http://jessescrossroadscafe.blogspot.com/2012/12/report-that-russia-has-issued-gold-and.html
19 DECEMBER 2012
Report that Russia Has Issued Gold and Silver Coins Which Can Be Used As Legal Tender
Unfortunately I do not read Russian so I have not yet completely verified this, but I thought it was interesting enough to pass along on the face of it, since it is 'making the rounds' of the internet, and some have asked me about it.
Here is the reported document in Russian.
As they are not coins for general circulation but rather coins to commemorate the Russian Olympics I do not see this as signficant perhaps as the blogger quoted below. Also it appears that they will be issued in rather limited numbers so will probably price as a collectible and not as currency. That is how it is with commemoratives in limited edition.
Here is the sentence from the document that provoked such a strong reaction in some circles.
"The coins are legal tender cash payment in the Russian Federation and must be accepted at face value in all kinds of payments without any restrictions."I have not yet done all the math to determine the equivalent 'face value' of the coins in other currencies, but I have taken an initial swipe at it.
In the case of the 50 Rouble gold coin, it is 7.78 grams, or 0.25013 troy oz.
At $1700 per ounce, that would make the gold coin worth about .999 x .25013 = .25 ounce of gold, or roughly $425 for a face value coin of 50 roubles.
That is about 8.5 dollars to the rouble. And I don't think many would take that exchange, since the US dollar is now trading at about 30.77 roubles.
Much ado about not too much I am afraid. This strikes me as the $50 face value on the gold American Eagle. I don't even need the legal tender guarantee to make me want to honor that exchange.
Well Aren't These Fine
By Demetrius Tucker
19 December 2012
Tallinn, Estonia
It seems 2012 is not yet done with its surprises. The Central Bank of Russia has issued three values of bullion (300,000 31.1g silver pieces with a 3RUB face value, 300,000 7.78g gold pieces with 50RUB face, & 100,000 15.55g gold pieces with a 100RUB face value) that can be used as legal tender beginning, well, TWO DAYS AGO!
If you don’t yet understand the ramifications of such a move, don’t worry, it’s not too late. But you want to begin reading now – starting with the history of metals as money...
Read the entire report here.
Here is a Google translation of the Russian document.
The Central Bank of the Russian Federation (Bank of Russia)
Department of External and Public Relations
107016, Moscow, ul. Neglinnaya, 12, tel.: (495) 771-4417, 771-4669, fax: (495) 771-4932; http://www.cbr.ru
INFORMATION
On the issue of investment appeal of precious metal coins
Department of External and Public Relations of the Bank of Russia informs that on 17 December 2012 in the framework of the monetary program "Sochi 2014" Bank of Russia issues a bullion coins dedicated to the XXII Olympic Winter Games 2014 in Sochi: 3 Rubles silver, gold nominal 50 and $ 100, with the year of issue "2012".
Investment silver coin of 3 Rubles (fine metal content 31.1 g, fineness 999, catalog № 5111-0247) has a rectangular shape with rounded corners, length 35.0 mm and a width of 23.0 mm.
On the front and back of the coin is raised.
The obverse of the coin features the relief of the State Emblem of the Russian Federation, there are inscriptions in two lines at the top of "the Russian Federation", below face value coins - "RR 3" and the year of issue - "2012", indicate the metal in the periodic table of elements D. I. Mendeleev, fineness, the mint trademark and the fine metal content...
The coins are legal tender cash payment in the Russian Federation and must be accepted at face value in all kinds of payments without any restrictions.
December 17, 2012
Using materials reference to the Department of External and Public Relations of the Bank of Russia is required.
Leeb talks gold market manipulation and gold backing for China's yuan
Submitted by cpowell on Wed, 2012-12-19 21:18. Section: Daily Dispatches
4:13p ET Wednesday, December 19, 2012
Dear Friend of GATA and Gold:
Fund manager Stephen Leeb today discussed gold market manipulation with King World News and disclosed that a Chinese diplomat recently told him that China is accumulating gold for the purpose of backing its currency.
Leeb adds: "There is a ritual we see in overnight trading. Gold is usually up $4 or $5 at around midnight or 1 a.m. East Coast time. I'll be watching gold trade at this time and I can't count the number of times that in just a minute or two, instead of gold being up $4 or $5, it's now down $20. No one is trading at 12 or 1 or 2 in the morning. Somebody is doing this and it always happens when there is no liquidity. So you have a game of desperation going on here and the Chinese are aware of this."
