http://www.larsschall.com/2013/01/15/der-goldene-wasserscheide-moment-der-bundesbank/
The Golden watershed moment of the Bundesbank
January 15th, 2013 No Comments
The German Bundesbank is about to abroad to repatriate gold reserves stored in order to draw the control of close combat and future currency crises. She pulls off parts of their collections in New York and all the bars of Paris. "The move marks an extraordinary breakdown of trust between the major central banks," says Ambrose Evans-Pritchard of the Daily Telegraph.
Translation by Ambrose Evans-Pritchard, Lars sound
The following article appeared in the original English here on the website of the Daily Telegraph. The exclusive translation for LarsSchall.com approved by Ambrose Evans-Pritchard specifically and personally.
Ambrose Evans-Pritchard, born in 1957, has reported more than 30 years on global politics, economics and finance from Europe, the U.S. and Latin America. He came in 1991 to the Daily Telegraph, where he first Washington correspondent and then (from 1999 to 2004) Europe correspondent in Brussels. He is now International Business Editor of the newspaper in London. Before joining the Daily Telegraph he worked at The Economist. He was educated at Malvern College, Trinity College, Cambridge University and La Sorbonne.
In addition to the following article can be found on LarsSchall.com an exclusive interview with Ambrose Evans-Pritchard, " Europe and America will not allow deflation to take root . "
The Golden watershed moment of the Bundesbank
Ambrose Evans-Pritchard
The German Bundesbank is about to abroad to repatriate gold reserves stored in order to draw the control of close combat and future currency crises. She pulls off parts of their collections in New York and all the bars of Paris.
The move marks an extraordinary breakdown of trust between the major central banks.Some gold enthusiasts compare this with the withdrawal of the French gold from the United States under President Charles de Gaulle, when the Bretton Woods monetary system collapsed in the early 1970s.
Handelsblatt said the Bundesbank will announce on Wednesday that it intended to transfer gold in the vaults in Frankfurt. Germany has. 3,396 tonnes of gold, worth about £ 115 billion, the second largest after the United States held Most of the reserves were during the Cold War mounted for safety abroad.
The bank holds an estimated 45 percent of its gold at the Federal Reserve Bank in New York and 11 percent at the Banque de France, which is less than originally thought.
A report by the German Federal Court in October showed that the proportion of bank in London a decade ago, at a time halved, as the Bank of England a part of the British gold at the low point of the market, selling to buy Euros.
The gold was withdrawn allegedly because London demanded € 500,000 per year in storage costs. The Bundesbank said that parts of the 930 tonnes that had been brought back, were melted down for inspection, and "not missing a gram." It currently holds only 13 percent of the entire holdings of the Bank of England.
The Bundesbank says there is now that Germany is united and at peace, little reason to hold gold in Paris. The Bank retains some reserves in London and New York for the trade and for liquidity purposes.
"Gold that you keep at home in the safe deposit box is not immediately available as a security deposit if you need foreign currency," Bundesbank board member Carl-Ludwig Thiele said late last year.
"Take, for example, the key role of the U.S. dollar as a reserve currency plays in the global financial system. The gold that is held at the New York Fed, can be seized in a crisis at the Federal Reserve Bank as collateral against liquidity denominated in dollars. Similarly, a pound liquidity can be achieved by a pledge of the gold that is held at the Bank of England. "*
The recent shift in strategy follows the Court's criticism of the Germans, who said in a confidential report that the gold abroad would have been "never checked physically" and not would be in reasonable control. A growing chorus of lawmakers in parliament has called for a return of all German gold in the event that the financial crisis escalated.
The veteran gold trader Jim Sinclair said the move of the Bundesbank was a pivotal event in the gold market and the latest warning to investors that they should keep their metal bars under their physical control, rather than relying on paper contracts.
"This sends out a message to the storage of gold in your area and on the delivery acceptance, no matter who holds it. As France did so many years ago, this caused panic among the U.S. financial leadership. History will look back on this salvo as the beginning of the end of the U.S. dollar as the reserve currency of choice, "he said.
Many analysts say that the world zubewege to a de facto gold standard, to increase by China, Russia and other powers reserve their stocks in order to diversify out of dollars and euros.
Unlike Great Britain, Spain, Switzerland, Holland, Germany and others have not sold his gold, as it was out of fashion. The same goes for Italy. The two countries are now sitting on very substantial reserves, which are beginning to gain political significance.
http://www.caseyresearch.com/gsd/edition/bundesbank-reported-ready-retrieve-germanys-gold-new-york-and-paris
Bundesbank Reported Ready to Retrieve Germany's Gold From New York and Paris
Jan
15
"I also said in the next sentence that the next country that asked for its gold back could be a game-changer."
¤ YESTERDAY IN GOLD AND SILVER
Once the roll-overs out of the February delivery month were subtracted from yesterday's trading volume, the net volume was pretty light...and that was certainly reflected in the price action on Monday.
