It really is a FOMC day today, no kidding

Good Day... And a Wonderul Wednesday to you! Well, my beloved Cardinals couldn't stand prosperity with their win Monday night, so they gave up the ship on Tuesday Night, losing to the Giants... UGH Not many games left in the regular season, and the Cardinals can kiss the playoffs goodbye... I'm all alone for the next week... Poor, poor, pitiful me... HA! Hello, Pizza Man Pizza? Sugarloaf greets me this morning with their over 6 minutes long song: Green Eyed Lady... 

Well, I apologize for yesterday's faux pas when I didn't look at the calendar close enough to see that the rate hike announcement wouldn't take place until today... Lo and behold, we have another one of those 2-day FOMC meetings, when all the board games get taken out and the Fed Heads sit around and play games for a day, waiting for the actual day they will sit around and discuss rates.... 

So, one more day, just gives me one more day until we find out whether the FOMC leaves rates unchanged, or hikes them... And that day is TODAY! I've stated that I just don't see the FOMC delivering a rate hike at this time.... And then when you think about it, the next meeting will be too close to the Mid-term elections, and then that brings us to the 12/9 FOMC meeting as the first time I see the FOMC hiking rates... 

Yes, the Fed Heads cannot appear to be political, but in the end, they are... And the Boss (POTUS) wants lower rates, so the Fed Heads will appease him a bit by not hiking rates at this time... That's my Pfennig for you this morning... I sure hope I'm not wrong here... I would never hear the end of it!

So, the dollar got bought yesterday by 1 index point in the BBDXY and ended the day at 1,198... Gold / Silver tried like the Dickens to find some physical buyers and bid up the two metals, and voila' they found them! Gold gained $20 on the day to end the day at $4,290, and Silver gained 45-cents to end the day at $63.83... It's been a long difficult slog for the two metals. Shoot Rudy, even Copper got to rally a bit yesterday, ending the day at $6.46... 

The price of Oil remained trading with a $104 handle on the day... And the 10-year Treasury's yield also remained at 4.99%...

In the overnight markets last night... there was a little wondering about what the FOMC will do, not so much a "we're all in on a rate cut mood", and the dollar lost an index point to start today at 1,197... Gold /Silver are taking the side of they are going to rally even if there is a rate hike today.. Gold is up $57 and Silver is up $1.08 to start the day... 

The price of Oil slipped again overnight and starts today with a $103 handle, while the 10-year saw some buying and its yield slipped to 4.98% to start our day... 

Well, like when the Iran war and Strait of Hormuz was in the news every day, and nothing else to talk about remained, now we are onto the FOMC meeting... Yes, the Iran War and Strait of Hormuz is a real problem for the world, remains in the forefront of news... But now we have the FOMC meeting today... Shoot Rudy, I even received an email from Fisher Investments asking me rate cut, or rate hike? I deleted it, for that's all I need to read is another question about rates hiked or cut... 

I know that's what you're saying right now too... C'mon Chuck, talk about something else for we are up to our ears with rate talk... I hear you... 

Remember a couple of months ago when I journaled how there was a group of trades at Deutsche Bank that were shorting the 10-year Treasury... at the time, I didn't think that was such a good idea, but as time has gone on, I sit here and wonder if they remain shorting the 10-year, for if they are, then they are rolling in dough right now... The 10-year at the turn of the year was 4.38% and even then, they had already booked gains, and the yield began to see the yield grow, grow, grow... So, kudos to them for having the foresight to act... 

The 10-year Treasury's yield hasn't touched 5% since April 1999... And then the Covid disaster hit the U.S. and rate cuts were the song of the day, until September 2021... And then the bond boys saw the writing on the wall with the U.S.'s finances, and began to Sell (Mark up) the 10-year... And here we are now... at 5%!

And I've told you previously at least a few times, that the 10-year's yield is used to price many things... But Mortgages are the key... 

I told you the other day that Diesel fuel had climbed to $7.00, but I had been a Sooner with that because Diesel fuel just reached $6.00 So, another faux pas on my part... But it'll get there, in my humble opinion... 

Prices paid for things other than laptops and smart Tvs have gone much higher... But you have to think about this for a moment.... it's time that we quit blaming Companies for gouging us... the real reason that prices continue to rise is all the funny money out there... Ever since we as a country disconnected Gold from the backing of the dollar in August 1971 (And it was supposed to be a "Temporary thing") there's nothing to keep prices in check... Inflation becomes a government policy for U.S. consumers to have to deal with... the only answer is to go back to the Gold backing... But that's not going to happen in my lifetime, so fuhgeddaboudit... 

