Gold and Oil plunge

[ben_meyers]

Reuters
Stocks sink on commodities' slide, Merrill nerves
Wednesday March 19, 6:40 pm ET
By Justin Grant


NEW YORK (Reuters) - Stocks fell on Wednesday as plunging gold and oil prices drove energy and mining shares lower, and speculation that Merrill Lynch & Co may need to take more write-downs deflated growing optimism that the credit crisis was abating.(snip)
Gold prices slid in their biggest one-day drop in nearly two years and oil posted its worst slide in seven months, weighed down by persistent worries about the U.S. economy's health. The Standard & Poor's index of materials stocks (^GSPM - News) dropped 6.3 percent.

http://biz.yahoo.com/rb/080319/markets_stocks.html?.v=21

Gold down $60 and oil off $5. Even the "safe havens" are affected.

[napoleon_in_rags]

1. I feel like our economy is on Prozac.

The good news is that its not depressed at this point, but its due to some extraordinary interventions.

[enid602]

2. yes

Thank God. The people who preach gloom and doom and constantly urge people to put all their money into gold (not a very diversified approach) are almost as annoying as the obamatons.

[Warpy]

4. No kidding.

Neither the mattress nor a hoard of shiny rocks is a good option.

Both are thief magnets and neither earns income.

[Warpy]

3. Yeppers, big money is pulling out of commodities

and looking for the next thing to make into a bubble. The "have a little" people who started to see commodities take off and jumped in are going to be left holding the empty bag.

[high density]

6. Most market timers are going to get burned

They'll always be buying high and selling low.

[ben_meyers]

9. Or the "experts" are seeing a

Double bottom bounce and are going cash to move in.

[girl gone mad]

18. No bubbles left.

Cash is king, here comes deflation.

[AlCzervik]

20. ding ding ding!!

I told someone that they were wrong to even think about buying gold in this market, if they wanted it they should have ben in a long time ago and i got some smart ass comment like "Yeah well bought some a few months ago anyhow so when you're broke i'll be laughing" yeah, you enjoy that.

[Leopolds Ghost]

23. Yeah, big money is looking for the next big boom, right... and oil is nowhere near peak, right?

[Warpy]

34. Not this time.

Big money's pulling out, leaving the "have a littles" holding an empty bag.

They'll be back in a couple of months and we'll have another large bubble.

[avenger64]

5. It doesn't seem that gas prices ...

... are following the latter 'plunge'.

[high density]

7. Gas prices go up fast, but go down slow

Savings account interest rates are similar.

[avenger64]

8. I guess that's the 'law of the jungle'.

And it's a jungle out there right now.

[Leopolds Ghost]

24. So when are you predicting $2 gas in the post-oil peak?

When demand subsides due to dollar inflation and followed by a depression? :eyes:

[jedr]

10. speaking of commodities, I think the grain markets will be ;

the next to fall.

[ben_meyers]

11. It may have started today

http://finance.yahoo.com/futures?t=grains

[jedr]

14. I'm not a wall street person, just live in a farm family;

even with China buying tons of grain , I can't see $14 wheat and soybeans lasting much longer. Many farmers have got caught up on back bills and bought some new equipment with the high prices, but the average Joe doesn't have the money to see food costs jump like that. I'm just kinda fishing to see what those in the "know" might be seeing.

[Tashca]

12. Limit down

The grain markets fractured a few days ago.....Corn, beans, and wheat were all limit down again today.

[taught_me_patience]

13. "plunge" to $104... LMAO

people are so easily suckered. Today was an awesome buying opportunity if you like to buy oil stocks.

full disclosure:
I own Conoco Phillips and Slumberger.

[lectrobyte]

19. And if it had gone up $6, it would be reported as "inching up" or something...

Gotta love that "liberal media" I hear everyone talking about.

[El Pinko]

15. I've beein saying that oil and gold would correct.

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=389x2990179

Of course some people consider that heresy. I don't know if this is a blip, or the beginning of a real correction - it will require a somewhat extended period of dollar strength or at least stability for it to take hold, but I do expect that it will at some point in the next year.

That being said, the LONG-term (looking out 5 years or so) oil prices will be going up, especially if the dollar's slide turns out to be mutli-year.

[ben_meyers]

21. During the "market correction" of the late 80's

Oil went from 40 something to under 7 in a very short time. The "experts" had been predicting 100 a barrel by 2000.

[Leopolds Ghost]

26. Because of North Sea and Ghawar field maturity and expectations of a mythical Central Asian bonanza.

North Sea is now played out. Ghawar is at peak. Saudi Arabia as a whole may be at peak.

This is the shit they hid from us in the classified energy report.

[Leopolds Ghost]

25. You do realize we are running out of oil.

Which will make the petrodollar worthless as we lose bargaining power.

This will make gold, whose supply is fixed, an attractive "bubble"
investment for people who like to play suckers^H^H^H^H the market.

[El Pinko]

33. Everybody with a brain cell realizes that.

That doesn't mean that $105-110 per barrel is sustainable or supported by the demand at this point.

You do realize that the dollar has lost about a quarter of its value in the last several months against most major currencies. That and the US economic turmoil have more to do with $110/bl oil than supply/demand issues.


I don't dispute peak/plateau oil. I do dispute that it is the main price mover at this moment. Supply is adequate and demand is stable and in some areas, already dropping due to high prices and economic malaise.

[EndElectoral]

16. Seriously, what is a safe investment anymore!!!

[Zynx]

17. Anyone who thinks commodities are safe havens is a moron.

There. I said it. Look up the history of commodity prices.

[Leopolds Ghost]

28. Anyone who thinks gold and oil are not at or near record highs is a fool.

Buy in now? Why bother? Anyone who didn't years ago is the fool.

They are only safe havens in time of rampant inflation.

Inflation = HIGHER PRICES fixed commodities!

Stagflation brought on by declining oil reserves = perfect conditions.

[Zynx]

31. I could have easily made the case for getting in real estate two years ago based on the momentum

argument. Historically speaking there are very selective periods in which commodities rally. This has been one of them. I had exposure through holdings in Brazilian companies that I got out of a bit early last year, but I think I made the right decision going forward.

Commodities are INCREDIBLY volatile. They have never been "long term" plays. They can be right for a selective 5-10 year period, but can be lousy for decades. In addition, the risks are amplified in what will become a global recession due to the global credit freeze. Credit is frozen not only in the U.S., but also in Europe and Japan.

[Hannah Bell]

22. Big speculation in all commodities =

pump & dump.

[Leopolds Ghost]

29. Yes, but the price will go back up, because we're running out of oil per capita. It's inevitable.

And gold is a great alternative when its performance as a "currency"
is measured against the petrodollar.

[Hannah Bell]

30. Gold markets are rigged.

Oil may be running out, but nowhere near that yet. If we were really running out, do you think they'd be fighting cafe standards & letting the rail system die?

also rigged.

Oil/metals = oligopolistic markets.

Take the red pill.

[Zynx]

32. Gold markets are being boosted by hedge fund speculation.

They reflect uncertainty and speculation.

[better tomorrow]

27. There's still baseball cards...that's what Bush is coveting.....

Just being sarcastic....and stealing it from Leno...

[Fire Walk With Me]

35. Oh well, so much for gold.