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5 to 10 minutes old www.usagold.com --LIVE NEWS--
Gold ends up Friday after earlier sell-off	03:11 Gulf News - Business
Dollar-euro steady, pound hit by Moody’s downgrade	03:11 Gulf News - Business
Sell gold around Rs 30,450-30,500 before Budget says Emkay	03:10 MoneyControl.com
10 to 15 minutes old www.usagold.com --LIVE NEWS--
Policy failure, no economic damage	03:05 Stumbling and Mumbling (Weblog)
15 to 30 minutes old www.usagold.com --LIVE NEWS--
The Moody Blue's Chancellor	03:02 Capitalists@Work (Weblog)
India's forex reserves decline by $1.02 bn	02:58 The Times of India
Self-sufficiency could boost U.S. economy	02:56 Wisconsin Rapids Daily Tribune, Wisconsin
Investment malaise thwarting quick economic …	02:54 Yahoo! India
Black Gold in the Great White North	02:53 Barron's Online
Sell gold around Rs 30,450-30,500 before Budget: Emkay	02:50 MoneyControl.com
30 minutes to 1 hour old www.usagold.com --LIVE NEWS--
Gold, silver extend gains for second day	02:45 The Economic Times
Nashville economy ranks 37th among U.S. metropolitan areas	02:36 Tennessean.com - Business
EU economy to slide more, panel foresees	02:34 Arkansas Democrat-Gazette - Business
Copper prices ease on reduced industrial demand	02:32 The Economic Times - Markets
Gold, silver extend gains for second day on sustained buying	02:32 The Economic Times - Markets
Investment malaise thwarting economic rebound	02:30 MoneyControl.com
Florida Economic Recovery Slow But Steady	02:28 Yahoo! US - Business - Press Releases
Investment malaise thwarting quick economic rebound	02:22 The Business Standard - Economy-Policy
1 to 2 hours old www.usagold.com --LIVE NEWS--
Government jobs vs. private jobs: Which help the economy more?	01:51 Tampa Bay Times - Business
Assembling Tampa's economic lineup was one thing, keeping it together is another	01:51 Tampa Bay Times - Business
Hainan pledges funding for marine economy	01:43 China.org.cn - Economy
Vietnam February Inflation Slows as Economy Struggles to Revive	01:35 Bloomberg - Economy
Proactive weekly mining news summary including Ormonde Mining, Afferro Mining, Arian Silver and Baobab Resources	01:34 Proactiveinvestors
Exceptional economic performance for GCC	01:30 Gulf News - Business
US companies plan to spend, a boost for the economy	01:21 Gulf News - Business
US companies plan to spend, a boost for economy	01:20 Gulf News - Business
Earlier Today www.usagold.com --LIVE NEWS--
ForexMinute.com Now Recommending the Leading Forex Affiliate Programs	01:18 Yahoo! US - Business - Press Releases
Eurostat: Ukraine Summit EU27 surplus of 9 bn euro in trade in goods with Ukraine in 2012	01:12 Kyiv Post - Business
Regional economy's '11 growth fell short	01:06 The Sacramento Bee, California
Qatar economy forecast to grow at 5pc	00:29 Trade Arabia - Miscellaneous
Seniors' local economic impact continues to grow	00:07 Tallahassee Democrat - Business
Galvan Week Ahead: Major moves to the downside for Sterling, Gold and Silver Mark A Sea Change In Sentiment.	00:03 Proactiveinvestors
2 to 4 hours old www.usagold.com --LIVE NEWS--
Saudi Kingdom-Bangladesh meet will boost economic and trade ties	23:28 Middle East North Africa Financial Network
4 to 6 hours old www.usagold.com --LIVE NEWS--
HP and business confidence in Germany help boost DOW	22:37 Bradenton Herald - Business
Canadian Currency Weakens Amid Concern Economic Growth Slowing	22:32 Bloomberg - Regions
Russia, Turkey add gold holdings again in Jan: IMF	22:31 Business Times Online - World
Australian Dollar at Risk on Italian Election, US Growth Fears	22:25 Daily FX
As The Economy Recesses, Obama's Global Warming Delusions Are Truly Cruel	22:21 Forbes - Home Asia
Dollar Bull Trend Depends on EURUSD, USDJPY Reaction to Risk	21:55 Daily FX
6 to 8 hours old www.usagold.com --LIVE NEWS--
Coates dominates as Silver Foxes roll	21:03 The State, South Carolina - Sports
The Never Ending Shrinking European Economy	20:42 The Economic Populist (Weblog)
Dollar Not an Oversold Currency Waiting for Risk Collapse	20:33 Daily FX
IMF says recent concerns over competitive currency devaluations are “overstated”	20:32 ForexLive.com
Wall Street Journal article: Fast Money Pulls Back on Yen Trade	20:22 ForexLive.com
Twin Cities economic recovery leads Midwest	20:02 Minneapolis Star Tribune - Business
ICM Trading/iTrade Capital Markets Now Provides Detailed Information on Forex …	19:45 Yahoo! US - Business - Press Releases
Lawrence Twele named interim director of Howard County economic development	19:30 Bizjournals - Baltimore Business Journal, Maryland
Yesterday www.usagold.com --LIVE NEWS--
Fast Money Pulls Back on Yen Trade	19:16 The Wall Street Journal
Faruqi & Faruqi, LLP Encourages Investors Who Suffered Substantial Losses Investing In Family Dollar Stores, Inc. To Contact The Firm	19:09 PR Newswire (Press Release) - Financial Services
Vietnam steps up bank, state firm reforms in economic roadmap	18:48 The News International - Business

