Liberation Day? – Dollar bugs have the light bulb over their heads turned on

Good Day... And a Wonderful Wednesday to you! Well, another day, another walk, this time with just my cane, not the walker, I was plum worn out when I arrived back the condo, but... Didn't have to stop to rest during the walk, so, as I said yesterday, that's progress, just as slow as a snail! I'm wondering how long this is going to take, no, wait, I shouldn't be thinking that, only that I continue to do what the doctors told me what to do to get better! I'm retired, I have all day, every day, to work on getting better!  Steely Dan greets me this morning with their jazzy song: Time Out Of Mind... 

Well, the dollar didn't fare as well yesterday, and lost 2 index points in the BBDXY, to close at 1,273... Today is what is being billed as "Liberation Day", as the POTUS will announce his new round of global tariffs... I had a long conversation on the phone yesterday, with good friend, and expressed my thought that these tariff announcements are a negotiating tool that the POTUS will use, to get better trade deals with the countries that have been ripping us off for decades... And according to Bill Bonner, who was privy to a meeting of the minds, that took place in the White House, (Bill listened on the phone) The POTUS said if any country tried to retaliate with tariffs, he would bomb the hell of them...  Again, another negotiating tool, I believe, we don't need any wars or better yet, any more wars than we are already involved with. At least, that's what I'm wishing in my heart of hearts...

I shouldn't have said what I said yesterday, about nothing stopping Gold's rise, it was if I had forgotten that the wolf is always at the door (short paper traders), for the short paper traders had a field day with both Gold & Silver, after capping their gains on Monday, the short paper traders when to work to get the metals back to where they were a few days ago... I have something for you in the FWIW section today, that I think you'll enjoy the writer and what he had today about what happened on Monday in the metals... Don't skip ahead, stay right here, for it won't take long to get there by normal reading, as I don't have much to talk about today, except "Liberation Day".

Gold lost a good bit of ground yesterday... $14 in price to close at $3,119, and Silver lost 40-cents to close at $33.65... Gold is attempting to come back this morning, but the damage was done yesterday, and I just keep getting notes about how the short paper traders are about to go out of business, but still they remain, an underlying factor in the rise of the metals... 

The price of Oil remained trading with a $71 handle yesterday, although it did see some slippage in the $71 handle... And the 10=-year Treasury saw some more yield control by the Fed/ Cabal/ Cartel as the yield on the bond fell to 4.14%... 

IN the overnight markets, the dollar lost 2 more index points in the BBDXY, it was the light bulb over the heads of the dollar bugs, finally lit up and they said, "what the heck are we doing buying dollars in the face of what the POTUS will announce on Wednesday?" The euro, however, has fallen back below the 1.08 figure, as inflation in the Eurozone fell lower again, thus bringing about thoughts of a European Central Bank (ECB ) rate cut coming, to debase the currency. Even though a high ranking official of the ECB came out and said that this was not the time to cut rates... And he was right, as the next round of tariffs are bound to set off a global trade war, that will see inflation come back... 

There has been some interesting times in Japan, folks... The Bank of Japan hiked rates while I was away, and the yen rallied a bit, but since then the selling of yen has recurred, and it looks as if the yen bears are still out looking for a side of flesh from the yen... I've said this before at least a dozen or more times, that Japan is a mess... Their demographics are bad, their financial situation is bad, and their leadership in not only bad, but not worthy of leading a country out of this mess...  

The Russian ruble is back on the rally tracks as the small rise in the price of Oil has helped, but most importantly, the Red Sea route for Oil tankers has seen some calm, and that helps with the delivery of Oil and eliminates the need to add cost to the Oil price for longer deliveries... And once again, I will tell you that I own rubles, so we got that out of the way, and I own them just for a play in Oil... It's not a political thing, or who's right and who's wrong, simply a play with Oil... 

OK... Enough of that! Time to go to the FWIW, and see what Ed Steer has to say about what happened on Monday with the metals.

The U.S. Data Cupboard today has the ISM (manufacturing index) for March, and it's supposed to be below the line in the sand, of 50.... We'll also see the auto sales for March... I would imagine that with the depths of the personal disposable income and the banks charging high interest rates on car loans, and the whole debacle with Tesla, that this data will be skewed downward... 

To recap... The wolf is always at the door, as I was reminded of yesterday, as Gold & Silver got short paper traded downward... The dollar bugs realized that their buying of dollars was ridiculous... And Chuck talks to us about the yen, and ruble... 

For What it's Worth... Well, the much-anticipated Ed Steer quote is here!  I don't like to quote a lot of people while writing the Pfennig, but yesterday's Ed Steer's column caught my eye, and it was something I had talked about in yesterday's Pfennig... 

And here's what he had to say about the short traders of Silver: 

"It was obvious from the saw-tooth price action in gold everywhere on Planet Earth on Monday that it would have been off to the races once more if those collusive commercial traders of whatever stripe hadn't been out an about the whole time.

Even their attempt to blow it lower into the afternoon gold fix in London at 10 a.m. in New York, was followed by a sharp rally that would have never ended if they hadn't appeared fifteen minutes after the 11 a.m. EDT London close.

There was lots of rejoicing that gold was now above $3,100 the ounce...but if 'da boyz' hadn't intervened 24/7...it's a given that gold would have closed at a price several multiples of that.

Of course the most egregious price suppression was in silver and, like for gold, if these commercial not-for-profit sellers hadn't appeared in it after its engineered low tick in COMEX trading in New York, it would have closed at heaven-only-knows what price as well.

It was allow to trade a penny or so back in positive territory minutes before 4 p.m. in after-hours trading, but obviously wasn't allowed to close there.

Gold is now back into overbought territory by a decent amount on its RSI trace -- and of course silver has not been allowed even a sniff of its." - Ed Steer...

Chuck again, I love to read Ed Steer's letter each morning, before I write each morning... And you should too, so go to his website and sign up!

Market Prices 4/2/2025: American style: A$ .6301, kiwi .5739, C$ .6979, euro 1.0794, sterling 1.2937, Swiss $1.1309, European Style: rand 18.6831, krone 10.4486, SEK 9.9782, forint 371.54, zloty 3.8724, koruna 23.1336, RUB 84.92, yen 149.28, sing 1.3455, HKD 7.7819, INR 85.50, China 7.2708, peso 20.36, BRL 5.6823, BBDXY 1,271, Dollar Index 104.11, Oil $70.75, 10-year 4.14%, Silver $34.10, Platinum $981.00, Palladium $ 987.00, Copper $5.05, and Gold... $3,118.75.

That's it for today... I'm kind of getting back into the swing of getting up, reading and writing... After 3 weeks of not doing that, it's been a real tough row to hoe for me, but I'll get with it soon... The days here have been beautiful, warm but not too hot, April and May weather here is wonderful. I got outside on the balcony to read a bit yesterday, you know, when you don't get outside to breathe the fresh air, you don't know what you're missing until you get back outside, and that was wonderful to sit outside again... I have portable air tanks to take with me outside, but they are not airplane approved. I had to secure an airplane approved oxygen generator for my trip back to St. Louis this Saturday... What a pain to have to jump through all these hoops just to fly home... But I guess it's worth it, as I'll get to see all my kids, and grandkids again, just not in spurts down here... The new airplane approved model will arrive here today, hopefully... At least that's what the guy on the phone told me! The great Al Stewart takes us to the finish line today with his song: Song On The Radio... I hope you have a Wonderful Wednesday today, and please above all else take care of your health and Be Good To Yourself!