There was a bit of rally after the silver fix in London trading, but that got stopped in its tracks shortly after the Comex opened...and then down it went into the 3:00 p.m. GMT London gold fix. From there, the gold price got sold off every time it broke above the $1,670 spot price mark. The high tick...$1,676.10 spot...came less than fifteen minutes after the Comex open.
The gold price closed at $1,667.80 spot...up $5.10 on the day. Net volume was very light...around 92,000 contracts.
The silver price was obviously much more 'volatile'. After jumping up about two bits around 9:00 a.m. Hong Kong time, the silver price traded sideways until around 3:00 p.m in the Far East, before jumping up another twenty cents just before the London open.
From that point, silver traded sideways and...just like gold, began to rally about a half-hour after the noon London silver fix. The silver price rallied further right from the Comex open...and within fifteen minutes, was up 35 more cents before getting capped. Then at 9:30 a.m...the entire New York gain disappeared going into the 10:00 a.m. Eastern London gold fix.
After that, silver didn't do much until precisely 12:30 p.m. Eastern...and away it went to the upside once again, with the high tick of the day [$31.27 spot] coming precisely at the 1:30 p.m. Comex close. From there it got sold off into the 5:15 electronic close.
Silver finished the Monday trading session at $31.08 spot...up 64 cents from Friday's close. Volume was pretty decent at around 46,000 contracts.
From that point, silver traded sideways and...just like gold, began to rally about a half-hour after the noon London silver fix. The silver price rallied further right from the Comex open...and within fifteen minutes, was up 35 more cents before getting capped. Then at 9:30 a.m...the entire New York gain disappeared going into the 10:00 a.m. Eastern London gold fix.
After that, silver didn't do much until precisely 12:30 p.m. Eastern...and away it went to the upside once again, with the high tick of the day [$31.27 spot] coming precisely at the 1:30 p.m. Comex close. From there it got sold off into the 5:15 electronic close.
Silver finished the Monday trading session at $31.08 spot...up 64 cents from Friday's close. Volume was pretty decent at around 46,000 contracts.
Here's the New York Spot Silver [Bid] chart on its own, so you can see the Comex price action in greater detail.
The dollar index opened on Sunday night in New York at 79.55...and from there it traded as low at 79.36 very early in Far East trading...and it's high tick [79.64] came around 1:00 p.m.. in London...which was 8:00 a.m. Eastern time. From there it drifted lower in the close...and finished the Monday session at 79.50...down a whole 5 basis points from where it started the day.
Nothing to see here...and certainly no co-relation to the precious metal prices, either.
Nothing to see here...and certainly no co-relation to the precious metal prices, either.
*****
The CME's Daily Delivery Report for Monday showed that only 9 silver contracts were posted for delivery tomorrow within the Comex-approved depositories.
There were no reported changes in either GLD or SLV yesterday.
But it was a different story once again at the U.S. Mint on Monday. They sold another 13,000 ounces of gold eagles...3,000 one-ounce 24K gold buffaloes...and 300,000 silver eagles. Silver eagle sales are now through the five million coin/ounce mark at 5,082,000...along with 150,000 ounces of gold eagles and buffaloes combined to date. These are serious numbers...and we're only halfway through January.
It was another busy day over at the Comex-approved depositories on Friday, as they reported receiving 1,812,809 troy ounces of silver...and shipped 448,010 ounce of the stuff out the door. Most of the activity was at Scotia Mocatta, both in and out...and the link to all the activity is here.
Twice a month I report on the short positions of both SLV and GLD from data provided by the good folks over at shortsqueeze.com. My latest comments on this were posted in myThursday column last week...and here are the two pertinent paragraphs...
The short position in SLV increased by another 2,892,600 shares/ounces...which works out to an increase of 13.15%. The short position now sits at 24,897,800 shares/ounces...and that translates into a short position 7.64% of all outstanding shares of SLV.
The short position in GLD increased by 'only' 802,100 shares, or 80,210 troy ounces...which works out to an increase of 5.43% from the previous report. The short position in GLD now sits at 15,575,200 shares, or about 1.56 million ounces of gold...3.62% of the outstanding shares of GLD.
I thought nothing of this until I heard from reader Walter Stepko...and this is what he had to say about my data...
There were no reported changes in either GLD or SLV yesterday.
But it was a different story once again at the U.S. Mint on Monday. They sold another 13,000 ounces of gold eagles...3,000 one-ounce 24K gold buffaloes...and 300,000 silver eagles. Silver eagle sales are now through the five million coin/ounce mark at 5,082,000...along with 150,000 ounces of gold eagles and buffaloes combined to date. These are serious numbers...and we're only halfway through January.