An excerpt from the interview is posted at the King World News blog here:
CHRIS POWELL, Secretary/Treasurer
Gold Anti-Trust Action Committee Inc.
Gold Anti-Trust Action Committee Inc.
Lars Schall: Bundesbank refuses candid and complete answers about gold
Submitted by cpowell on Wed, 2012-12-19 19:09. Section: Daily Dispatches
2:08p ET Wednesday, December 19, 2012
Dear Friend of GATA and Gold:
The German financial writer Lars Schall today elaborates on how the Bundesbank keeps refusing to provide candid and complete answers to specific questions about its involvement in the gold market. Schall's commentary is headlined "The Whole Ball Game: They Can't Talk About It" and it's posted at his Internet site here:
CHRIS POWELL, Secretary/Treasurer
Gold Anti-Trust Action Committee Inc.
Gold Anti-Trust Action Committee Inc.
U.S. govt.'s bullion bank agents selling gold to defend dollar, Maguire says
Submitted by cpowell on Wed, 2012-12-19 18:54. Section: Daily Dispatches
1:48p ET Wednesday, December 19, 2012
Dear Friend of GATA and Gold:
U.S. government agents are selling paper gold in defense of the dollar while Asian buyers sit back and take the discount on the metal, silver market whistleblower tells King World News today. An excerpt from the interview is posted at the King World News blog here:
CHRIS POWELL, Secretary/Treasurer
http://www.silverdoctors.com/bank-of-australia-admints-99-9-of-gold-reserves-are-held-in-bank-of-england/
BANK OF AUSTRALIA ADMITS 99.9% OF GOLD RESERVES ARE HELD IN BANK OF ENGLAND
How do you say rehypothecation in Australian? 
and......
http://www.caseyresearch.com/gsd/edition/russia-todays-capital-account-program-interviews-gatas-murphy-and-powell
Russia Today's 'Capital Account' Program Interviews GATA's Murphy and Powell
Dec
19
¤ YESTERDAY IN GOLD AND SILVER
I was expecting another leg down in the precious metals sometime between Christmas and New Years...but it began yesterday. Ted Butler had been expecting since the Sunday night open in New York.
Gold rose gently in early Far East trading, with the 'high' tick...around $1,702 spot...coming shortly after 1:00 p.m. in Hong Kong...and by the Comex open it was back to unchanged from Monday's close.
The first of many engineered price declines began shortly before 10:00 a.m. in New York...which may have been an early London p.m. gold fix. It was sold down in stair-step fashion from there, with the final down-leg coming shortly after the 1:30 p.m. Comex close. That was gold's low price tick of the day...recorded by Kitco as $1,660.10 spot.
From there the gold price recovered somewhat...but that smallish rally only lasted until 4:00 p.m. Eastern...and then it traded sideways into the 5:15 p.m. electronic close.
Gold finished the Tuesday session at $1,670.90 spot...down $27.20 for the day. Net volume was a very chunky 195,000 contracts.
Of course it was silver that JPMorgan et al were really after...and they certainly did a number on it. The sell-off was much more severe, but the price pattern was the same, so I'll spare you the play-by-play.
Silver's high tick...around $32.55 spot...came shortly before noon Hong Kong time. The low price tick, like gold's, came ten minutes after the Comex close...and Kitco reported that as $31.25 spot.
The subsequent rally pared the losses by a bit...and silver finished the day at $31.64 spot...down 64 cents on the day. Once again silver had an intraday price move of well over a dollar. Net, volume was pretty decent at around 46,000 contracts...but with a price decline of that magnitude, I was hoping for more.
The dollar index started the Tuesday trading session at 79.56...then rallied a hair until shortly after the London open before starting to weaken...with the biggest decline coming between 10:00 a.m. and 11:15 a.m. in New York. The index nadir [79.27] occurred at that point...and the dollar index closed at 79.36...down about 20 basis points from Monday's close.
Only Jon Nadler could find a co-relation between the precious metal price activity and the dollar index on a day like yesterday...as any sane and rational person would see no relationship at all. But if you do see some, I'd love to hear your explanation.
