Comex Gold, Silver, Copper Latest Open Interest And Volume

Floor	Clearport	Product Name	Exchange	Volume	Open Interest
OG	OG	Gold Options	COMEX	19182	1724094
GC	GC	Gold Futures	COMEX	163541	433695
SO	SO	Silver Options	COMEX	5959	217372
HG	HG	Copper Futures	COMEX	45346	160787
SI	SI	Silver Futures	COMEX	30067	131994
HX	HX	Copper Options	COMEX	19	3065
QO		miNY Gold Futures	COMEX	314	1590
MGC		E-micro Gold Futures	COMEX	769	1589
HGS	HGS	Copper Financial Futures	COMEX	75	546
SIL	SIL	1,000-oz. Silver Futures	COMEX	157	408
QC		E-mini Copper Futures	COMEX	28	205
QI		miNY Silver Futures	COMEX	32	178
Source	CME

Comex Contract Specifications For Metals, Currencies, Indices

US economy still needs Fed's stimulus: Bernanke

Chairman Ben Bernanke said on Wednesday that the US economy still needs help from the Federal Reserve's low interest rate policies.

Bernanke told the National Bureau of Economic Research that because unemployment remains high and inflation is below the Fed's target, the policies are still necessary. He also said the economy is being held back by higher taxes and federal spending cuts. 

"If you put all of that together, you can only conclude that highly accommodative monetary policy for the foreseeable future is what is needed for the US economy," Bernanke said.

Stock index futures rose as Bernanke spoke. The Standard & Poor's index futures were up eight points, or 0.5 per cent, at 1,656 as of 5:40 pm Eastern Daylight Time - shortly after Bernanke wrapped up his remarks.

Bernanke's comments were his latest effort to stress that the Fed will continue to stimulate the economy, even after it begins to slow $85-billion-a-month in bond purchases that have kept long-term interest rates down.

The Fed plans to keep its investment holdings constant to avoid causing long-term rates to rise too quickly. It also plans to keep short-term rates at record lows at least until unemployment slides to 6.5 per cent.

And Bernanke has said 6.5 per cent unemployment is a threshold, not a trigger: The Fed might decide to keep its benchmark short-term rate near zero even after unemployment falls that low.

Unemployment is currently 7.6 per cent.

On Wednesday, Bernanke didn't signal any changes in the bond-buying program. But Bernanke defended recent comments he made after the Fed's June meeting.

At his June 19 news conference, Bernanke said the Fed would likely slow its bond purchases later this year and end them around mid-2014 if the economy continued to strengthen. Stocks and bonds plunged in the days after his remarks. Some critics said the Fed bungled its communications strategy.

Bernanke asked his audience to consider what might have happened if the Fed had given no signals on when the bond buying might be curtailed. He said that might have led to an increase in risk-taking on the part of investors "reflecting an expectation for an infinite" program of bond purchases.

"Explaining what we are doing may have avoided a much more difficult situation at another time," he said.

Bernanke also did not provide any clues on his own future. Many expect he will leave when his current term ends in January.

Copper Fell As Chile cuts Production Forecast, Freeport resumes shipments & Mongolia Copper Exports Underway.

Mongolia's Oyu Tolgoi copper exports underway -Rio Tinto

The mine is expected to make up a third of Mongolia's economy by 2020, and at full tilt produce around 450,000 tonnes of copper and 330,000 ounces of gold a year.

"Oyu Tolgoi starts production at a time when undeveloped quality copper assets are scarce and the outlook for copper continues to be strong," said Rio Tinto , which helped fund Oyu Tolgoi's $6.2 billion development cost.

Journalists had been invited to attend a ceremony at the mine located 80 km (50 miles) north of the Mongolia-China border on June 14 to mark the first exports. That was postponed to June 21, but the event was again canceled at the last minute.

Mongolia's mining minister has said the delay in exports was because the government and Rio disagreed on the arrangement of revenue generated from Oyu Tolgoi as well as the disclosure of the mine's $8 billion sales agreements.

Freeport Indonesia resumes underground mining, shipments

Freeport McMoRan Copper and Gold Inc has resumed copper shipments from its Grasberg mine in Indonesia as it restarts open-pit and underground mining, but expects output this year to drop by a fifth following a near two-month stoppage.

A training tunnel cave-in killed 28 people at the world's second-biggest copper mine in May, shutting operations across the mine site while safety investigations were carried out.

Freeport had sent two shipments of copper concentrate to refineries in Indonesia and China since June, well below its normal 10 shipments a month, the company said.

Chile Cuts Copper Production Forecast For 2013 As Global Slowdowns Impact Demand

Chile, the world's top copper producer, said Tuesday it expects to produce 5.53 million metric tons of the red metal in 2013, down from its previous forecast of 5.58 million tons, which was announced in April.