It was another busy day over at the Comex-approved depositories on Friday, as they reported receiving 1,812,809 troy ounces of silver...and shipped 448,010 ounce of the stuff out the door. Most of the activity was at Scotia Mocatta, both in and out...and the link to all the activity is here.
Twice a month I report on the short positions of both SLV and GLD from data provided by the good folks over at shortsqueeze.com. My latest comments on this were posted in myThursday column last week...and here are the two pertinent paragraphs...
The short position in SLV increased by another 2,892,600 shares/ounces...which works out to an increase of 13.15%. The short position now sits at 24,897,800 shares/ounces...and that translates into a short position 7.64% of all outstanding shares of SLV.
The short position in GLD increased by 'only' 802,100 shares, or 80,210 troy ounces...which works out to an increase of 5.43% from the previous report. The short position in GLD now sits at 15,575,200 shares, or about 1.56 million ounces of gold...3.62% of the outstanding shares of GLD.
I thought nothing of this until I heard from reader Walter Stepko...and this is what he had to say about my data...
Ed,
There is something amiss with the reported GLD & SLV short positions reported by Short Squeeze for Dec 30 that you quote in today's GSD.
They show a Dec 30 short position for GLD of 15,575,200 with a prior (Dec 15) position of 14,773,100 .
For SLV they show a short of 24,897,800 for Dec 30 and a prior position of 22,005,200.
However, my records show a Dec 15 short positions of 22,823,400 for GLD and 18,118,000 for SLV. This is also what you reported in your Dec 28 GSD issue.
Walter
Since I don't track this stuff as religiously as Ted Butler, I fired Walter's e-mail off to Ted as soon as I got it. Ted had already noted the changes as well...and since Walter sent that e-mail, the numbers had been changed for a second time.
Ted figures that it was nothing that shortsqueeze.com was doing...but rather the fault of theDepository Trust Clearing House [DTCC] where all these numbers originate. There's not too many shades of grey in Ted's thoughts about this rather shadowy outfit...and here it is in three sentences: I have been steadfast in naming JPMorgan as the big silver crook, but my feelings about the DTCC makes JPM look like Mother Theresa in comparison. After all, the DTCC appears to be little more than a secret private organization comprised of bankers controlling most of the world's financial assets. I'll continue to report on short sale activity in SLV, but remain distrustful of the source.
Here are a couple of charts that Nick sent my way on the weekend. They show thepercentage gains in the 1970 bull market in both gold and silver versus the percentage gains we've had in the current [starting in year 2000] bull market to date. The deserve a look...and the 'click to enlarge' feature will come in handy for that.
(Click on image to enlarge)
*****
selected news items.....
Top Democrats urging Obama to raise debt ceiling all voted against increase in ’06
On Friday the Democratic leadership of the Senate — Majority Leader Harry Reid, Assistant Majority Leader Richard Durbin, Conference Chair Charles Schumer, and Conference Secretary Patty Murray — wrote to President Obama urging him to unilaterally raise the debt ceiling in the event that Republicans either block such an increase or attempt to pass one “as part of unbalanced or unreasonable legislation.”
“We believe that you must make clear that you will never allow our nation’s economy and reputation to be held hostage,” the Democrats wrote. “We believe you must be willing to take any lawful steps to ensure that America does not break its promises and trigger a global economic crisis — without congressional approval, if necessary.”
Put aside the picture of leading lawmakers, usually so jealous of their constitutional prerogatives, asking the president to ignore Congress. What is striking about the letter is that every one of its signers — Reid, Durbin, Schumer, and Murray — voted against raising the nation’s debt ceiling just seven years ago.
Well, dear reader, can you spell hypocrisy? This story showed up around lunchtime on Saturday in The Washington Examiner...and it's a story I borrowed from yesterday's edition of the King Report. The link is here.
Mario Draghi has saved the rich, now he must save the poor
The European Central Bank has washed its hands of any further responsibility for the 27m people across the eurozone listed as unemployed or classified as discouraged workers.
The Governing Council has concluded that nothing more can usefully be done to lift the region out of double-dip recession, a relapse that it failed to foresee and to a great extent caused by allowing all key measures of the money supply to contract in early-to-mid 2012.
It will not take fresh action to offset fiscal tightening this year of 2.3pc of GDP in Spain, 2pc in France, or 1.2pc in Italy -- not to mention draconian retrenchment in the three indentured states of Greece, Portugal, and Ireland -- or take action to cushion the shock of deep reforms.
This very long Ambrose Evans-Pritchard rant showed up on The Telegraphwebsite early yesterday evening GMT...and I thank Roy Stephens for sending it. The link is here.
Journalists in Greece Are Becoming Bombing Targets
The Greek police on Saturday were looking for the people responsible for detonating makeshift bombs at the homes of five journalists in Athens, the latest in a series of actions taken against reporters in Greece that have raised questions about a deteriorating climate for media freedom.