Gold rose gently in early Far East trading, with the 'high' tick...around $1,702 spot...coming shortly after 1:00 p.m. in Hong Kong...and by the Comex open it was back to unchanged from Monday's close.
The first of many engineered price declines began shortly before 10:00 a.m. in New York...which may have been an early London p.m. gold fix. It was sold down in stair-step fashion from there, with the final down-leg coming shortly after the 1:30 p.m. Comex close. That was gold's low price tick of the day...recorded by Kitco as $1,660.10 spot.
From there the gold price recovered somewhat...but that smallish rally only lasted until 4:00 p.m. Eastern...and then it traded sideways into the 5:15 p.m. electronic close.
Gold finished the Tuesday session at $1,670.90 spot...down $27.20 for the day. Net volume was a very chunky 195,000 contracts.
Silver's high tick...around $32.55 spot...came shortly before noon Hong Kong time. The low price tick, like gold's, came ten minutes after the Comex close...and Kitco reported that as $31.25 spot.
The subsequent rally pared the losses by a bit...and silver finished the day at $31.64 spot...down 64 cents on the day. Once again silver had an intraday price move of well over a dollar. Net, volume was pretty decent at around 46,000 contracts...but with a price decline of that magnitude, I was hoping for more.
The dollar index started the Tuesday trading session at 79.56...then rallied a hair until shortly after the London open before starting to weaken...with the biggest decline coming between 10:00 a.m. and 11:15 a.m. in New York. The index nadir [79.27] occurred at that point...and the dollar index closed at 79.36...down about 20 basis points from Monday's close.
* * *
Considering the bear raid by "da boyz" yesterday, the shares held up remarkably well...and don't forget about what I [and others] have said about buying "while blood is running in the streets". That expression fits the circumstance before you, perfectly.
The CME's Daily Delivery Report showed that 154 silver contracts were posted for delivery tomorrow. Jefferies was the short/issuer on all of them...and the Bank of Nova Scotia and JPMorgan were the biggest long/stoppers with 116 and 27 contracts respectively. Even with the year starting to wind down, I'm still expecting a reasonable amount of delivery activity between now and then, as the CME reported that there are 325 gold and 636 silver contracts still left open for the December delivery month...from which you have to subtract the 154 silver contracts mentioned above. The link to yesterday's Issuers and Stoppers Report is here.
There were no reported changes in either GLD or SLV yesterday.
Switzerland's Zürcher Kantonalbank updated their gold and silver ETFs as of December 17th. Their gold ETF showed an increase of 28,964 troy ounces...but their silver ETF showed a decline of 498,112 troy ounces.
The U.S. Mint had a smallish sales report yesterday. They sold 7,500 ounces of gold eagles...and that was all.
The Comex-approved depositories reported receiving 218,678 troy ounces of silver...and shipped 301,002 ounces out the door on Monday. The link to that activity ishere.
Well, I received an 'answer' from the ombudsman over at Scotiabank on Monday, but it sat unopened in my in-box until yesterday, as I didn't want what I said in my Tuesday column to be influenced by what was in the reply.
I didn't need to worry, as he weaseled his way out of answering it in almost the same manner as the first time. He could have easily have found the answer to my question, as it would certainly be at hand if he'd been allowed to give it to me.
The CME's Daily Delivery Report showed that 154 silver contracts were posted for delivery tomorrow. Jefferies was the short/issuer on all of them...and the Bank of Nova Scotia and JPMorgan were the biggest long/stoppers with 116 and 27 contracts respectively. Even with the year starting to wind down, I'm still expecting a reasonable amount of delivery activity between now and then, as the CME reported that there are 325 gold and 636 silver contracts still left open for the December delivery month...from which you have to subtract the 154 silver contracts mentioned above. The link to yesterday's Issuers and Stoppers Report is here.
There were no reported changes in either GLD or SLV yesterday.
Switzerland's Zürcher Kantonalbank updated their gold and silver ETFs as of December 17th. Their gold ETF showed an increase of 28,964 troy ounces...but their silver ETF showed a decline of 498,112 troy ounces.
The U.S. Mint had a smallish sales report yesterday. They sold 7,500 ounces of gold eagles...and that was all.
The Comex-approved depositories reported receiving 218,678 troy ounces of silver...and shipped 301,002 ounces out the door on Monday. The link to that activity ishere.
