Filed under: China, Credit Crisis, DEBT, Dollar, dollar collapse, dollar dump, Economic Collapse, economic depression, Economy, Federal Reserve, global economy, gold, gold shortage, Great Depression, Greenback, hyperinflation, imf, India, Inflation, jim rogers, Russia, sri lanka, Stock Market, US Economy, Wall Street | Tags: CNBC, jim rickards
Jim Rogers: Gold Price to Double in Coming Months
CommodityOnline
November 28, 2009
The rally in gold prices has driven several bullion analysts to frenzied forecasts. Some say gold prices will reach $2,000 per ounce soon. Others are predicting big boom for the yellow metal, saying gold prices will zoom to $5,000 and eventually to even $15,000 per ounce in the years to come.
What is happening in bullion market these days? Yes, agreed that weakening dollar, global economic meltdown, shrinking gold supply and increasing cost of mining gold from the earth are all making gold the most-sought after investment these days. That is also driving the yellow metal prices to record highs.
These days, the biggest gold buyers are not individual customers or families, but global central bankers that are vying with each other to accumulate gold reserves in an attempt to get out of their decades-old dependence on the US dollar as the best asset class. India jumped into the bullion fray to buy 200 tonnes of gold from the International Monetary Fund (IMF) early this month. Other countries like China, Russia, Brazil and Sri Lanka are frantically trying to accumulate gold reserves.
Jim Rickards Discusses $4,000 Gold on CNBC
Filed under: bullion coins, Dollar, dollar collapse, dollar dump, Economy, gold, gold shortage, Greenback, hyperinflation, Inflation, IRS, legal tender, peak gold, US Economy, us mint
Gold eagle is legal tender and is exempt from reporting to the IRS
US Mint to Suspend American Eagle Gold 1-Ounce Coins
Reuters
November 26, 2009
The U.S. Mint said Wednesday it will suspend sales of the popular American Eagle 1-ounce bullion coins as rising demand depleted its inventory.
“The United States Mint has depleted its current inventory of 2009 American Eagle 1-ounce gold bullion coins due to the continued strong demand for this product,” the Mint told its authorized dealers in a memorandum on Wednesday.
November sales to date were at 124,000 ounces, higher than the 115,500 ounces sold in each month of September and October, the Mint said.
The Mint said it expects to resume sales in early December.
Filed under: DEBT, Dollar, dollar collapse, dollar dump, Economic Collapse, economic depression, Economy, gold, gold bubble, gold shortage, Great Depression, Greenback, hyperinflation, imf, Inflation, jim rogers, peak gold, Stock Market, US Economy, Wall Street
Gold hits record near $1,150/oz as dollar slips
Jan Harvey
Reuters
November 18, 2009
Gold hit a fresh record high near $1,150 an ounce on Wednesday, boosting precious metals across the board, as a dip in the dollar index added to momentum buying as prices broke through key technical resistance levels.
In non-U.S. dollar terms, gold also climbed, hitting multi-month highs when priced in the euro, sterling and the Australian dollar.
Spot gold hit a high of $1,147.45 and was at $1,146.05 an ounce at 0948 GMT, against $1,141.50 late in New York on Tuesday.
U.S. gold futures for December delivery on the COMEX division of the New York Mercantile Exchange also hit a record $1,148.10 and were later up $7.10 at $1,146.40 an ounce.
Filed under: Africa, CNBC, DEBT, Dennis Gartman, Dollar, dollar collapse, dollar dump, Economic Collapse, economic depression, Economy, gas prices, global economy, gold, gold bubble, gold shortage, Great Depression, Greenback, hyperinflation, Inflation, Oil, peak gold, Petrol, Stock Market, US Economy, Wall Street | Tags: Blyvooruitzicht, Blyvooruitzicht gold, Witwatersrand, Witwatersrand gold
Peak Gold
South African gold on final deathwatch as top grade scientist finds residual gold is more than 90% less than claimed
Barry Sergeant
Mineweb
November 16, 2009
The apparent bottom line in a paper published in the South African Journal of Science is that South Africa’s gold industry is on final deathwatch, despite claims of massive existing below-ground reserves. Chris Hartnady, research and technical director of Cape Town earth sciences consultancy Umvoto Africa, has found that South Africa’s Witwatersrand goldfields are around 95% exhausted, and anticipates that production rates should fall permanently below 100 tonnes a year within the coming decade.