Gold Fundamentals Still Look Good

by Peter A. Grant

Feb 22, AM
(from USAGOLD.com) --

Gold appears poised to notch a second consecutive lower weekly close. While the yellow metal fell to seven-month lows this week, the range that has dominated since late-2011 remains intact.

The bottom end of the range is marked by the 1522.40 low from December of 2011. This support level is bolstered by the unsuccessful challenge in May of last year, when gold traded as low as 1526.93.

Despite the hawkish interpretations of recent FOMC statements, the Fed continues to buy $85 bln in assets each and every month. With the Fed's balance sheet now in excess of $3 trillion, I'd be more worried if some members of the FOMC weren't expressing concerns about the costs and risks of QE, especially when the results are considered.

Since the great recession reportedly ended in 2009, the best GDP print we've seen was in 2010 at +2.4%. Since then, GDP was a moribund +1.8% in 2011 and +2.2% in 2012. The most recent quarterly data showed a 0.1% contraction in Q4-12.

Beyond the massive balance sheet expansion by the Fed, our federal government has also been deficit spending with abandon. The budget deficits for each of the past three years have been in excess of $1 trillion. The total is in fact, $3.68 trillion, which has pushed our national debt to more than $16.5 trillion, prompting the recent suspension of the statutory debt ceiling.

Add it all up and you're talking some serious money; and yet economic activity remains tepid at best. I'd call that a pretty poor return on more than $6 trillion.

The notion that gold is under pressure because our economic future is looking brighter and investors are rotating out of haven assets and back into stocks is a little lost on me. As a cautionary tale, I remind you of the "green shoots" Spring of 2009 and the "recovery summer" of 2010.

The U.S. is certainly not alone in employing extraordinary (and largely unsuccessful) efforts to reinvigorate their economy. Early this week, Felix Zulauf of Zulauf Asset Management counted 38 countries that are pursuing zero interest rate policies. We've delved at great length into Japan's policies aimed at devaluing the yen, to get that country out of recession. The ECB's Mario Draghi famously pledged "whatever it takes" to preserve the euro.

One might expect that "whatever it takes" wouldn't get you another recession, yet that's the reality in Europe. Forecasts by the European Commission that came out today project that the eurozone economy will shrink by 0.3% in 2013. While the contraction continues to be driven largely by the periphery countries, even core countries will barely grow this year. French GDP is expected to be just +0.1%, with Germany faring only slightly better at +0.5%.

With Japan and Europe already back in recession, the UK on the verge of a triple-dip recession and the U.S. bumping along at stall speed, it strikes me that the removal of accommodations by the world's major central banks is a bit of a pipe dream.

The British pound and yen have been getting hammered lately and so gold doesn't look nearly as vulnerable against these two currencies. Meanwhile central bank gold demand surged to a 48-year high of 534 tons in 2012. While investment demand fell by 10% as the market consolidated throughout 2012, demand for bars and coins was back on the rise into year end. Bar and coin demand was lower than in 2011, but was in fact 31% above the 5-year average.

Similarly, jewelry demand was down scant 3% in volume terms, but rose 3% in dollar terms. Q4 demand specifically was very robust as economic conditions in India and China improved.

Meanwhile, supply remains fairly static. Gold supply fell 1.2% in 2012 and has been pretty consistently between 1000 and 1200 tonnes over the past several years.

Bottom line: A true global recovery that would warrant more normalized monetary policy still seems a distant possibility. And given the supply and demand fundamentals, I think the long term uptrend in gold remains secure.

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Opinions expressed in commentary on the USAGOLD.com website do not constitute an offer to buy or sell, or the solicitation of an offer to buy or sell any precious metals product, nor should they be viewed in any way as investment advice or advice to buy, sell or hold. USAGOLD, Inc. recommends the purchase of physical precious metals for asset preservation purposes, not speculation. Utilization of these opinions for speculative purposes is neither suggested nor advised. Commentary is strictly for educational purposes, and as such USAGOLD does not warrant or guarantee the accuracy, timeliness or completeness of the information found here.

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Gold Fundamentals Still Look Good