Well, I received an 'answer' from the ombudsman over at Scotiabank on Monday, but it sat unopened in my in-box until yesterday, as I didn't want what I said in my Tuesday column to be influenced by what was in the reply.
I didn't need to worry, as he weaseled his way out of answering it in almost the same manner as the first time. He could have easily have found the answer to my question, as it would certainly be at hand if he'd been allowed to give it to me.
Here are the entire contents of his e-mail...
Dear Mr. Steer,
I am responding to your attached follow-up e-mail, I wish to begin by assuring you that I am not trying to increase your frustration level but I must say that, as I have stated earlier, I find Scotiabank's earlier response to you to be perfectly reasonable.
In fact, I find it completely logical that any clarification about information in an article published by the Commodity Futures Trading Commission should come directly from the Commodity Futures Trading Commission.
Yours truly,
Charles Dougall
Ombudsman
In the end, it was another "non-denial denial". They just chose to get out of it by answering a question that I never asked...and avoided the direct question that I did ask. I don't think they're being obtuse...I just think that they don't want to tell the truth. It's for this very reason that I suspect Scotiabank/Scotia Mocatta of being the "new non-U.S. bank" that suddenly got outed by the CFTC in the November Bank Participation Report. Scotiabank could have ended it all by just telling me...no, it wasn't them. But they didn't say that...and I'm suspecting that the reason is because they didn't want to get caught in a lie later. I guess that's the lesser of two evils than being caught telling the truth at this point in the game.
If you didn't read it, or don't remember the question I presented to the ombudsman, the link to yesterday's GSD column is here.
Dear Mr. Steer,
I am responding to your attached follow-up e-mail, I wish to begin by assuring you that I am not trying to increase your frustration level but I must say that, as I have stated earlier, I find Scotiabank's earlier response to you to be perfectly reasonable.
In fact, I find it completely logical that any clarification about information in an article published by the Commodity Futures Trading Commission should come directly from the Commodity Futures Trading Commission.
Yours truly,
Charles Dougall
Ombudsman
In the end, it was another "non-denial denial". They just chose to get out of it by answering a question that I never asked...and avoided the direct question that I did ask. I don't think they're being obtuse...I just think that they don't want to tell the truth. It's for this very reason that I suspect Scotiabank/Scotia Mocatta of being the "new non-U.S. bank" that suddenly got outed by the CFTC in the November Bank Participation Report. Scotiabank could have ended it all by just telling me...no, it wasn't them. But they didn't say that...and I'm suspecting that the reason is because they didn't want to get caught in a lie later. I guess that's the lesser of two evils than being caught telling the truth at this point in the game.
If you didn't read it, or don't remember the question I presented to the ombudsman, the link to yesterday's GSD column is here.
The Queen and The Gold
I stole this photo from Eric King's website...and it's posted in one of his blogs with James Turk further down in this column. I'm still thunderstruck that Her Majesty [and Prince Philip] were trotted out. There is obviously big trouble in River City that we just aren't privy to.
Here are a couple of charts that Nick Laird sent my way yesterday...and both are show-stoppers. The first shows how many ounces of gold can be bought for $1,000 going back to 1718.
I stole this photo from Eric King's website...and it's posted in one of his blogs with James Turk further down in this column. I'm still thunderstruck that Her Majesty [and Prince Philip] were trotted out. There is obviously big trouble in River City that we just aren't privy to.
This second chart shows the lost purchasing power of the U.S. dollar in percentage terms over the same 300-year period. One chart is actually a 'derivative' of the other.
(Click on image to enlarge)
They don't teach this stuff in school...and as you're probably already beginning to suspect, there's a good reason for that. They don't want the sheeple to know how badly their being fleeced...and by whom...and why.
* * *
selected news items......
Geithner was told of LIBOR fears in 2008
The Federal Reserve Bank of New York was warned as early as mid-2008 that banks may have been misreporting their Libor borrowing rate to aid their own trading positions, much earlier than previously known.
Tim Geithner, then president of the New York Fed and now US Treasury secretary, was told by a senior colleague in a May 2008 email of her concerns about banks' deliberate misreporting.
The email was part of an internal push among some at the New York Fed to press the Bank of England and the British Bankers Association to reform the benchmark lending gauge, known as the London Interbank Offered Rate.