An anarchist group calling itself Lovers of Lawlessness claimed responsibility for Friday’s attacks, citing coverage of the financial crisis that the group denounced as sympathetic to the austerity programs being imposed by the Greek government and its foreign lenders.
Reporters Without Borders condemned the bombings, in which explosives tied to gas canisters caused minor damage at the homes of the editor of the Athens News Agency, Antonis Skylakos, and two broadcasters, Giorgos Oikonomeas and Antonis Liaros, from private television stations. Petros Karsiotis, a crime reporter, and Christos Konstas, a former journalist who is now a spokesman for the government agency in charge of privatizing Greek assets, were also targeted. No injuries were reported.
“These attacks are the most visible expression of an increasingly dangerous climate for all journalists, who are being turned into the scapegoats of a crisis they are just analyzing,” Reporters Without Borders said.
This is the second story in a row from The New York Times. This one was posted on their Internet site on Saturday...and I thank Phil Barlett for finding it for us. The link is here.
Haven for Oligarchs: Europe's Mounting Reluctance to Bail Out Cyprus
There is growing resistance in Europe to the planned aid program for Cyprus, because it would also benefit illegal Russian money parked in bank accounts in Cyprus. The government in Nicosia is willing to make concessions, but Brussels is demanding more reforms.
Cyprus has a smaller population than the little German state of Saarland, but that hasn't stopped it becoming one of the biggest trouble spots in global politics at the moment. The question of whether the government in Nicosia should be allowed to bolster its ailing banks with more than €17 billion ($22.7 billion) from Europe's bailout funds is dividing the euro zone, causing uncertainty in international markets and adding to the woes of the coalition government of Chancellor Angela Merkel, made up of her center-right Christian Democratic Union (CDU), its Bavarian sister party, the Christian Social Union (CSU), and the business-friendly Free Democratic Party (FDP). Now that the center-left Social Democratic Party (SPD) and the Green Party have announced their opposition to the plan, Merkel's coalition could for the first time fail to muster a parliamentary majority on an important decision relating to the euro crisis.
The financial woes of Cyprus are a thorny issue for the German government, the mood in global financial marks and, most of all, for Europe's bailout policy. Ever since last fall, when SPIEGEL published a report by Germany's Federal Intelligence Service (BND) on money laundering in Cyprus, it has been clear that an aid program for the country would also benefit Russian oligarchs who have deposited billions in assets from dubious sources on the Mediterranean island. According to the BND analysis, if Brussels released the requested aid money, German taxpayer funds could very well be used to protect the illegal assets of Russian business magnates.
Sooner or later Europe will have to bail out Cyprus, just like they did Greece, whether they want to or not. This spiegel.de story was posted on their Internet site around lunchtime in Berlin yesterday...and I thank Roy Stephens once again. The link is here.
Eight King World News Blogs/Audio Interviews
The first blog is with John Embry...and it's headlined "Silver Will Soar Hundreds of Dollars Higher". Next comes John Hathaway...and his interview is titled "The Case for Gold to Trade Substantially Higher". Next comes this Richard Russell blog. It's entitled "Gold & Silver are on the Verge of Accelerating". Here's a "KWN Sunday Gold Chart Special"...with all charts courtesy of Nick Laird. And next is this blog with Michael Pento...and it's headlined "This is the Frightening Reality We All Face Going Forward". In sixth place comes this "KWN Monday Silver Chart Special"...and the charts are also courtesy of Nick Laird. The two audio interviews are with Ben Davies...and Egon von Greyerz. The links are here...and here.
Chris Powell posted John Hathaway's KWN blog in a GATA release on Sunday...and this is what he had to say about it in his preamble to the link..."Tocqueville Gold Fund manager John Hathaway has provided King World News with 11 charts making a powerful bullish case for gold. But, like most bullish arguments for gold, the charts don't account for central bank intervention in the gold market as well as central bank and bullion bank creation of imaginary paper gold to meet metal demand from the unwary. So as valuable as Hathaway's charts are for demonstrating what should happen with gold, what actually will happen remains a question and something central banks will be striving to answer with every manner of deception and market rigging."
This is absolutely true, of course...and John knows it.
With platinum coin rejected, how about up-valuing the gold reserve instead?
So much for the trillion-dollar platinum coin idea.
The U.S. Treasury Department said on Saturday it will not produce platinum coins as a way of generating $1 trillion in revenue and avoiding a battle in Congress over raising the U.S. debt ceiling.
The idea of creating $1 trillion by minting platinum coins has gained some currency among Democrats in recent days as a way of sidestepping congressional Republicans who are threatening to reject a necessary increase in the debt ceiling unless deep spending cuts are made.
The Treasury Department and the Federal Reserve, both independent of one another, each concluded this was not a viable option.