Gold production from the Witwatersrand, the biggest known gold field in the world, peaked at around 1,000 tonnes in 1970 and has declined ever since. Hartnady says that while initially (1970-1975) the decline was “quite precipitous”, it has been interrupted by only short periods of slight trend reversal (1982-1984 and 1992-1993).
Leon Esterhuizen, a London-based specialist analyst at RBC Capital Markets, has reacted to the research by saying that “South African gold is dying — this is not new news”, but adds “that it may be dying faster than we currently believe is novel”. On the levels of reserves, Hartnady finds that the South African “residual gold reserve” after production through 2007 is only 2 948 tonnes, a little less than three times the 1970 production figure, and much less than 10% of the officially cited reserve
The country’s gold reserves are less than half of the current United States Geological Survey (USGS) estimate of 6 000 tonnes, and the country is not first, but fourth in world rankings, after Australia (5,000 tonnes), Peru (3,500 tonnes) and Russia (3,000 tonnes), Hartnady’s research shows. The USGS currently cites South Africa’s gold reserves at around 6,000 tonnes, while SA claims a 36,000 tonnes reserve base figure (or about 40% of the global total). Hartnady’s findings are based on Chamber of Mines figures and mathematical modeling pioneered by the distinguished American geologist M. King Hubbert.
Esterhuizen comments that “most recent indications from Harmony (even with gold bullion at new dollar records over USD 1,133/oz) is that its old shafts – effectively the Free State gold field – are dying. DRDGold has got Blyvooruitzicht on life support and is trying to get permission to keep the plug in for a little bit longer (with everything around Blyvooruitzicht now having been shut down), while Pamodzi Gold’s demise and Simmer & Jack’s failure at Buffelsfontein just proves the point — all of this, at record gold prices in rand terms”.
Gold Is in a ‘Bubble’ And Will Keep Going Higher: Gartman
Filed under: China, DEBT, Dollar, dollar collapse, dollar dump, Economic Collapse, economic depression, Economy, France, Germany, global economy, gold, gold shortage, Great Depression, Greenback, India, Inflation, italy, silver shortage, Stock Market | Tags: barrick gold
Barrick Confirms We Reached Peak Gold
Global gold production is in terminal decline despite record prices and Herculean efforts by mining companies to discover fresh sources of ore in remote spots, according to the world’s top producer Barrick Gold.
London Telegraph
November 11, 2009
Aaron Regent, president of the Canadian gold giant, said that global output has been falling by roughly 1m ounces a year since the start of the decade. Total mine supply has dropped by 10pc as ore quality erodes, implying that the roaring bull market of the last eight years may have further to run.
“There is a strong case to be made that we are already at ‘peak gold’,” he told The Daily Telegraph at the RBC’s annual gold conference in London.
“Production peaked around 2000 and it has been in decline ever since, and we forecast that decline to continue. It is increasingly difficult to find ore,” he said.
The supply crunch has helped push gold to an all-time high, reaching $1,118 an ounce at one stage yesterday. The key driver over recent days has been the move by India’s central bank to soak up half of the gold being sold by the International Monetary Fund. It is the latest sign that the rising powers of Asia and the commodity bloc are growing wary of Western paper money and debt.
China has quietly doubled holdings to 1,054 tonnes and is thought to be adding gradually on price dips, creating a market floor. Gold remains a tiny fraction of its $2.3 trillion in foreign reserves.
Gold exchange-traded funds (ETFs) – dubbed the “People’s Central Bank” – have accumulated 1,778 tonnes, making them the fifth biggest holder after the US, Germany, France, and Italy.
Filed under: DEBT, Dollar, dollar collapse, Economic Collapse, economic depression, Economy, global economy, gold, gold shortage, Great Depression, Greenback, hyperinflation, imf, India, Inflation, rbi, Stock Market, US Treasury
India buys 200 tons gold from IMF
Times of India
November 4, 2009
More than 18 years after New Delhi pawned 67 tons of gold to tide over a balance of payments crisis, the Reserve Bank of
India has bought thrice that amount of gold from the
International Monetary Fund to diversify its assets.
The IMF on Monday announced the sale of 200 metric tons of gold to the RBI, saying it represented almost half of the total sales volume of 403.3 metric tons that was approved by the Fund’s Executive Board in September.
Welcoming the purchase of 200 metric tons of gold by India’s RBI, IMF MD Dominique Strauss-Kahn said, “I strongly welcome this transaction with RBI.”
“It is an important step toward achieving the objectives of the IMF’s limited gold sales program, which are to help put the Fund’s finances on a sound long-term footing and enable us to step up much-needed concessional lending to the poorest countries.”
