Mostly: Classical

[basserdan]

The more bearish stuff you can find the better as POG may not
rise until bearishness is pervasive.
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Tom, I don't go out of my way looking for bearish stuff, but I don't avoid it either.

In recent days, I've come across what seems to me to be an increasing number of negatively spun pieces, but many of them, quite frankly, are so FOS, imo, that they aren't worthy of further dissemination.

As Mr Serling was wont to say, ["submitted for your approval" <VBG>
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Gold not out of the woods

By: Daniel Thöle
2003/10/06 Mon 19:28

JOHANNESBURG - Gold took a much needed breather today after Friday’s bloodletting, but traders have cautioned that the worst may still be to come.

The historic build up of open interest on New York’s Commodities Exchange (COMEX) wound down at a spectacular rate on Friday, plunging from over 210 000 to 150 000 as trade began today. Open interest exceeded 294 000 on September 25.

(bd edit: Current COMEX gold futures OI is 271,486)

A trader at a major South African merchant bank cautioned that the bloodletting may not be over. “There are still guys long at $370/oz, and the $367/oz level still needs to be broken. If it breaks $367/oz, I’m looking for gold to go as low as $351/oz,” the trader said.

The trader said net open positions were still relatively high, as funds felt that the geo-political risk which led them to build up historic positions in gold were still present. Friday’s unwinding was sparked as futures contracts crashed through $381,30/oz, and $380/oz on the spot price. “There were a lot of longs above $380/oz, a lot of people went wild.”

“The guys are licking their wounds for now – there were a lot of sleepless nights on the weekend,” the trader said.

Traders now see gold moving sideways for the next few days. “If gold can hold onto these levels until Wednesday, there might be some renewed interest,” the trader said.

Salomon Smith Barney analyst Fidelis Madavo said the lack of any real sign of strength in leading indicators had led to the historic build up in long positions on COMEX and NYMEX, but that this was not likely to continue. “Our view is that is the US will come through, and that China will keep on getting stronger, and this won’t be good for gold – you can’t have strong dollar and a strong gold price together,” Madavo said.

Not even the Euro could snap gold out of its slumber – the single currency made gains from Friday’s level of $1,1550 to trade as high as $1,1770 today, but gold remained in a stubborn, narrow range around $370/oz.

Traders said the Indian authorities decision to allow the trade of futures contracts would have a real impact on the gold market, particularly towards the end of the year when Indian marriages traditionally gained momentum. “A lot of people look at the Indian market as an indicator of physical demand, so it will be an important addition to gold trade,” the trader said.

http://www.mips1.net/mggold.nsf/Current/4225685F0043D1B242256DB7005FC928?OpenDocument