The price of copper, a barometer for the health of the global economy, has fallen about 15 percent this year. Its price on the Comex has fallen from nearly $3.80 per metric ton in February 2013 to $3.05 on Tuesday -- a 19 percent drop in slightly more than four months.

The government's copper commission, known as Cochilco, also cut its average copper price forecast to $3.27 per pound compared to the previous level of $3.57 per pound as a result of a slowdown in purchasing activity from the world's top metals consumer, China.

The price cut is also influenced by the prospect of the U.S. Federal Reserve winding down its economic stimulus program -- and thus potentially trimming U.S. economic activity, including demand for copper -- as well as a projected copper surplus in the coming years.

Gold Imports Plunge 80% In June 2013 In India

India’s gold imports in June have fallen 80 per cent to about 32 tonnes, providing some relief to the current account deficit and the weak rupee.The drop was sharp against the record May imports of 162 tonnes but only a 36 per cent dip over the June 2012 level of 50 tonnes.

A series of measures taken by the Government and the RBI since mid-May seem to have helped stem the import of gold. While the Government hiked the import duty on the yellow metal to 8 per cent from 6 per cent earlier, the RBI shut the consignment route for gold imports by banks.

Gold is only second to crude oil in India’s import bill. The value of gold and silver imports in April-May stood at $15.8 billion. In April alone, the gold import bill touched $7.5 billion.

Oil Prices Up On Egypt Crisis and Drop in US Supply.

The market is being guided higher by an up-trending Gann angle from the April 2013 bottom at $86.29. speculators went after the last swing top at $99.21, putting the market in a position to challenge a top from May 2012 at $104.50.

Further rally is now expected to head back to 110.55/114.83 resistance zone. On the downside, break of 100.94 is needed to indicate short term topping. Otherwise, outlook will stay bullish.

The market is being driven higher for two main reasons. Firstly, the American Petroleum Institute reported a drop in supply by 9.4 million barrels last week. The decline of nearly 10.0 million barrels was the biggest reduction in more than 10 years. The draw-down took traders by surprise, triggering the sharp upside breakout. The rapidly tightening supplies could mean the start of long uptrend.

The unrest in Egypt is the second key reason why crude oil prices are rising. Bullish speculators fear a disruption in supply because of the lack of stability in the region. These speculators are betting the political turmoil will lead to a disruption in the transportation of nearly 2.4 million barrels per day of oil.

During the past week, Egyptian President Mohamed Mursi rejected an army ultimatum to leave office. Other than the street violence, traders haven’t seen any military action yet, but based on the size of the move this week, speculators are anticipating…

3 Bias That Affect Your Trading. What is Bias Mind ?

What is the meaning of BIAS ?

Biases are human tendencies that lead us to follow a particular quasi-logical path, or form a certain perspective based on predetermined mental notions and beliefs. When investors act on a bias, they do not explore the full issue and can be ignorant to evidence that contradicts their initial opinions. Avoiding cognitive biases allows investors to reach impartial decision based solely on available data.

There are 3 bias that will affect one’s trading:

1) Gambler’s fallacy bias

People tend to believe that after a string of losses, a win is going to come next. Take for example that you are playing a game of coin tossing with a capital of $1000. You lost 3 bets in a row on heads and cost you $100 each bet. What will you bet next and how much would you stake?

It is likely you will continue to bet on heads and with a higher stake, say $300. You do not ‘believe’ that it can be tails consistently. People fail to realize coin tossing is random and past results do not affect future outcomes.

Traders must treat each trade independently and not be affected by past results. It is important that your trading system tells you how much to stake your capital which is also known as position sizing, so that the risk-reward ratio will be optimal.

2) Limit profits and enlarge losses bias

People tend to limit their profits and give more room to losses. Nobody likes the feeling of losing. Most investors tend to hold on to losses and hope their investments will turn around soon, and they will be happy if their holdings break even. However, chances are that they will amount to greater losses. On the other hand, if they are winning, most investors tend to take profits early as they fear their profits will be wiped out soon. Thereafter, they regretted that they didn't hold a little longer (sounds familiar?).

One of the most important principle in trading is contrary to what most investors do – Traders have to LIMIT LOSSES and let PROFITS RUN. Losses are part and parcel of trading and hence, it is crucial to protect the capital from depleting too much – live to fight another day is the mantra for all traders. Large profits are thus required to cover the small losses – so do not limit profit runs.

3) I am right bias

Humans are egoistic in nature and we want to prove that we are right. High accuracy is not important in trading but making more money when you are right is. Remember what George Soros said, “It’s not whether you’re right or wrong that’s important, but how much money you make when you’re right and how much you lose when you’re wrong.”