Peter's Blog

CPI 1.2% MoM and 8.6% YoY – Is this Peak Inflation?

The latest seasonally adjusted inflation rate for March was 1.21% month over month, with a non-seasonally adjusted annual rate of 8.56%. Both of these numbers came in slightly above expectations, which were elevated due to the war in Ukraine.

Comex Update: Spreads, House Accounts, and a US Debt Chart

As we approach the middle of the month, here are the trends we’re seeing in the COMEX, along with a little more data on the national debt.

Annualized Interest on US Debt Increased $16.4 Billion in Just 6 Months

The US Treasury added $111 billion in debt during March. Meanwhile, rising interest rates are already creating problems for Uncle Sam. Annualized interest on the US debt has increased by over $16 billion in just six months. Following is an analysis of US debt holdings.

Trailing Twelve-Month Trade Deficit Exceeds $900 Billion

The US continues to run massive trade deficits. Despite the lack of interest in the mainstream, trade deficits matter. And as Peter Schiff said last fall, we can’t just ignore these trade deficits forever. February did not set a new monthly trade deficit record, but it was very close, and it was worse than projected.

Hedge Funds Have Room to Push Gold Higher

There is a correlation between Managed Money activity and the price of gold. Managed Money net longs str down from their March peak. This indicates there is money on the sideline that could rush into the market if gold breaks through current resistance Please note: the COTs report was published 4/1/2022 for the period ending […]

Was March a Strong Jobs Report? Maybe…

According to the BLS, the economy added 431k jobs in March. February was revised up to 750k from an original 678k. The unemployment rate fell to 3.6%. It would appear this was another strong jobs report. But when you did into the data, it’s not that clear-cut.

Quantitative Easing Has Seemingly Ended (for now)

It appears quantitative easing has pretty much come to an end. At least for now. Although the Fed was still expanding the balance sheet through mid-month, it only added a net $9B to the balance sheet during March. This was accomplished with moderate purchases of short- and long-term debt, while 5–10-year notes had a $20B […]

Gold Enters April Delivery on a Strong Note

Based on COMEX data, gold is set to have another strong month in April, which is not surprising given the lead-up.

Comex April Countdown: Silver Pops Higher with Gold Trending Strong

The big action in silver occurred early in the month, making March a pretty large outlier. First, it continues the recent trend of increasing deliveries. Second, deliveries were 8.7% of the max open interest for the month. This is the highest percentage since July 2020 when prices took off. There are still 24 open interest […]

Money Supply Growth Is Rapidly Decelerating

No doubt, money supply growth is decelerating but is still far from contractionary. According to the seasonally adjusted data, M2 expanded by $83billion in February. January was revised down from $245 billion to $176 billion.