"Neither the Treasury Department nor the Federal Reserve believes that the law can or should be used to facilitate the production of platinum coins for the purpose of avoiding an increase in the debt limit," said Treasury spokesman Anthony Coley in a statement.
Well, I'm sure that the powers that be were disappointed that only their political hacks would buy what they were selling. Lincoln's famous statement that you can't fool all of the people all of the time, remains inviolate, at least in this matter...and this patently ridiculous trial balloon found the pin that it so richly deserved. I found this Reuters story in a GATA release on Saturday, but the first reader through the door with this article was Brian Farmer...for which I thank him...and the link is here.
Goldcore raises clamor about Bank of England's custody of Ireland's gold
Bankrupt Ireland owns 6 tonnes of gold, the bulk of which is held at the Bank of England, it has been revealed.
The Central Bank of Ireland said the value of its gold holdings was E235 million last time it checked. This represents just over 1 per cent of its total investments.
A spokeswoman said the central bank was a party to the Washington Agreement on Gold, which recognised gold as an important element of global monetary reserves.
She said the central bank had not entered into any lease arrangements regarding any of its gold but would not provide specific details of its storage arrangements with the Bank of England.
This short must read story was post on the independent.ie Internet site on Sunday...and I found it embedded in a GATA release...and the link is here.
Bundesbank reported ready to retrieve Germany's gold from New York and Paris
The German business newspaper Handelsblatt, based in Dusseldorf, reported exclusively last night that the Bundesbank will announce a plan to retrieve Germany's national gold from the Federal Reserve Bank of New York and the Banque de France in Paris.
As our German friends have gone to bed at this hour, we're left with only the meatball-quality work of Google translator, on which Zero Hedge's dispatch relies...and exactly how much gold is to be repatriated from each foreign vault will not be clear until tomorrow. But some speculation may be allowed as follows...
This absolute must read GATA release was posted on the gata.orgInternet site shortly before midnight last night. But the first reader through the door with this story yesterday evening was Matthew Nel, for which I thank him...and the link to the GATA release is here.
*****
¤ THE WRAP
The great masses will more easily fall victim to a big lie than to a small one. – Adolph Hitler
Despite the low volume, it was pretty the same price pattern as always in early New York trading yesterday, as whatever potential the rallies that developed in all four precious metals had, they quickly disappeared under a barrage of short selling by JPMorgan et al...especially in gold and silver. It was the same old, same old.
The big news story from Germany yesterday didn't really have any initial effect on the precious metals prices...but that changed in afternoon trading in Hong Kong...and again at the London open. But you can tell by the charts that these rallies are not going unopposed...however, as I type this paragraph at 3:39 a.m. Eastern time, the day is still very young.
I had mentioned back when Hugo Chavez repatriated his country's gold back to Venezuela, that this wouldn't set off any repercussions in the gold market and, unfortunately, it didn't. But I also said in the next sentence that the next country that asked for its gold back could be a game-changer. But not in my wildest imaginations did I think it would be Germany...and if the story posted above is true, it could turn into a whole new ballgame very quickly.
As Ted Butler has said for decades, the only way that the price management scheme in all four precious metals would end, is if JPMorgan et al released their death grip on the short side of these markets...either by: 1] putting their hands in their pockets and doing nothing during the next rally...and subsequently getting over run, 2] buying back their short positions...driving prices to the moon and the stars...and going bankrupt in the process, or 3] closing the Comex. All three of these options, or combinations of them, are the only ways out. It just remains to be seen how the end game manifests itself...and over what period of time.
A big tip of the hat goes out to German financial journalist Lars Schall for his relentless efforts in bringing this whole German repatriation situation to the state it's in at the moment. And as Chris Powell said in his absolute must read GATA release on this issue, we won't have to wait much longer to find out just how much gold will be coming home to the Fatherland.
And as I hit the 'send' button at 5:20 a.m. Eastern time, volumes in both gold and silver are very heavy...40,000 contracts in gold and 11,000 in silver...and since very little of it in gold is roll-overs, it's safe to assume that a lot of this is high-frequency trading that's attempting to control the price rally that's now under way in all four precious metals. It appears, at least for the moment, that the precious metals prices got capped within the first hour of London trading...and we'll have to see how things unfold going into the noon silver fix, followed by the Comex open in New York. The dollar index isn't doing much of anything.
It could prove to be an interesting day in the precious metal markets as Tuesday progresses.
See you tomorrow.
and.....
BUNDESBANK TO REPATRIATE 374 TONS OF GOLD FROM BANK OF FRANCE, SUBSTANTIAL PORTION OF GOLD HELD AT THE NY FED!!