It is the first indication that officials at the New York Fed had grown suspicious that banks may have been misreporting Libor to improve their trading results. Officials already had suspected banks were under-reporting their borrowing costs to mask the state of their financial health.
This story showed up in the Financial Times of London yesterday...and it's posted in the clear in this GATA release...and it's worth skimming. The link is here.
Tim Geithner, then president of the New York Fed and now US Treasury secretary, was told by a senior colleague in a May 2008 email of her concerns about banks' deliberate misreporting.
The email was part of an internal push among some at the New York Fed to press the Bank of England and the British Bankers Association to reform the benchmark lending gauge, known as the London Interbank Offered Rate.
It is the first indication that officials at the New York Fed had grown suspicious that banks may have been misreporting Libor to improve their trading results. Officials already had suspected banks were under-reporting their borrowing costs to mask the state of their financial health.
This story showed up in the Financial Times of London yesterday...and it's posted in the clear in this GATA release...and it's worth skimming. The link is here.
Call to State Governor: Deutsche Bank CEO Accused of Interfering With Probe
Politicians have criticized the co-CEO of Deutsche Bank, Jürgen Fitschen, for telephoning the Hesse state governor to complain about a police raid on the bank last week. His behavior has fuelled doubts about whether the bank, which faces a number of lawsuits stemming from past deals, has the right management to reform its aggressive business culture.
Fitschen had told the governor, Volker Bouffier, that the images and news reports of hundreds of armed police officers in the bank would have a disastrous impact on the bank's image and wouldn't make it any easier for it to hire the best people abroad, SPIEGEL reports in its latest edition published on Monday.
Bouffier responded that it was up to the state prosecutor's office to determine the scale and the details of such police operations and that he couldn't interfere with that process.
Deutsche Bank has an "aggressive business culture"? No...really? Who would have thought that. I'm amazed this guy still has a job! This story was posted on the German website spiegel.de yesterday...and it's Roy Stephens' second offering in today's column. The link is here.
Fitschen had told the governor, Volker Bouffier, that the images and news reports of hundreds of armed police officers in the bank would have a disastrous impact on the bank's image and wouldn't make it any easier for it to hire the best people abroad, SPIEGEL reports in its latest edition published on Monday.
Bouffier responded that it was up to the state prosecutor's office to determine the scale and the details of such police operations and that he couldn't interfere with that process.
Deutsche Bank has an "aggressive business culture"? No...really? Who would have thought that. I'm amazed this guy still has a job! This story was posted on the German website spiegel.de yesterday...and it's Roy Stephens' second offering in today's column. The link is here.
Three King World News Blogs
All three blogs are from James Turk. The first one is headlined "The West Can't Stop the Flow of Gold Into India & China". The next one bears the title "Anti-Gold Propaganda Won't Stop Monetary Destruction". The last one is entitled "Why Did They Send in the Queen Instead of Auditors?". Why indeed!!! When we know the answer to that, we'll know what's really going on behind the scenes in the gold market. Whatever it is, it reeks of desperation.
Her Majesty the Queen on gold bars at Bank of England: 'Regrettably not all of them belong to us'
Becoming today the first British monarch to attend a Cabinet meeting since George III in 1781, Queen Elizabeth remarked on her visit last week to the Bank of England's gold vault, which was greatly publicized in the United Kingdom.
In a receiving line at 10 Downing St., addressing the chancellor of the exchequer, the UK treasury secretary, George Osborne, the queen said, "I saw all the gold bars. Regrettably not all of them belong to us."
Osborne replied that Britain still has some gold left, and apparently that was that -- nothing about swaps and leases and the purposes thereof, particularly secret currency market intervention to sustain the Anglo-American financial establishment that is bankrupting much of the Western world.
The Queen and gold again!!! When will it end? This GATA release has an extensive preamble by Chris Powell, who is at the top of his game here...and it falls into the absolute must read category. The link is here.
In a receiving line at 10 Downing St., addressing the chancellor of the exchequer, the UK treasury secretary, George Osborne, the queen said, "I saw all the gold bars. Regrettably not all of them belong to us."
Osborne replied that Britain still has some gold left, and apparently that was that -- nothing about swaps and leases and the purposes thereof, particularly secret currency market intervention to sustain the Anglo-American financial establishment that is bankrupting much of the Western world.