For India, the purchase, apart from signaling that its economy has come full circle, is a way of spreading its assets which are said to be currently over-weighted with foreign currency, mainly in the form of sovereign US Treasury bonds. In other words, it is a hedge against a falling dollar.
India is the world’s largest private gold consumer, but the government’s holding of gold as an asset is modest. Even so, the latest purchase puts it at Number 10 among the list of top 10 gold-holders in the world.
Filed under: 2012 election, abc news, campaign for liberty, cental bank, Credit Crisis, DEBT, Dollar, Economic Collapse, economic depression, Economy, Federal Reserve, George Stephanopoulos, global economy, gold, gold shortage, gold standard, Great Depression, Greenback, hr 1207, hyperinflation, India, Inflation, private bank, Ron Paul, ron paul 2012, sam donaldson, silver shortage, Stock Market, US Economy
Sam Donaldson: End The Fed Before They Do Further Damage
Filed under: DEBT, Dollar, dubai, Economic Collapse, economic depression, Economy, global economy, gold, gold shortage, Great Depression, Greenback, hyperinflation, Inflation, Stock Market, US Economy, Wall Street
Gold Runs Out In Dubai
Gulf News
October 27, 2008
Dubai: A massive rush at jewellery shops has led to a shortage of gold at some outlets, prompting some shopkeepers to overcharge customers, Gulf News has learnt.
Jewellers are seeing a huge rush of buyers as gold prices are currently at a two-year low.
Shopkeepers said the rush, a combined result of the Hindu festival of Diwali and lower prices. has resulted in a shortage of gold bars. But they denied any hoarding by outlets.
“There is enough gold available in the market and sales are at their peak over the last couple of days with the market falling drastically,” jewellers said across the emirate.
Gulf News received complaints from readers who encountered jewellers charging more than the market price.
A buyer who asked not to be named said: “The price of gold prompted me to visit the Gold Souq in Sharjah. However, most retailers claimed they were sold out. Outlets where gold was available were openly overcharging. They said it was in short supply. The price of 24 carat stood at Dh88.75 but they were openly charging Dh92.50. This is clearly an unfair practice.”
Shubash Golati, a buyer, said: “It is a tradition to buy gold during the four-day Indian festival of Diwali. I bought 22 carat jewellery worth Dh5,000. I wanted to buy a 100 gramme gold bar but was told that it is out of stock.”
Shortage
H.R. Bafna, financial controller from Siroya Jewellers, said a physical shortage of gold is happening worldwide.
He said: “It is matter of physical delivery. It might take a day or two to replenish the stocks. But I am sure that there is no hoarding by jewellers because the market rate has dropped. This has resulted in a tremendous rush of buyers and so the gold bars are out of stock.”
In reply to buyers’ complaints that gold outlets are cashing in on the limited stocks and buyer rush, Bafna said: “There is a possibility, but I can’t confirm this.”
A counter salesman at the Joy Alukkas outlet in Bur Dubai said for the last couple of days there have been no fluctuations in gold prices.
He said: “From a customer’s point of view this is an excellent time to buy.”
He too denied any hoarding taking place. “If the demand for gold is high it is but obvious that some stocks will run out. Some retailers take advantage of this.
Filed under: comex, Credit Crisis, DEBT, Dollar, Economic Collapse, economic depression, Economy, global economy, gold, gold shortage, Great Depression, Greenback, hyperinflation, Inflation, manipulated economy, manipulated prices, market manipulation, price fixing, silver, silver shortage, Stock Market, US Economy, Wall Street | Tags: john embry, kitco, paper investment
Physical Gold Remains Over +1,000 an Ounce
Gold buffalo 1oz coins are trading between 300 to 400 over spot price on ebay.
Market Oracle
October 24, 2008
It appears that there is a common refrain going around the investment community. It goes something like this:
“Gold should be doing better, and, since it isn’t, I am not going to buy it”
Investors who believe this are making the mistake of thinking COMEX gold is the same as real physical gold. It is not.
