Saturday, April 6, 2013

Ed Steer's Gold and Silver Report - April 6 , 2013 ... Data from Friday -CME Daily Delivery Report , Commitment of Traders Report discussed in detail , short position data discussed in detail , Bank Participation Report for April discussed in detail . News and views concerning the precious metals ....Thoughts of the day from Turd Ferguson ! .

http://silverdoctors.com/acute-gold-shortage-reported-in-southern-india/


ACUTE GOLD SHORTAGE REPORTED IN SOUTHERN INDIA

gold shortageBy Eric Dubin
We have long assumed the physical market would be the undoing of the gold cartel’s effort to cap gold.  Evidence is mounting that this dynamic is starting to unfold on many different fronts.  SD reader Anders has reported that Bangkok gold dealers are totally out of bullion products other than a minor amount of jewelery.
This week the highly reputable Business Standard of India reported there are “acute” shortages of gold in Southern India:
Major jewelry manufacturing centers in south India are facing acute shortage of gold ahead of the wedding season despite the industry’s claim to have seen a record import of the yellow metal last financial year.
Centers like Coimbatore in Tamil Nadu and Thrissur and Kochi in Kerala are facing huge shortage of gold. These centers constitute around 15-20 per cent of India’s overall annual demand of the yellow metal. “Nominating agencies that are responsible for supplying gold to jewellers have failed to meet up the industry’s requirement in the south Indian states with supply becoming a major constraint in these smaller regions,” said Vipul Shah, chairman of the Gems and Jewellery Export Promotion Council (GJEPC), on the sidelines of a seminar here today.
The Indian government has made an effort to steer public interest away from gold and into financial services products, from equities, gold ETFs and simple bank savings accounts.  They’ve levied import taxes in hopes of improving India’s trade balance.  But these efforts are only having limited success.  The Business Times story indicates that some gold jewelry manufactures have fared better than others obtaining gold for production, and that Southern Indian producers are not positioned as well as the overall supply has diminished.  But it’s clear there’s more going on here than just a supply chain problem created by government meddling and less efficient management decisions by Southern Indian gold jewelry producers!  The shortage is real and Indian gold demand is on the rebound after having cooled off a bit in 2012.
This is all happening at the same time there’s growing speculation that the cartel is attempting to cover their short positions. 
Got gold and silver?  By the time 2013 comes to a close, prices should be MUCH higher.




and...





http://silverdoctors.com/gold-run-there-is-not-one-single-ounce-of-gold-available-for-sale-in-bangkok/#more-24523


GOLD-RUN: “THERE IS NOT ONE SINGLE OUNCE OF GOLD AVAILABLE FOR SALE IN BANGKOK!”

gold runSD reader Anders has submitted a boots-on-the ground report from Bangkok Thailand, which is normally flooded with physical gold. 
In the wake of this week’s massive gold take-down by the cartel, Anders reports that:
EVERY Gold-shop in Bangkok is out of Bullion…there is not 1 single ounce of gold bullion available for purchase in the entire city of Bangkok!  The Gold is going down in price like everyone is selling.. while there is no Phyzz to buy at all in all Thailand!


Full first-hand report from SD reader Anders: 
Hi Doc,
I live in Thailand and am 100% invested in PM.
Today when I walked by a Gold-shop here in Bangkok, there was a long queue outside.
Since I’m curious and also have seen how the cartel has smashed down the Gold the last 2 days I walked in and asked whats happening…
and not 1 ounce is possible to buy. (they only have some jewellery for sell)
To buy Bullion you must order and wait (at least) 5 days.. and you can only order 2.5 ounce per person.
And they stopped taking orders at 3pm today as well.
I saw later long long queue outside many Gold-shops.. and the info I got was that there is not 1 ounce of Gold-bullion to buy in the whole Bangkok. 
(possibly the whole Thailand)
The Gold is going down in price like everyone is selling.. while there is no Phyzz to buy at all in the whole Thailand.
The cartels naked -shorting is hilariously obvious now.
(Btw. Thaigold is 96.5%, not 99.9 like the Eagle/Maple leafs Etc)
But anyway.. all Thailand is out of Gold and there is a limitation on how much you can order.. and it will take at least 5 days to get it.
Frankly.. I’m shocked… Thailand is a huge Gold community.. so no one has ever heard of gold being sold out here before.
I just thought this would be of some interest for you.
Regards,
Anders