The Queen and gold again!!! When will it end? This GATA release has an extensive preamble by Chris Powell, who is at the top of his game here...and it falls into the absolute must read category. The link is here.
New Irish political party presses gold questions
A new political party in Ireland, Direct Democracy Ireland, is raising the gold issue, asking Ireland's finance minister, Michael Noonan, about the country's gold vaulted at the Bank of England, such as whether the gold is held in allocated form with a bar list available and whether the gold is leased or otherwise used for surreptitious market intervention. We hope Direct Democracy Ireland gets answers and shares them with us for publication.
I thank Chris Powell for the headline and the above paragraph of introduction. The party's questions, which are worth reading, are posted on their website...directdemocracyireland.ie...and the link is here.
I thank Chris Powell for the headline and the above paragraph of introduction. The party's questions, which are worth reading, are posted on their website...directdemocracyireland.ie...and the link is here.
China claims biggest global silver market
China has become the world's biggest silver market, according to an industry report, both as a physical investment and in paper trading of silver futures and other similar products.
The Washington-based Silver Institute said total silver demand in China increased by more than 100 million ounces, or Moz, in the past 10 years, to a record of 170.7 Moz in 2011.
China has been liberalizing its silver market since the start of 2000, creating more investment channels for buyers and sellers of silver.
In 2009, the country started offering investors the chance to buy silver bullion bars, and within two years the net demand for silver bars and coins soared to 17 million Moz, equivalent to some $600 million, making up 8 percent of global net purchases, said the report, compiled by Thomson Reuters GFMS.
This article was posted on the chinadaily.com.cn Internet site yesterday...and I thank Phil Barlett for digging it up for us. The link is here.
The Washington-based Silver Institute said total silver demand in China increased by more than 100 million ounces, or Moz, in the past 10 years, to a record of 170.7 Moz in 2011.
China has been liberalizing its silver market since the start of 2000, creating more investment channels for buyers and sellers of silver.
In 2009, the country started offering investors the chance to buy silver bullion bars, and within two years the net demand for silver bars and coins soared to 17 million Moz, equivalent to some $600 million, making up 8 percent of global net purchases, said the report, compiled by Thomson Reuters GFMS.
This article was posted on the chinadaily.com.cn Internet site yesterday...and I thank Phil Barlett for digging it up for us. The link is here.
Kitco analyst begins to wonder about gold market manipulation
The afternoon metals market roundup by Jim Wyckoff at Kitco News yesterday took note of growing suspicion of manipulation in the gold market. Wyckoff writes:
"Tuesday's major selloff in the gold market, amid no major, fresh fundamental news to move prices so sharply, once again has many market watchers scratching their heads. The past few weeks have seen similar unexpected, and seemingly inexplicable quick downside price moves in gold and silver. Many traders and investors are wondering (and many are frustrated) regarding the role of 'manipulators' in the gold and silver markets.
"Regarding any longer-term conspiracy to manipulate the price of gold or silver (lower), I cannot say for sure if that is the case or not because I have never had the time to completely research the matter. However, I do know that by looking at the longer-term monthly chart for gold I see that prices are in a solid 11-year-old uptrend and that gold has been one of the best upside market performers of any asset class for the past 11 years. If some big outfit has been trying to manipulate gold to the downside, it has not worked very well for them the past 11 years."
Any precious metals commentator who has not researched the bullion bank's price management scheme with an open mind, should not be airing their opinions on the Internet...as they are grossly under-informed. This is a disease that's well entrenched over at Kitco, as everyone working there has it. However, it is encouraging to see that at least one person has tiptoed up to the truth and sort of hinted that there might be something to it. This is another must read GATA release from yesterday...and the link is here.
"Tuesday's major selloff in the gold market, amid no major, fresh fundamental news to move prices so sharply, once again has many market watchers scratching their heads. The past few weeks have seen similar unexpected, and seemingly inexplicable quick downside price moves in gold and silver. Many traders and investors are wondering (and many are frustrated) regarding the role of 'manipulators' in the gold and silver markets.
"Regarding any longer-term conspiracy to manipulate the price of gold or silver (lower), I cannot say for sure if that is the case or not because I have never had the time to completely research the matter. However, I do know that by looking at the longer-term monthly chart for gold I see that prices are in a solid 11-year-old uptrend and that gold has been one of the best upside market performers of any asset class for the past 11 years. If some big outfit has been trying to manipulate gold to the downside, it has not worked very well for them the past 11 years."