While Bernanke spent his afternoon today outlining why the gold standard can never work (never mind the fact that it worked perfectly for 2 centuries in America), the Bundesbank has just shattered the remaining confidence in the fractional bullion banking system,
http://www.gata.org/node/12119
Bundesbank reported ready to retrieve Germany's gold from New York and Paris
Submitted by cpowell on Tue, 2013-01-15 04:10. Section: Daily Dispatches
11:14p ET Monday, January 14, 2013
Dear Friend of GATA and Gold:
The German business newspaper Handelsblatt, based in Dusseldorf, reports exclusively tonight that the Bundesbank will announce tomorrow a plan to retrieve Germany's national gold from the Federal Reserve Bank of New York and the Banque de France in Paris:
As our German friends have gone to bed at this hour, we're left with only the meatball-quality work of Google translator, on which Zero Hedge's dispatch relies here --
-- and exactly how much gold is to be repatriated from each foreign vault will not be clear for at least a few hours longer. But some speculation may be allowed as follows:
1) While Zero Hedge declares that the Bundesbank's action will be construed as a proclamation of lack of trust among central banks and as a bell signaling at last the sit-down phase of their game of golden musical chairs, a friend remarks sardonically that first of all this is likely to smash the gold price down by at least $100 when London and New York "markets" open Wednesday. (War in the Middle East closing the Strait of Hormuz would knock gold down at least $200, and nuclear war leveling the Northern Hemisphere would find agents of the New York Fed and U.S. Exchange Stabilization Fund selling gold down at least $300 in Rio de Janeiro and Sydney, with the remnants of Reuters, the Financial Times, and The Wall Street Journal attributing the plunge to "profit taking.") That is, repatriation is progress but there will be no free market in gold until, as happened with the collapse of the London Gold Pool in 1968, the metal in the hands of Western central banks, or at least the metal they are willing to lose, simply runs out.
2) If the entire six-member board of the Bundesbank really has voted to repatriate Germany's gold, they all will deserve GATA tin-foil hats -- but such hats are already on back-order. Indeed, in an interview two weeks ago with the Frankfurter Allgemeine Sonntagszeitung newspaper, Bundesbank President Jens Weidmann was starting to sound a bit like a gold bug, cautioning that "paper money is based on confidence" -- and then the Bundesbank even posted the interview on its Internet site:
3) No matter how much gold the Bundesbank repatriates, the explosion of this issue in Germany is an immense tribute to our German friends, who have taken GATA's cues, agitated tirelessly, mobilized some domestic political opinion, and perhaps terrified their own banksters as well as banksters abroad.
4) Of course it may be months or years before Reuters, the Financial Times, The Wall Street Journal, and such take note of the Bundesbank's action. But there are other news organizations, and word is getting around enough that tonight Arthur Hugh Clough may not seem like so much of a dreamer after all:
For while the tired waves, vainly breaking,
Seem here no painful inch to gain,
Far back, through creeks and inlets making,
Comes silent, flooding in, the main.
Seem here no painful inch to gain,
Far back, through creeks and inlets making,
Comes silent, flooding in, the main.
And not by eastern windows only,
When daylight comes, comes in the light;
In front the sun climbs slow, how slowly!
But westward, look, the land is bright!
When daylight comes, comes in the light;
In front the sun climbs slow, how slowly!
But westward, look, the land is bright!
CHRIS POWELL, Secretary/Treasurer
Gold Anti-Trust Action Committee Inc.
Gold Anti-Trust Action Committee Inc.
and....
http://www.zerohedge.com/news/2013-01-14/it-begins-bundesbank-commence-repatriating-gold-new-york-fed
It Begins: Bundesbank To Commence Repatriating Gold From New York Fed
- Bank of England
- Bill Dudley
- Central Banks
- Federal Reserve
- Federal Reserve Bank
- France
- Germany
- Monetization
- New York Fed
- None
- Reserve Currency
In what could be a watershed moment for the price, provenance, and future of physical gold, not to mention the "stability" of the entire monetary regime based on rock solid, undisputed "faith and credit" in paper money, German Handelsblatt reports in an exclusive that the long suffering German gold, all official 3,396 tons of it, is about to be moved. Specifically, it is about to be partially moved out of the New York Fed, where the majority, or 45% of it is currently stored, as well as the entirety of the 11% of German gold held with the Banque de France, and repatriated back home to Buba in Frankfurt, where just 31% of it is held as of this moment. And while it is one thing for a "crazy, lunatic" dictator such as Hugo Chavez to pull his gold out of the Bank of England, it is something entirely different, and far less dismissible, when the bank with the second most official gold reserves in the world proceeds to formally pull some of its gold from the bank with the most. In brief: this is a momentous development, one which may signify that the regime of mutual assured and very much telegraphed -because if the central banks don't have faith in one another, why should anyone else? - trust in central banks by other central banks is ending.