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http://www.tfmetalsreport.com/blog/4623/saturday-gold


Saturday Gold

I don't know if the old week has ended or if the new week has already begun.
Let start with a reprint of my CoT comments from yesterday. As expected, the report was extraordinarily bullish, particularly in silver. Does this mean that the decline is over and silver won't be going any lower? Of course not. Maybe it won't end until the LargeSpecs are actually net short? Regardless,the metals are once again poised for a major move, back toward the top of the 18-month range, at a minimum.
MODERATOR
Let's start with gold as it went exactly as we assumed it would. For the week, price fell $21 and OI fell by 2,500. However, those bland numbers belie some incredible turnover.
On the drop to Tuesday's close of $1576, the Large Specs added 12,300 net new shorts. Likely almost all of this came on Tuesday when OI surged by 10,000 while price fell $25. The Small Specs also added a net 3700 new shorts. And of course this allowed The Gold Cartel to cover a net 16,000 shorts. This drops their net short ratio back to a bullish 2.04:1.
Now silver...
For the 4-day week, silver was down a whopping $1.42 while its OI rose by 4,200. On Tuesday, when silver closed at $27.25, here's how things looked. (Keeping in mind that on Wed and Thu, total OI rose by another 1500 contracts to a multi-year high of 157,212.)
The Large Specs which, just eight short weeks ago were long 42,499 and short 6,588, are now long 38,200 and short 30,055. That's a net change of 27,766 contracts or a shortage of nearly 139,000,000 ounces of silver or about 20% of total global production this year...all shorted by the Large Specs over the past eight weeks. It is important to remember here that The Large Specs don't actually have any silver to deliver, they are simply short the paper. With this week's changes, the LargeSpec net long ratio falls to a has-to-be-a-misprint level of just 1.27:1. 
The SmallSpecs got in on the act, too. They added 600 longs but also added 2900 new shorts for a net reduction of their long position of 2300.
And so we turn to the silver commercials. The gross long position which, as a reminder has almost always fluctuated between 30,000 and 40,000 for as long as I can recall, grew again this week. For the reporting period, the Comm gross long position grew by another 2,300 contracts to a record 57,847. As of last night, it may have reached to near 60,000. All of the Spec selling allowed JPM et al to cover some more of their naked shorts. This week they covered another 3200, bringing their total position down to 76,350. Most importantly, the Silver Cartel net short ratio has fallen to 1.32:1. This is the lowest I've ever seen, exceeding the low of 1.34:1 on 12/27/11. That record low marked a bottom and silver proceeded to rally from $26 to $37 in nine weeks.
I SIMPLY CANNOT STRESS ENOUGH HOW EXTRAORDINARILY BULLISH THIS COT REPORT IS. We are clearly on the cusp of a major rally. Did it begin today? Maybe. Will it begin next week or the following week? Perhaps. All I know is that it will begin...and soon. Be ready.
So you're probably wondering where how the charts look after yesterday's move. They're not too shabby. We can't declare victory and a bottom just yet...but...if these rallies can extend back above the lows made right after the first of the year, these charts are going to begin to look very, very bullish. Not to get the cart too far ahead of the proverbial horse but the 50-day MA for June gold is at $1614.10 and the 50-day in May silver is $29.51. It's not going to be easy but if we can get through there, too...well, it's going to be fun.
And here's an interesting chart. I recall seeing some blatant SPIN this week that argued that the reason gold was declining was a rise in real interest rates. This is patently false...like that matters. Also when everyone from Smart Money to The O'Reilly Factor is claiming that gold is dead, you know that the short side is overcrowded and due for a religious experience.
That said, look at this chart of the 10-year note. You can plainly see why The Bernank has that goofy grin on his face this morning. The 10-year is now well above the 132 level, which is where it was when QE∞ was announced and then confirmed 90 days later.
Just a couple of other things that don't at first glance seem connected. First, while scanning the headlines over coffee this morning, I came across this on Drudge. http://thehill.com/blogs/on-the-money/domestic-taxes/292071-obama-budget-to-target-wealthy-iras And check this quote: (A) senior administration official said that wealthy taxpayers can currently “accumulate many millions of dollars in these accounts, substantially more than is needed to fund reasonable levels of retirement saving.” Yikes!! I can't even begin to describe how:
  1. Frightening this is that some bureaucrat can decide what is a "reasonable level of retirement savings".
  2. Frightening at how unbelievably freaking stupid, naive and foolish this is.
And then there's the continuing saga of the N-Kos and Lil Kim. As you know, yesterday the N-Kos recommended that all foreign embassies withdraw their personnel by April 10 because "after that date, they cannot guarantee their safety". Lil Kim also drove another missile over to his coastal launch site, Cape Kimchi. The U.S. then upped that bet and raised him some B-1 bombers to Guam. What in the name of Charles Cabell is going on here?
I have a theory. I think the O'Bottom regime is deliberately poking at Lil Kim. The Kim family has been a thorn in the side of just about everyone for over 60 years. Lil Kim, as a third generation ruler, appears to be no more reasonable and likeable than either is Dad or his Papa. So it appears to me that O'Bottom is taking a gamble similar to his strategy with Egypt and Libya. Namely, "let's sponsor the ending of the current regime and then maybe, just maybe, the next leadership will be a little easier to deal with".
So, knowing that Lil Kim is just 28 years old and likely reviled by all of the top military brass in N-Ko...Maybe a military dictator , even a little one, will be enough to prompt a coup that replaces Kim with someone/something more "reasonable"? I've thought about this for days and that's the best I can come up with. Because otherwise it makes no sense. Why paint the little fucker into a corner and leave him with no options other than some type of maneuver to "save face"?
If I'm right, then something is indeed going to happen in the next 7-10 days. The question then becomes, will it be "small" and contained? Or will the unintended/unexpected consequences of war FUBAR all of O'Bottom's plans? 
And now you're asking yourself, what the devil does this have to do with the IRA story?
Incompetence. Plain and simple. Whether it's dealing with the "financial crisis", crafting a budget, managing the debt, the Arab Spring...you name it. The overriding element of five years of O'Bottom is incompetence. So now here they are, attempting to massage and manage a removal of the ruling regime of North Korea. What do you think the chances are that it doesn't go as smoothly as hoped/planned??? Not good.
On that happy note, I'm going to call it a week. Have a great weekend and enjoy some down time. Come back Monday, though, with your game face on. See you then.
TF





