Jim Rogers Says: 'Sell Bonds, Buy Precious Metals'

Gold didn't do a whole heck of a lot in Far East trading once again... and its high price of the day [around $1,208 spot] came at 8:00 a.m. in London yesterday morning. From there it declined gently until the U.S. bullion banks pulled their bids about fifteen minutes before the London p.m. gold fix at 10:00 a.m. Eastern time. Gold's low of the day [$1,186.50 spot] occurred moments before the London close. Gold rallied a bit after that, but was still down about five bucks from Wednesday's close when all was said and done. Volume wasn't overly heavy... under 100,000 contracts net of roll-overs and spreads.

Not that 'da boyz' want to make themselves conspicuous... but you will carefully note, dear reader, that the U.S. bullion banks pulled their bids at exactly the same time on Tuesday as they did yesterday... as the sky-blue line so clearly indicates.

Silver's high [around $12.20 spot] was at 11:00 a.m. during Hong Kong trading... then the price gently declined from there, but stabilized a bit at the London silver fix at noon local time... then [like gold] had its legs cut out from underneath it as JPMorgan et al pulled their bids going into the London p.m. gold fix. Silver's low [$17.71 spot] like gold's, occurred moments before the London close... and then recovered somewhat after that... closing down less than a dime on the day.

The dollar did absolute nothing yesterday. Here's the chart to prove it.

The shares got hit pretty good in the early going... but that should be no surprise, as JPMorgan et al pulled their bids in both metals right at the market open at 9:30 a.m. Eastern time. The HUI closed down 1.26%... but that was well off its low of the day. However, the shares didn't participate in the late-day rally in the Dow like they did on Wednesday.

The CME Delivery Report was so quiet, that it's hardly worth mentioning... as zero gold and one whole silver contract are up for delivery on Monday. I'm surprised that more silver isn't being delivered as July is a big delivery month... and, as I mentioned yesterday, there are still 758 contracts left to deliver. Ted Butler is wondering the same thing.

The GLD ETF reported another small withdrawal yesterday. This time it was 14,319 troy ounces. The SLV had nothing to say for itself. The U.S. Mint reported selling another 7,000 one-ounce gold eagles... and 4,000 24-K gold buffaloes. There were no reported sales of silver eagles. Month-to-date... 33,500 one-ounce gold eagles and 6,500 24-K gold buffaloes have been sold... along with 875,500 silver eagles.

The Comex-approved warehouses reported receiving 602,288 ounces of silver... most of which went into Brinks, Inc. The action is linked here.

Today at 3:30 p.m. sharp is the time for the new Commitment of Traders report to be put up on the CME's website. If you want to peruse the numbers the moment they're posted... click here.

I've got a fair number of stories again today... and I'll post my non-gold related stories now. The first two are about the BP oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico. The first is from the June 26th edition of Canada's Financial Post. It was sent to me by Washington state reader, S.A. The headline reads "Avertable Catastrophe". I was totally unaware that all foreign offers of help with the spill were refused. Most of the countries offering [12 in all] have superior expertise and equipment. Unlike the U.S., Europe has robust fleets of Oil Spill Response Vessels that sail circles around their make-shift U.S. counterparts. It's not a particularly long read... and the link is here.

The second story concerning the BP oil spill is the almost total media blockade that's been placed on the entire clean up operation recently... with huge fines and big jail time for non-compliance. Swiss reader G.B. sent me the following story that was posted over at ipsnews.net. The headline reads "No Free Press for BP Oil Disaster". I also note that both CNN and Russia Today were up in arms over exactly the same thing. This is getting really ugly. What don't 'the powers that be' want you to know? Just asking. The link to the story is here.

The next two items are courtesy of Washington state reader, S.A. The first is a Bloomberg story about Jim Rogers headlined "Sell Bonds, Buy Precious Metals, Rice as 'Refuge' Rogers Says". Of the precious metals, Jim is particularly enamoured with silver... and the link to the story is here.

The second story from S.A. is a Bloomberg interview with my good friend Frank Holmes of U.S. Global Investors. The interview runs almost seven minutes... and the it's well worth watching... and the link is here.