Any precious metals commentator who has not researched the bullion bank's price management scheme with an open mind, should not be airing their opinions on the Internet...as they are grossly under-informed. This is a disease that's well entrenched over at Kitco, as everyone working there has it. However, it is encouraging to see that at least one person has tiptoed up to the truth and sort of hinted that there might be something to it. This is another must read GATA release from yesterday...and the link is here.
Lawrence Williams: What on Earth's going on in the gold market?
MineWeb's Lawrence Williams muses on the gold price's "defying all logic," failing to rise when everything about the world economy suggests that it should be soaring. Searching for an explanation, Williams quotes the recent commentary of market analyst Chris Martenson calling attention to manipulation of the gold market . Williams cites GATA as well.
His commentary is headlined "What on Earth's Going on in the Gold Market?" and Lawrie is getting awfully close to getting his own tinfoil hat...and will soon, if he's not more careful...especially after he saw what happened in New York soon after he wrote the piece. This must read article was posted over thatmineweb.com Internet site yesterday...and the link is here.
His commentary is headlined "What on Earth's Going on in the Gold Market?" and Lawrie is getting awfully close to getting his own tinfoil hat...and will soon, if he's not more careful...especially after he saw what happened in New York soon after he wrote the piece. This must read article was posted over thatmineweb.com Internet site yesterday...and the link is here.
Russia Today's 'Capital Account' program interviews GATA's Murphy and Powell
Video of yesterday's appearance by GATA Chairman Bill Murphy and secretary/treasurer Chris Powell on Russia Today's "Capital Account" with Lauren Lyster, has been posted at GoldSeek's companion Internet site,silverseek.com. Of course it's a must watch...and the link is here.
* * *
¤ THE WRAP
It is one thing for an exchange to rush to the aid of important members when an outsider may be doing something wrong and against the insider members’ interests; but it’s a very different story if there was no outside wrongdoing and the insiders were the guilty party. That’s exactly what happened in 2011 on separate occasions...and is still happening to this day in COMEX silver. It is a circumstance without precedent, namely, an exchange working against the public’s interest when there is nothing that the public is doing that is wrong. The thought that the New York Stock Exchange would diligently work to lower overall stock prices is too absurd to contemplate, as it would be shooting itself in the foot. But that’s exactly what the COMEX is doing in silver. The exchange should care less about price levels, but because the most important member of the COMEX (JPMorgan) is up to its eyeballs on the short side, that forces the exchange to be an active partner in attempting to bring about lower silver prices. This is so bad, it is almost inconceivable. Yet the evidence is right in front of us. - Silver analyst Ted Butler...15 December 2012
Well, yesterday's price action in New York should leave no doubt in anyone's mind that JPMorgan Chase and the rest of their Merry Men showed up in New York yesterday. Using my Ovaltine secret decoder ring...and holding the Kitco chart up at a 33 degree angle in polarized light, it was easy to spot the secret message inscribed in the silver chart. It said "Season's Greetings to all. Up yours. Jamie...et al"
The only question to be answered is...how much more is left to go to the downside. The gold price took out its 200-day moving average by a whisker yesterday...but did not close below it. Silver still has a ways to go yet. But can they, or will they do more to the downside? I don't know for sure, but suspect that the answer is yes.
If they are clearing the decks for a major price rise in the New Year to correspond with the Fed's attempt to raise the velocity of money by increasing the inflation rate...by a U.S. dollar devaluation, or other means...sending a message to the markets by running up the precious metal prices by a very noticeable amount would be one of the tools they would certainly contemplate using.
JPMorgan Chase is the ringleader, of course...but I'm also getting the impression that Canada's own Scotiabank/Scotia Mocatta is a major player in this short-side price management scheme as well...along with a handful of others, including the raptors.
Well, yesterday's price action in New York should leave no doubt in anyone's mind that JPMorgan Chase and the rest of their Merry Men showed up in New York yesterday. Using my Ovaltine secret decoder ring...and holding the Kitco chart up at a 33 degree angle in polarized light, it was easy to spot the secret message inscribed in the silver chart. It said "Season's Greetings to all. Up yours. Jamie...et al"
The only question to be answered is...how much more is left to go to the downside. The gold price took out its 200-day moving average by a whisker yesterday...but did not close below it. Silver still has a ways to go yet. But can they, or will they do more to the downside? I don't know for sure, but suspect that the answer is yes.