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http://www.caseyresearch.com/gsd/edition/the-assault-on-gold-paul-craig-roberts/


"How fast prices rise...and to what heights...is always 100% in the hands of JPMorgan et al."

¤ YESTERDAY IN GOLD & SILVER

The gold price declined a few dollars during early morning trading in the Far East...and then bounced along the $1,550 price mark until shortly after the London open.
From there it rallied back to unchanged going into the 8:30 a.m. jobs numbers in New York.  The subsequent rally got hammered instantly...and the gold price didn't do much until around half-past lunchtime EDT.  The it rallied slowly from there, closing on its high tick of the day...something you only see happen a small handful of times a year.
Gold finished the week at $1,582.30 spot...up $28.70 from Thursday's close.  Gross volume was an immense 215,000 contracts...so this rally did not go unopposed by JPMorgan et al.
The silver price action was slightly different.  It declined in price [in fits and starts] right from the open in the Far East on their Friday morning.  The low price tick [around 26.75] came at the London open and, with the exception of the usual shenanigans at the release of the jobs numbers, silver rallied for the rest of the day, closing virtually on its high.
Silver finished the Friday session at $27.35 spot, up 45 cents on the day...and net volume was around 33,500 contracts.
The dollar index opened in Japan on Friday morning at 82.72.  It rallied as high as 82.87 up until 9:00 a.m. in London...and then down it went.  The index fell like rock at the release of the jobs numbers, but someone with deep pockets was there to catch a falling knife.  The index continued to decline until shortly before 11:00 a.m. in New York...and then rallied a bit going into the 5:15 p.m. close.  The dollar finished the Friday session at 82.49...down 23 basis points from Thursday's close.
It should be apparent by now that, for the most part, the currencies are trading virtually independently of what the precious metal prices are doing.