And I wanted to mention that the Euro Wannabes of forint, zloty and koruna all stayed close to their lofty levels last week while the dollar went through its recent mini rally... I've always looked at these 3 currencies and indicators of when the dollar was in trouble... So, the fact that they remained steady Eddie while the dollar rallied, leads me to believe that the dollar's rally is a house of cards... I guess we'll see later today how that's all working... eh?

The U.S. Data Cupboard has the FOMC rate announcement for us today... And we'll see in addition to the FOMC, August Retail Sales... which are expected to rebound from July's negative -.06%... Back to school sales will help Retail Sales have an appearance that U.S. consumers have a lot of money to spend... Well, they don't really have money to spend, instead they charge what they buy... Remember the latest Consumer Debt figure showed a HUGE increase in charge cards... 

To recap... Chuck was a Sooner yesterday with his call on the FOMC rate decision... It will come today so no more waiting... Chuck also says no rate hike today that the FOMC will keep rates unchanged... And he gives us a brief history of the 10-year's yield... The dollar also bumped higher yesterday to 1,1198...

Here's your snippet: "Silver dropped 2.3% last week after a significant 16% climb in August.

When prices pull back, hesitation is natural. But if your goal is to hedge against inflation, diversify with hard assets, and position part of your portfolio in a store of value with both monetary and industrial relevance, periods of weakness can be when the math starts to look better — not worse.

That is the case for buying silver at current price levels. The opportunity is not about chasing momentum. It is about recognizing relative value while sentiment is less enthusiastic.

Recent market action has created the kind of setup long-term investors should pay attention to: a meaningful pullback in silver prices, persistent inflation concerns, and a Gold-Silver Ratio that remains well above its long-run equilibrium.

Although silver has pulled back from earlier highs, it doesn't automatically weaken the longer-term case. In healthy bull markets, sharp moves higher are often followed by equally emotional selloffs before the larger trend resumes. Those pullbacks can create attractive entry points for investors willing to focus on value instead of short-term noise.

At the same time, inflation concerns remain part of the macro backdrop. Higher fuel prices, geopolitical strain, and ongoing speculation around interest-rate policy are all reminders that monetary stability is never something investors should simply assume. When uncertainty rises, many investors revisit hard assets that can help diversify traditional paper-based exposure.

In fact, one of the strongest analytical cases for silver today isn't the spot price. It's silver's relationship to gold.

According to a recent Silver Institute report, a Gold-Silver Ratio (GSR) above the historical equilibrium of 60-to-1 signals that silver may be undervalued relative to gold. In other words, silver is becoming more inexpensive not only in absolute terms, but also in relative-value terms. Today's GSR is about 68-to-1, which has been gradually increasing since the ratio hit a low of about 56-to-1 back when silver and gold hit all time highs at the end of January.

That is what makes the current environment so compelling. If gold remains supported by macro uncertainty, and the ratio begins to decrease once more, silver will outperform gold from current levels. Until the GSR drops below 50-to-1, it is a clear signal that the precious metals bull market remains intact for the long-term."

Chuck again... I even carry a one ounce Silver Coil in my pocket at all times for Good Luck... of which I've haven't experienced any Good Luck yet... But there's always tomorrow! 

Market Prices 9/16/2026: American Style: A$ .7132, kiwi .5760, C$ .7173, euro 1.1539, sterling 1.3459, Swiss $1.2214, European Style: rand 16.2701, krone 9.3517, SEK 9.7920, forint 315.54, zloty 3.7679, koruna 21.0760,  RUB 84.38, yen 155.17, sing 1.2734, HKD 78449, INR 95.95, China 6.7081, peso 17.13, BRL 5.1480, BBDXY 1,197, Dollar Index 99.04, Oil $103.87, 10-year 4.98%, Silver $65.87, Platinum $1,800.00, Palladium $1,328.00, Copper $6.51, and Gold... $4,347.

That's it for today, and this week... recall that I will go see my oncologist and get a treatment tomorrow... And then next Tuesday there will be no Pfennig, as I go to get the staples out of my scalp... Like I said above, I'm all by myself for the next week, as Kathy had to go to Florida for business... I wasn't feeling too well to travel, so I remained home, although I did want to go because the weather there is beautiful this time of year... Oh well... I'll ask for prayers for my darling daughter Dawn who will have surgery this Friday... (not life or death surgery, but surgery just the same) ... John Lennon takes us to the finish line today with his song: #9 Dream (one of his best pieces in my mind) I hope you have a Wonderful Wednesday today, and Please Be Good To Yourself!