And lastly from reader S.A. is this graph he 'borrowed' from contraryinvestor.com. It shows the average month-to-month price changes in gold from 1971 to 2009.

Here's another graph courtesy of Nick Laird over at sharelynx.com. It shows the percentage increase in the gold price in various world currencies starting back in 2000.

The next story is courtesy of reader Roy Stephens. It's an Ambrose Evans-Pritchard offering headlined "EMU break-up risks global deflation shock that would dwarf Lehman collapse, warns ING" A full-fledged disintegration of the eurozone would trigger the worst economic crisis in modern history, devastate every country in Europe including Germany, and inflict a deflationary shock on the US. There would be no winners, warns the Dutch bank ING in a new report "Quantifying the Unthinkable". It's a longish piece, but it's worth the read, and the link is here.

Congressman Ron Paul is no shrinking violet. In his latest commentary he states... "This is not about cracking down on big banks as some claim. Rather, this is about not wasting a crisis. This is about using a traumatic event to increase government power and control over the economy." The title reads "More Power for the Fed". The story is posted over at safehaven.com... and I thank Australian reader Wesley Legrand for sending it along... and the link is here.

The next piece is an interview with James Turk by Eric King that's posted on his blog over at King World News. It's imbedded in a GATA release headlined "James Turk: Inflation, not deflation, is the threat to the dollar". Chris Powell's preamble is worth the read as well... and the link is here.

Just as the European governments are cutting their budget deficits and attempting to get their financial houses in order... out comes this little gem from the IMF telling them to borrow and spend to make up for the drop in spending in their respective budgets. If this does not compute, dear reader, I'm in the same camp as you. It's another piece by Ambrose Evans-Pritchard over at The Telegraph in London that was filed late last night. The headline reads "IMF tells Europe to inject more stimulus". This is a must read from top to bottom... and I once again thank reader Roy Stephens for sending it along. The link is here.

Lastly today is the latest offering [dated June 26th] from John Embry, chief investment strategist at Sprott Asset Management in Toronto. It's his latest monthly commentary posted at Investor's Digest of Canada... and the headline reads "U.S. dollar's collapse inevitable". Embry states that "Only a heroic optimist would be prepared to ascribe any long-term value at all to the U.S. dollar." This essay is a must read as well... and I thank Australian reader Wesley Legrand for sharing it with us... and the link is here.

The deterioration of every government begins with the decay of the principles on which it was founded. - Charles-Louis De Secondat (1689-1755) Baron de Montesquieu - Source: TheSpirit of the Laws, 1748

From top to bottom, gold got hit for a bit over $20 yesterday... most of it coming about fifteen minutes before the London p.m. gold fix... so JPMorgan et al are still up to their tricks.

I have no idea whatsoever how long this is going to go on for. All I know is that it will end sooner or later. It's important, dear reader, not to get caught up in the day-to-day squiggles on the gold charts. Sure, some of it's pretty major... but you have to look at the long term... and if you're prepared to wait these bastards out, then we should all do OK.

But is it going to be inflation or deflation, you ask? To tell you the truth, I don't care... as I put my marker down in this market almost ten years ago... as I'm 'all in'. Is this the right thing for you to do? That's up to you, as I'm not an investment advisor. But I'm doing what I think is in my best interests... and in the interests of my family. That's what you should be doing too... and it's not necessarily what I'm doing.

If you're seriously considering making an investment in the precious metals, I urge you to step up to the plate and purchase a subscription for either Casey's Gold and Resource Report... or Casey Research's flagship publication... the International Speculator... which also includes Casey's Gold and Resource Report for free. Consider it an investment in asset protection and wealth accumulation. I certainly do... and our 100% money-back guarantee is always there.

I note that virtually nothing is happening in Far East and early London trading today as of 4:54 a.m. Eastern time. The Hong Kong close... and the London a.m. gold fix are both still about thirty-five minutes away as I hit the 'send' button on today's column... and that might change things. Volume in both metals is microscopic, so it looks like all the action will take place in New York trading once again. It's Friday, so be prepared for anything.

I hope you have a great weekend... and I'll see you on Saturday.