*   *   * 


The CME's Daily Delivery Report showed that 664 gold and 108 silver contracts were posted for delivery on Tuesday within the Comex-approved depositories.  In gold, the only two short/issuers were Canada's Bank of Nova Scotia with 473 contracts...and JPMorgan with 191 contracts in its client account.  There were only two big long/stoppers of note...and that was Barclays with 362 contracts...and HSBC USA with 298 contracts.  If I had to bet ten bucks...I'd be happy to bet that these firms are the 'Big 4' Commercial short holders in gold.

In silver, the only short/issuer of note was Jefferies with 102 contracts...and only long/stopper worth mentioning was Canada's own Bank of Nova Scotia with 98 contracts.  The link to yesterday's Issuers and Stoppers Report is here.
There were declines in both ETFs yesterday.  In gold, an authorized participant withdrew a smallish 29,020 troy ounces from GLD...and the withdrawal from SLV was a very chunky 5,797,056 troy ounces.  I would guess that this big withdrawal was plain vanilla liquidation, although Ted Butler may have something else to say about it in his weekly review later today.
There were no reported sales from the U.S. Mint yesterday...which I find hard to believe considering the awesome retail demand that I'm hearing lots about...including what's going on in our own store. Maybe one of the reasons there hasn't been any new silver eagle sales is that they don't have any blanks to make them with. To add fuel to this fire, one major U.S. silver wholesaler that we deal with is not taking orders for 1-ounce silver rounds until further notice.  I've heard other rumours within the wholesale silver delivery system that are even more interesting, but I consider them to be hearsay...and I'm not about to spread them in this space.
Over at the Comex-approved depositories on Thursday, they reported receiving 701,219 troy ounces of silver...and shipped 782,614 troy ounces of the stuff out the door.  The link to that activity is here.
The Commitment of Traders Report numbers in both silver and gold were bang on what Ted Butler said they would be in his mid-week column..."If I had to guess, I would say around a 4,000 to 5,000 contract net reduction in silver...and a 15,000 net contract reduction in gold [hopefully more than this in each market].  That's through Tuesday's cut-off: [Wednesday's] action will undoubtedly reduce the total Commercial net short position even further."
In silver, the actual decline in the Commercial net short position was 5,538 contracts, or 27.7 million ounces.  The Commercial net short position is now down to 92.51 million ounces.  Ted says that JPMorgan's short position in silver is "around" 100 million ounces.  This means that JPMorgan Chase is short over 100% of the Commercial net short position in silver.  This is a preposterous situation...and I would guess that Ted will have more to say about this to his paying subscribers in his weekend review later today.
There were new records set all over the place yesterday.  The net long position in the Non-Commercial category in silver is down to 8,146 contracts...or 40.73 million ounces...a number so low I have no living memory of it being lower.  Neither does Ted...and he's been at this for close to thirty years. The raptors [the small commercial traders other than the Big 8] are holding a record long position as well.  He'll have much more to say about all of these records in his column.
In silver, the Big 4 are short 192.4 million ounces of the stuff...which works out to 35.3% of the entire Comex silver market on a 'net' basis, once all the market-neutral spread traders are subtracted from the total open interest.  The '5 through 8' traders are short an additional 56.1 million ounces of silver, which works out to 10.3% of the entire silver market on a 'net' basis.  So of the 35 traders that hold short positions in the Commercial category of the COT Report, 8 of them are short 45.6% of the entire Comex silver market.  That leaves the balance of 54.4% divided up between the remaining 27 traders...about 2% of the market each.  JPMorgan is short about 18.3% of the entire Comex silver market [on a 'net' basis] all by itself.
As bad as these numbers are, just a few months ago, JPMorgan's 'net' short position in silver was double that amount.
In gold, the Commercial net short position declined by 15,951 contracts, or 1.60 million ounces.  The Commercial net short position now sits at 14.25 million ounces.
The Big 4 are short 9.72 million ounces of gold, which represents 27.7% of the entire Comex short position in gold on a 'net' basis.  The '5 through 8' traders are short an additional 5.05 million ounces of gold, which represents an additional 14.4% of the entire short position in Comex gold.  Of the 50 traders holding short positions in the Commercial category in the COT Report in gold, theBig 8 are short 42.1% of the entire Comex futures market.  This leaves 42 traders splitting up the 57.9% of the short position in gold that remains...barely over a percent each.
