dietcolaaddict

Thanks wren, good point. I feel an evening of Excel lies ahead sometime looking at the G-to-S ratio and optimal historical exit/entry points Sorry azazel, but Bubb and Steve in 'Dictionary Corner' have disallowed it for being two words. Thus, it remains a 6-letter day.

Just to say - silver > $17 gold now at 1009.5. Has something happened today - any rumours?

Hi GOM An old chart of mine - sorry it is not updated for the last 6 months or so - but I think this sums up my thinking I'm not so sure the price of the metals matters much, especially if you are just accumulating PMs for a future purchase (from memory, I think a house is your plan). Thinking about this with respect to my circumstances, a house will be c. $100 oz gold, a new career (medical school) about $30 oz. I'm simply using the gold-to-silver ratio as a way to get extra ounces on the way to these targets than if I converted my monthly savings to gold straight off. + Notice that the ratio spends a lot of time at 50-55 - it is the largest bin size so there is no need to panic a decision to swap silver for gold in this ratio range. However, the bins below 50 are very small in size, so if the ratio falls below 50, it is likely that a spike is occuring, and so a quick decision is needed to swap. + Also - and a seperate issue I am still thinking about - I'd rather hold gold than silver during the 'April - August' doldrums as it has more of a floor (especially now China appear to be hoovering up gold every time there is a significant dip) . Silver seems to have a really low floor (around $5, where I believe it becomes unworthwhile to produce for miners), so it is more risky to hold silver during the seasonal doldrums than gold. I need to think this through more, it remains just a theory at the moment, any thoughts welcome.

Thanks RH. This makes a lot of sense.

Gold-to-silver ratio now 59.3 My plan is to swap for gold at : - 51 or - mid February

Countdown round one - the letters game. Anyone else score 6 ?

Maybe we need a Junior Goldthread. Actually - forget that it sounds a bit too much like 'singing pig'

Still waiting to see if Mr Smackdown makes an unwelcome late appearence..... In the meantime... China’s insatiable appetite for gold underpins market http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/news/worl...icle6829932.ece Article begins:

Well, I'm on for a bit of gold-watching this sunny UK afternoon as NY opens. I actually quite like this flirting around the $1000 mark - it's getting people familar with four figure gold. Familiarity leads to acceptance.

Gold is sneaking back up again. "There's some life in the old dog yet"

OK, here are the kitco charts for the two past attempts on $1000: Note that this year's attempt is at the start, rather than the end, of the annual gold season. I see this as a more progressive move on $1000 - in March 2008 the London fix was >$1020 shortly after crossing the $1000 barrier, for example. We are now trading in a far narrower range around the magic barrier.

What happens to Gold if the stock market crashes? Lots of selling off by traders to cover their positions? Something tells me this is the 'joker in the pack' over the next month or two EDIT - SORRY FOR THE DOUBLE POST - overexcited I guess

What happens to Gold is the stock market crashes? Lots of selling off by traders to cover their positions? Something tells me this is the 'joker in the pack' over the next month or two

Just bounced off 1000! This is going to be a titanic battle this week.

Well, there are only a limited number of consortia of "professional footballers and funds from Russia and the Far East". Nobody else is buying. The high-and-mighty of the BTL world may well get a last escape opportunity, but "Average Joe-BTL" is still stuffed.

Here is a signal that the bull trap in UK house prices is close to an end! Former maths teachers sell their property empire as prices creep up http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/money/pro...icle6819301.ece

Wow! It's getting close to that $1000 barrier again.

Well, happy 'gold season' everyone Lets hope 2009 follows the seasonality script.

Gold has retraced half its rise this friday afternoon, but silver has more or less held all its gain. As pointed out on the Gold TreadTM, gold-to-silver now under 65.

Just no blatant rocket pics 'if or when' folks. IMHO they are a bad omen. Post something more subtle to express excitement this Sept - Feb season

My observation of this 2009 housing market remains that first time buyers are not participating or not able to participate. In fact, the politicians have stopped talking about FTBers any more. So who is propping up the pyramid scheme for now?

POST DELETED.

I only hold a very small amount of platinum. It's silly, but I loose interest in price movements when I don't hold a position in that marketplace, hence my small holding.

Thanks everyone for your thoughts. I may have to sell some of my Au+Ag here, but will delay as long as possible to catch as much seasonal gain as I can. The reason I am 85% PMs may be a little unusual and worth explaining (although I am bullish long term on PMs, negative on sterling and heavily influenced by the UK houseprice-to-gold ratio work of Goldfinger). I am attracted to a rarely discussed benefit of gold in bullion form - it allows you to avoid government methods of means testing which only seem to disincentivize the act of 'saving for a rainy day'. Any money kept in shares and cash accounts for bad times is simply counted against you in the UK system no matter how much tax and National Insurance you have paid over the years (in the belief this will provide a short-term safety net). Two scenarios I have had to plan for in recent years: Redundancy - I have poor job security - UK government would deny me benefits until I had eaten through all but £6k of savings/assets. Gold is an untraceable asset in this circumstance that will preserve hard earned savings made from putting aside some of my wage and living prudently within my means. Retraining - I have thought a lot about a switch in career - UK government would expect me to fund my own fees from my savings/assets rather than pay any costs themselves, once more removing the incentive to save for this circumstance through cash or shares.

OK, I have a dilemma here - any advice appreciated. I'm heavily invested in gold and silver + a little 'flirtation' position in platinum (total 85% of savings). Things look bullish for the months ahead in PMs and August is not the time to sell. However, I have a lot of life changes in the months ahead and need to liquidate some cash to pay for them all. Am I best to use my remaining cash (£) savings (15%) to do this, or to sell off some PMs and keep my cash emergency fund? I feel a little uncomfortable having all my eggs in one basket and being 100% PMs, even if only for a few months.