Much more importantly, it is being telegraphed as such, with Buba fully aware of just what the consequences of this (first partial, and then full; and certainly full vis-a-vis the nouveau socialist regime of Francois Hollande which will soon hold zero German gold) repatriation will be in a global monetary arena, which is already scraping by on the last traces of faith in a monetary system that is slowly but surely dying but first diluting itself to oblivion. And in simple game theory terms, the first party to defect from the prisoner's dilemma of all the bulk of global gold being held by the Fed, defects best. Then the second. Then the third. Until, in this particular case, the last central bank to pull its gold from the NY Fed and the other 2 primary depositories of developed world gold, London and Paris, just happens to discover their gold was never there to begin with, and instead served as collateral to paper gold subsequently rehypothecated several hundred times, and whose ultimate ownership deed is long gone.
It would be very ironic, if the Bundesbank, which many had assumed had bent over backwards to accommodate Mario Draghi's Goldmanesque demands to allow implicit monetization of peripheral nations' debts has just "returned the favor" by launching the greatest physical gold scramble of all time.
From Handelsblatt:
Die Bundesbank hat ein neues Konzept ausgearbeitet, wo sie künftig ihre Goldreserven lagern will. Nach Informationen des Handelsblatts (Dienstausgabe) sieht dieses Konzept, das am kommenden Mittwoch bekanntgegeben werden soll, vor, den heimischen Standort aufzuwerten, in New York dafür weniger Gold zu lagern und überhaupt kein Gold mehr in Paris zu horten.
Derzeit lagert das Gold der Bundesbank ihren Angaben zufolge in New York, London, Paris und Frankfurt. In der amerikanischen Notenbank Fed lagern 45 Prozent der insgesamt 3.396 Tonnen Gold, in der Bank of England in London 13 Prozent, in der Banque de France in Paris elf Prozent und im Hauptsitz in Frankfurt 31 Prozent. Diese Verteilung soll sich nun ändern.
We present it in the original for fear of losing something in translation, but inbroad English terms the above reads as follows:
The German Bundesbank is developing a new approach as to where its gold will be stored. According to exclusive information, to be fully announced on Wednesday, the bank will in the future hold less gold in the New York Fed, and no more hold in Paris (Banque de France). As a result, the distribution of German gold, of which 45% is held in New York, 13% in London, 11% in Paris and 31% in Frankfurt, is about to change.
There is no need to explain why this is huge news (for those who have not followed our series on the concerns and issue plaguing German gold can catch up here, here, here, here, and certainly here) . At least no need for us to explain. Instead we will let the Bundesbank do the explanation. The following section is the answer provided by the Bundesbank itself in late October in response to the question why it does not move the gold back to Germany:
The reasons for storing gold reserves with foreign partner central banks are historical since, at the time, gold at these trading centres was transferred to the Bundesbank. To be more specific: in October 1951 the Bank deutscher Länder, the Bundesbank’s predecessor, purchased its first gold for DM 2.5 million; that was 529 kilograms at the time. By 1956, the gold reserves had risen to DM 6.2 billion, or 1,328 tonnes; upon its foundation in 1957, the Bundesbank took over these reserves. No further gold was added until the 1970s. During that entire period, we had nothing but the best of experiences with our partners in New York, London and Paris. There was never any doubt about the security of Germany’s gold. In future, we wish to continue to keep gold at international gold trading centres so that, when push comes to shove, we can have it available as a reserve asset as soon as possible. Gold stored in your home safe is not immediately available as collateral in case you need foreign currency. Take, for instance, the key role that the US dollar plays as a reserve currency in the global financial system. The gold held with the New York Fed can, in a crisis, be pledged with the Federal Reserve Bank as collateral against US dollar-denominated liquidity. Similar pound sterling liquidity could be obtained by pledging the gold that is held with the Bank of England.
And in case the above was not clear enough, below is the speech Buba's Andreas Dobret delivered to none other than NY Fed's Bill Dudley in early November:
Please let me also comment on the bizarre public discussion we are currently facing in Germany on the safety of our gold deposits outside Germany – a discussion which is driven by irrational fears.In this context, I wish to warn against voluntarily adding fuel to the general sense of uncertainty among the German public in times like these by conducting a “phantom debate” on the safety of our gold reserves.The arguments raised are not really convincing. And I am glad that this is common sense for most Germans. Following the statement by the President of the Federal Court of Auditors in Germany, the discussion is now likely to come to an end – and it should do so before it causes harm to the excellent relationship between the Bundesbank and the US Fed.
Throughout these sixty years, we have never encountered the slightest problem, let alone had any doubts concerning the credibility of the Fed [ZH may, and likely will, soon provide a few historical facts which will cast some serious doubts on this claim. Very serious doubts]. And for this, Bill, I would like to thank you personally. I am also grateful for your uncomplicated cooperation in so many matters. The Bundesbank will remain the Fed’s trusted partner in future, and we will continue to take advantage of the Fed’s services by storing some of our currency reserves as gold in New York.