The Big 3 in gold and silver...are JPMorgan Chase, and most likely Canada's Bank of Nova Scotia in number two position, followed by HSBC USA.
Here's Nick Laird's most excellent "Days of World Production to Cover Short Positions" chart for the current COT report.  You will note that palladium has overtaken silver in the number one position.  The eight largest short holders are short 128 days of world palladium production vs. 118 day of world silver production...and 113 days of platinum production.  Gold is down to 62 days.
(Click on image to enlarge)
Here's the same chart from the prior week.  Although they look similar, just note the difference that have occurred between last week's report...and the one from yesterday posted above.
(Click on image to enlarge)
Now for the April Bank Participation Report.  This is the one day per month when the long and short positions of the U.S. and non-U.S. banks area broken out from the Commitment of Traders Report numbers.  Since these reports come from the same data set, one can compare apples to apples...and you can see just how much the banks [mostly U.S. banks] totally dominate the short side of the precious metals futures market in real time.
In silver...as of Tuesday, April 2nd...'3 or less' U.S. Banks were short 120.4 million ounces of silver.  That's a decline of 37.9 million ounces from March's BPR.  JPMorgan Chase is short approximately 100 million ounces of the 120.4 million...and I'm guessing that the other 20 million ounces is held short by HSBC USA...and the tiny balance by Citigroup.  These three banks [two actually, because Citigroup's position is so tiny] are short 22.1% of the entire Comex futures market in silver on a 'net' basis.
In silver...there are 14 non-U.S. banks that were net short 47.1 million ounces between them...a smallish increase of 890,00 troy ounces from the March BPR.  It's my guess that Canada's Bank of Nova Scotia holds the lion's share of that 47.1 million ounce position...certainly more than 50 percent of that number.  That leaves the other 13 non-U.S. banks short the rest between them, so in the grand scheme of things, their positions are immaterial.
As I've said before...and I'll say it again...it's my belief that there are only three big players in the silver market on the short side...and they are JPMorgan Chase, Canada's Bank of Nova Scotia...and HSBC USA.  And as I've also said before, I'm fully prepared to print a retraction and apology if I these financial institutions can prove that they are not holding these short positions in the Comex silver market.
Here are the five critical charts for the Bank Participation Report in silver for April.  The first three charts are pretty self-explanatory...and charts 4 and 5 where the 'juice' is, require a bit more study.  Note the big jump in the short position of the U.S. banks in August of 2008 when JPMorgan's short position it acquired from Bear Sterns showed up in the report for the first time...and in October when the non-U.S. bank, Canada's Bank of Nova Scotia was brought in from the cold.
(Click on image to enlarge)
In gold, 4 U.S. banks are net short 4.17 million ounces in April's Bank Participation Report.  That's down from 4.6 million troy ounces they held net short in the March Report.
In gold, 21 non-U.S. banks are short 4.45 million ounces...a smallish increase of 1.13 million ounces since the March BPR. Once again, it's my guess that the biggest short holder in this category by far is Canada's Bank of Nova Scotia...as you can see how the non-U.S. bank short position blew out in October of 2011 on the chart below when the CFTC announced that a new non-U.S. bank was now required to report their futures and options position in the BPR.  You can read the details on the announcement on the home page of the Bank Participation Report here.
(Click on image to enlarge)
I don't have the time to compute these figures for platinum and palladium, but it's a good bet that it's "all the usual suspects" that are short these metals as well...especially the U.S. banks.  They've been shorting the platinum and palladium rallies all the way up for the last six months or so...and only in the last few weeks have they done the dirty and smacked their prices as well in order to force technical fund long selling...but that hasn't changed a thing on the charts, as JPMorgan et al keep piling on the shorts in these two metals.  The BPR charts for platinum and palladium posted below, tell all.
(Click on image to enlarge)
(Click on image to enlarge)


