-- Posted Thursday, 7 June 2007 | Digg This Article

South African gold production fell another 8.2% year-over-year for the month of April.  This follows a nearly 8% drop for first quarter production.  After the lowest annual production totals in nearly 80 years in 2006, SA production has continued to slip.  Should this 8% drop hold for the remaining eight reporting months of the year, South African production will be down another 24 tonnes from 80 year lows.  These continuing slack production figures are important to keep an eye on, but with each release of new data, they don't seem to be affecting the market at all.  This makes sense when investors understand that the gap in this lacking production has been bridged by increased bank sales in a short time period.  The bank sales are slowing, the mine production is still falling.  There will be a point in the near future when the gap becomes too wide to bridge and prices will react accordingly.

The US dollar is staging a minor rally this morning, causing precious metals to get stuck in the mud.  After watching the strange up and down trading patterns during the London open yesterday, we're content sitting back and waiting to see what happens at that close.  There just isn't much news to trade on today and some of Europe is off for a holiday…then again, it's days like this that have some unexplained moves up and down that will re-energize the market for no apparent reason.

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Blanchard and Company, Inc. is the largest and most respected retailer of American rare coins and precious metals in the United States, serving more than 450,000 people with expert consultation and assistance in the acquisition of American numismatic rarities and gold, silver and platinum bullion. The Blanchard Economic Research Unit is a key source of precious metals market analysis and continues to be an important resource for financial and consumer media throughout the United States. Blanchard and its predecessor companies have called the New Orleans area home for more than 30 years. For more information about the company, visit www.BlanchardGold.com or call the company toll free at 1-800-880-4653.

-- Posted Thursday, 7 June 2007 | Digg This Article

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