose significantly through the week, to $44.70, a $3.11 cent gain from the June 1 price of $41.59 per troy ounce. Prices in the Sunday eBay survey indicate that buying is still very brisk with premia remaining enhanced, due to the impression that the price of silver still has significant upside ahead. Buying of finished silver in small denominations above $40 and even $45 per ounce has become commonplace. WEEKEND WRAP Stocks will likely continue to be overvalued in dollar terms as the U.S. dollar continues to lose value as a reserve currency, being rapidly replaced by gold. What's worth watching is not the price of Nvidia or Amazon, but the prices of gold and silver, which tell a deeper, and much more impactful story. Appearances can be misleading. President Trump and Elon Musk having a feud over the finances and direction of the government may be nothing more than extreme trolling by the two. Every left-wing journalist worth his or her deep-state vow of obedience has been predicting such a spat. Maybe Trump and Musk thought this would be a good time to feed them what they want with some misdirection, throwing off their enemies with subterfuge. Bottom line is that nothing these days can be taken at face value, including pictures purporting to blown up Russian aircraft and the release of the dreaded "Epstein Files." There's much more than meets the eye going on behind the scenes in the Washington D.C. cesspool and much more to come. There's going to be a huge financial crisis and it's going to be earth-shattering.
At the Close Friday, June 6, 2025:
For the Week:
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