*   *   *  

Selected gold and silver related news items.....



Fed’s Yellen Backs Plan to Adjust QE Pace as Warranted


Federal Reserve Vice Chairman Janet Yellen threw her support behind a proposal to vary the pace of the central bank’s bond buying based on changes in prospects for the world’s largest economy.
“Adjusting the pace of asset purchases in response to the evolution of the outlook for the labor market will provide the public with information regarding the committee’s intentions and should reduce the risk of misunderstanding and market disruption as the conclusion of the program draws closer,” Yellen said in a speech yesterday in Washington.
Yellen is the latest Fed official to endorse a proposal by St. Louis Fed President James Bullard to reduce the pace of purchases as the economy improves or expand it in response to signs of weakness. Chairman Ben S. Bernanke said in a press conference last month the FOMC is considering this strategy to “appropriately calibrate” its policy.
This businessweek.com article from yesterday was sent to me by Manitoba reader Ulrike Marx.


Bullard: Fed to Move ‘Full Steam Ahead’ With Bond Purchases


Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis President James Bullard said the Fed is in no hurry to reduce its record bond buying with inflation running below its 2 percent target.
“It is full steam ahead right now,” Bullard said on Bloomberg Radio’s “Hays Advantage” with Kathleen Hays. “That is exactly what the committee is doing.”
A voter on monetary policy this year, Bullard was one of the first Federal Open Market Committee officials to urge slowing the pace of bond purchases in 2013 if warranted by economic reports, a position taken by Chairman Ben S. Bernanke last month. In 2010 Bullard initiated calls for a second round of bond buying, which ran from November 2010 until June 2011.
This news item was posted on the moneynews.com Internet site early on Thursday morning Eastern time...and I thank Elliot Simon for his second offering in today's column.


Four King World News Blogs/Audio Interviews


The first interview is with Rick Rule...and it's headlined "The Financial System May Surprise You Going Forward".  Next is this blog with James Turk.  It bears the headline "Spark That Will Send the World Into a Hyperinflationary Spiral".  The third commentary is from Art Cashin...and it's entitled "Aftermath of Cyprus, Fear, Contagion and Crisis".  The audio interview is withGerald Celente.


Sprott's Thoughts: A Retort to SocGen's Latest Gold Report


Société Générale (“SocGen”) recently published a special report entitled “The end of the gold era” that garnered far more attention than we think it deserved.  The majority of the report focused on SocGen’s “crash scenario” for gold wherein they suggest that gold could fall well below their 2013 target of US$1,375/oz. It also included a classic criticism that we’ve heard so many times before: that the gold price is in “bubble territory”. We have problems with both suggestions.
To begin, the report’s authors appear to view gold as a commodity, rather than as a currency. This is a common misconception that continues to plague most gold market analysis. Gold doesn’t really work as a commodity because it doesn’t get consumed like one. The vast majority of gold mined throughout history remains in existence today, and the total global gold stockpile grows in small increments every year through additional mine supply. This is also precisely why gold works so well as a currency. Total gold supply can only grow marginally, while fiat money supply can grow exponentially through printing programs. This is why gold’s monetary value is so important – it’s the only “currency” in play that is immune to government devaluation.
Sprott's two Davids...Franklin and Baker...tee up this SocGen piece of fluff and drive it down the fairway as tactfully as they can...and it's definitely worth your time.