Incidentally, what Zero Hedge did provide after this article, was factual evidence that the Buba's very much "trusted partner" had been skimming it on physical gold deliveries on at least one occasion, in "Exclusive: Bank Of England To The Fed: "No Indication Should, Of Course, Be Given To The Bundesbank..."
So we wonder: what changed in the three months between November and now, that has caused such a dramatic about face at the Bundesbank, and that in light of all of the above, will make is explicitly very unambigous that the act of gold repatriation, assuming of course that Handelsblatt did not mischaracterize what is happening and misreport the facts, means the "excellent relationship" between the Fed and Buba, not to mention Banque de France which will shortly hold precisely zero German gold, has just collapsed.
Also, if the Bundesbank is first, who is next?
Finally, once the scramble to satisfy physical gold deliverable claims manifests itself in the market, we can't help but wonder what will happen to the price of gold: both paper and physical?
and.....
http://www.handelsblatt.com/politik/deutschland/reserven-bundesbank-will-deutsches-gold-zurueckholen/v_detail_tab_print/7629600.html
The gold reserves of the Bundesbank are to be again largely supported in Frankfurt.Source: DAPD
Frankfurt, the Bundesbank has developed a new concept, where she wants to continue storing their gold reserves. According to information of the Handelsblatt (service delivery) sees this approach which will be announced next Wednesday before, to revalue the domestic locations, in New York for less to store gold and even to hoard any more gold in Paris.
Thus, the central bank reacts to a report of the Federal Court to examine the financial statements of the Bundesbank and had advised her to create a current bearings concept and documented.
Currently, the gold of the Bundesbank outsourced their claims to New York, London, Paris and Frankfurt. In the American Federal Reserve store 45 percent of the total 3,396 tonnes of gold in the Bank of England in London, 13 percent, in the Bank of France in Paris eleven percent and 31 percent at its headquarters in Frankfurt. This distribution is about to change.
and what about the gold of Ireland ? How long before the Irish demand their gold back - if it's actually there ?
http://www.economicpolicyjournal.com/2013/01/where-is-irelands-gold-did-bank-of.html
MONDAY, JANUARY 14, 2013
Where Is Ireland's Gold? Did the Bank Of England Illegally Sell It?
Zero Hedge reports:
The Central Bank of Ireland continues to be queried about the status of the Irish gold reserves. It has been reluctant to release information and said that it is “not obliged” to release information due to certain “rules and regulations”. Ireland's finance minister, Michael Noonan, has also been asked 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 out into international markets.
Answers are as of yet not forthcoming. The Sunday Independent, Ireland’s best selling Sunday broadsheet covered the story yesterday in an article (see news) published yesterday which is being widely shared on the internet and commented upon: Bankrupt Ireland owns six tonnes of gold, the bulk of which is held at the Bank of England, it has been revealed. The Central Bank of Ireland said the value of its gold holdings was €235m last time it checked. This represents just over 1 per cent of its total investments. A spokeswoman said the Central Bank was a party to the Washington Agreement on Gold, which recognised gold as an important element of global monetary reserves. She said the Central Bank had not entered into any lease arrangements regarding any of its gold but would not provide specific details of its storage arrangements with the Bank of England.What are government's hiding? Was there a massive attempt to push the gold price down, at one point, and now many governments, including the US, do not have the gold they are reporting on their books?
and Austria - was is its gold ?
Most Austrian gold reserves held in London and leased out
Submitted by cpowell on Thu, 2012-11-22 14:35. Section: Daily Dispatches
Which means that the gold really isn't there at all, or at least not unimpaired. Now another nation is starting to get hints about gold-market rigging, likely thanks to the clamor raised by our German friends -- Austria being, of course, a German-speaking nation.
* * *
Call to Bring Austrian Gold Back Home from the UK
From Austrian Times, Vienna
Thursday, November 22, 2012
Thursday, November 22, 2012
There is heated debate in Austria after it was revealed that the country's national bank is storing its gold reserves in England.
In response to a parliamentary question the bank said that 224.4 tonnes (around 80%) of Austrian gold reserves were in the United Kingdom, around 6.9 tonnes (around 3%) are in Switzerland, and around 48.7 tonnes (around 17%) are in Austria itself.
The bank said that the reason to store gold abroad was that because in a time of crisis it could be speedily traded. Since 2007 Austria's national bank had had a constant reserve of around 280 tons of gold. Through leasing of its gold the Austrian National Bank has in the last 10 years earned around 300,000,000 euros.
The bank's governor, Wolfgang Duchatczek, revealed the statistics after a question by social Democrat MP Matznetter, who wanted to know why Great Britain was regarded as the best place to store Austrian gold.
Duchatczek said: "The bank has always made it clear that our gold reserves are stored at the main gold-trading centres."
Currently that would be London and Switzerland -- specifically Basel, he said. The gold that the bank has in Austria itself is stored at the Austrian Mint in Vienna.
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