If they are clearing the decks for a major price rise in the New Year to correspond with the Fed's attempt to raise the velocity of money by increasing the inflation rate...by a U.S. dollar devaluation, or other means...sending a message to the markets by running up the precious metal prices by a very noticeable amount would be one of the tools they would certainly contemplate using.
In order to do that, I'm sure that "da boyz" would like to cover as many short positions as they can in the interim...and that means further price pain to the downside until they get the last possible speculative long position holders to sell. Once they get to that point...whatever prices that takes...no further price reduction is possible, as it's the very act of technical fund selling [or buying] that ultimately drives the spot price.
Here are the 1-year charts for both gold and silver. It's hard to tell how much more damage they can do to the downside as far as price is concerned, but Ted Butler says it could be considerable...especially in silver.
Here are the 1-year charts for both gold and silver. It's hard to tell how much more damage they can do to the downside as far as price is concerned, but Ted Butler says it could be considerable...especially in silver.
(Click on image to enlarge)
In the meantime, the CME Group and the CFTC will continue to protect the largest Commercial short holders in all four precious metals...and CFTC Commissioner Bart Chilton will continue to reassure us that nothing is amiss...and the evidence provided by the weekly Commitment of Traders Report is just a figment of our collective imaginations.JPMorgan Chase is the ringleader, of course...but I'm also getting the impression that Canada's own Scotiabank/Scotia Mocatta is a major player in this short-side price management scheme as well...along with a handful of others, including the raptors.
With what's been happening over in the gold vaults at the Bank of England these days...maybe Her Majesty will spill the beans. Maybe the pope will be next to go on the tour. Where are John Cleese and Michael Palin when you really need them? Too bad Monty Python's Flying Circus got cancelled, as I'm sure that they would have had a field day with this story.
I mentioned the COT Report just a few paragraphs back...and yesterday was the cut-off for the one that comes out on Friday. I certainly hope that all of yesterday's price and volume action is reported to the CFTC in a timely manner. Since the cut-off was at the 1:30 p.m. close of Comex trading, I very much doubt that the volume associated with the absolute low of the day, which came after the Comex close, will be in it.
Not much happened during the Far East trading day on their Wednesday...and now that London has been open a few hours, both gold and silver are trending a bit higher. Of course, that doesn't mean much if you use yesterday's New York price action as a template. Instead of hitting the precious metals during the thinly-traded Far East market like they've been doing for the past month or so, they smacked it hard in the most liquid market of all...New York...with no news associated with it. The dollar index actually fell as all this was going on.
As I hit the 'send' button at 5:15 a.m. Eastern time, gold's volume is sneaking up there...and silver's volume is about average. The dollar index is down about 10 basis points.
All eyes will be on the Comex when trading begins at 8:20 a.m. Eastern time. With JPMorgan Chase putting everyone on notice that they're back in town, it's a given that the price action in the precious metals for the balance of 2012 will not be smooth sailing.
See you on Thursday.
I mentioned the COT Report just a few paragraphs back...and yesterday was the cut-off for the one that comes out on Friday. I certainly hope that all of yesterday's price and volume action is reported to the CFTC in a timely manner. Since the cut-off was at the 1:30 p.m. close of Comex trading, I very much doubt that the volume associated with the absolute low of the day, which came after the Comex close, will be in it.
Not much happened during the Far East trading day on their Wednesday...and now that London has been open a few hours, both gold and silver are trending a bit higher. Of course, that doesn't mean much if you use yesterday's New York price action as a template. Instead of hitting the precious metals during the thinly-traded Far East market like they've been doing for the past month or so, they smacked it hard in the most liquid market of all...New York...with no news associated with it. The dollar index actually fell as all this was going on.
As I hit the 'send' button at 5:15 a.m. Eastern time, gold's volume is sneaking up there...and silver's volume is about average. The dollar index is down about 10 basis points.
All eyes will be on the Comex when trading begins at 8:20 a.m. Eastern time. With JPMorgan Chase putting everyone on notice that they're back in town, it's a given that the price action in the precious metals for the balance of 2012 will not be smooth sailing.
See you on Thursday.
No comments:
Post a Comment