Turkey Silver imports climb 31% to 6.19 tons in March


Turkey imported 6.19 tons of silver in March while gold imports hit an eight month high at 18.26 metric tons..
According to Istanbul Gold Exchange, Silver imports rose 31% from a month earlier. The nation imported 142.2 tons last year.
Turkey’s gold imports climbed to an eight-month high in March as prices averaged the lowest since May, the exchange said.
Gold imports increased to 18.26 metric tons, the most since July. That’s up from 17.34 tons in February and compared with 2.91 tons a year earlier, Turkey bought 120.8 tons last year.
This short piece, filed from Ankara, was posted on the bullionstreet.com Internet site at 12:13 p.m. India Standard Time on their Friday...and I thank Marshall Angeles for his last story in today's column.



The Assault on GOLD: Paul Craig Roberts


For Americans, financial and economic Armageddon might be close at hand. The evidence for this conclusion is the concerted effort by the Federal Reserve and its dependent financial institutions to scare people away from gold and silver by driving down their prices.

When gold prices hit $1,917.50 an ounce on August 23, 2011, a gain of more than $500 an ounce in less than 8 months, capping a rise over a decade from $272 at the end of December 2000, the Federal Reserve panicked. With the US dollar losing value so rapidly compared to the world standard for money, the Federal Reserve’s policy of printing $1 trillion annually in order to support the impaired balance sheets of banks and to finance the federal deficit was placed in danger. Who could believe the dollar’s exchange rate in relation to other currencies when the dollar was collapsing in value in relation to gold and silver.

When gold topped $1,900, Washington put out the story that gold was a bubble. The presstitute media fell in line with Washington’s propaganda. “Gold looking a bit bubbly” declared CNN Money on August 23, 2011.

The Federal Reserve used its dependent “banks too big to fail” to short the precious metals markets. By selling naked shorts in the paper bullion market against the rising demand for physical possession, the Federal Reserve was able to drive the price of gold down to $1,750 and keep it more or less capped there until recently, when a concerted effort on April 2-3, 2013, drove gold down to $1,557 and silver, which had approached $50 per ounce in 2011, down to $27.

This rather short absolute must read commentary by Paul Craig Roberts was posted on his website on Thursday...and I thank Ulrike Marx for today's last story.


¤ THE WRAP


The issue which has swept down the centuries...and which will have to be fought sooner or later...is the people versus the banks. - Lord Acton
I'm so far behind in today's column, that I don't have time for all the newsy stuff that I normally provide with my two musical selections of the day. So, with no fanfare...here's the pop blast from the past...and the classical composition is linked here.
As I mentioned in yesterday's column, if I had to bet ten bucks we saw the bottom during the Thursday trading day...and Friday's price action in both gold and silver certainly lend credence to that bet.
However, as I mentioned further up in this commentary, yesterday's rally did not go unopposed...and Ted Butler isn't sure how much deterioration we had...but still feels [as I do] that we are locked and loaded for a major move to the upside.  How fast prices rise...and to what heights...is always 100% in the hands of JPMorgan et al.  It has always been that way in the past...and remains to be seen if that's the case this time.
I can't believe that "da boyz" would go to all the trouble of blasting out an historic Commitment of Traders Report, with new records in virtually every category, only to put their collective heads back in the proverbial lion's mouth.  Of course both Ted and I have had that feeling at other major price bottoms...but this price bottom is certainly one for the record books.
We'll have to wait to find out if things are different this time or not...and I doubt we'll have much longer to wait to find out.
I've been around this planet long enough to recognize that everything economic, financial and monetary is starting to float off the rails...but the timeline is the big unknown...as is the form of the ultimate collapse.
And as I've said before, all we can do is prepare the best we can with precious metals...and the shares of the mining companies that dig this stuff out of the ground...and hope it's enough.
That's it for the day...and the week.  But one last time I want to remind you about the Casey Research webinar on Monday just one last time...and it's entitled "Downturn Millionaires".

See you on Tuesday.

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