COMEX gold is a form of debt. It involves one party promising to produce gold (money) to another at a future date. Like all forms of debt, a COMEX futures contract is only as good as the counterparty behind the contract. Right now, because of low margin requirements, sellers of gold futures only have enough gold to cover 10% of outstanding contracts stored in COMEX warehouses. Considering that the biggest sellers of gold futures contract are insolvent financial institutions, it is obvious that COMEX gold has enormous counterparty risks . If even a quarter of outstanding contracts asked for physical delivery, it would be enough to guarantee a default. Since a financial collapse would actually creates the risk total default (insolvent banks can’t produce the gold or cash), COMEX gold fails miserably as a safe haven . This is why COMEX gold prices are falling, while physical gold is disappearing from the market place
Because of scarcity, physical gold is selling at an enormous premium to gold spot price (which is set by COMEX). How big a premium? Well, on eBay 2008 gold buffalo are trading between 300 to 400 over spot price. That is a 50% premium. The enormous premiums being paid in the physical market means that a large number of December gold contract holders are likely to request delivery. A volume, whether it causes defaults or not, is likely to change the marketplace perception of gold and cause a rush of into a physical gold plagued by shortages. Gold will skyrocket over 2000 in a matter of days.
I am not the only person who believes COMEX gold futures are on the verge of collapse. I urge you to watch this video (skip to 11 minute mark) and read the extract below to see what others are saying about paper gold:
http://noworldsystem.com/2008/10/26..-is-down-when-it-should-be-up/
Demand For Gold Soars
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/financ..-gold-soars-has-price-tumbles.html
Fitch says gold price will hold up reasonably well over 12-18 months
http://www.mineweb.net/mineweb/vie..=Detail
Filed under: Big Banks, comex, Credit Crisis, DEBT, Dollar, Economic Collapse, economic depression, Economy, food crisis, food market, food prices, food shortage, gas prices, global economy, gold, gold shortage, Great Depression, Greenback, hyperinflation, Inflation, manipulated economy, manipulated prices, market manipulation, nationalization, Oil, Petrol, price fixing, silver, silver shortage, Stock Market, US Economy, Wall Street | Tags: kitco, paper investment, run in banks
Why Gold Is Down When It Should Be Up
Alex_Wallenwein
The Market Oracle
October 13, 2008
Why is gold dropping right now when anyone in their sane mind would expect it to rise? The simple answer to this question is, “because Comex-gold isn’t gold” – and because it deceptively pretends to be ‘the’ price-setter for real gold.
Gold is gold, paper is paper, and “Comex gold” is nothing but paper masquerading as gold while simultaneously pretending to be the price-setting medium for actual gold in the world. Now, finally, Comex-gold is in the process of being unmasked.
The real supply and demand determinants for Comex gold are not actual gold investors but fund managers . Fund managers are inextricably intertwined with the world of contract-based credit instruments. They use bet on Comex gold contracts to hedge their other (currently horrendously losing) bets with something they all, in their in-bred belief in paper markets, believe will ‘go up’ in value while everything else is going down.
However, these very same fund managers and their paper-bound investment psychology are the exclusive reason why Comex gold is dropping in these times when everyone (including fund managers) expects gold to rise. As already stated, though, and as they now finally realize to their own dismay, Comex-gold just isn’t gold – and that causes even further selling.
Two Losing Bets, Compounded
Fund managers’ other bets are losing money fast, now, so they need to raise cash to keep up the overall value of their respective funds, so they can earn their management bonuses and avoid getting booted for lack of relative performance. Guess what they cash in on? The very same Comex paper-gold they mistakenly bought as a ‘hedge’, of course.
Meanwhile, real investors in real gold are enjoying their shopping spree – except that the spree turned into a treasure hunt as the shelves and display cases of gold dealers look more and more like the supermarket shelves in the old Soviet Union – bare.
This is the only ‘bare-market’ in real gold the world will see for a long, long time to come.
With this split, this disconnect, between Comex illusion and gold reality, one thing or the other will have to give, and it won’t be physical gold that gives.
The system built up around the reputation of Comex-gold as being a price-setting mechanism for real gold plays right into the hands of the financial establishment. The establishment depends for its (now increasingly meager) existence on the illusion that gold “isn’t living up to its promise” as a real inflation and disaster hedge. The implication, of course, is that investors might as well stay in the computer blip and paper world.
As the Comex gold price illusion drops, many retail investors are still persuaded to keep their money circulating in the paper world, and that ultimately feeds the system. Of course, by now that ‘feeding’ mechanism looks more like life-support, but try and unhook someone who is on life-support. The results are dramatic, inevitable, immediate – and final.
Yet, even on life-support, the system is deteriorating at a catastrophic pace. It would be hilarious to watch if it wasn’t for the fact that we are all depending on this phony system for our real-life support. Without credit freely circulating through the commercial paper universe, for example, grocery stores won’t have food on their shelves, there won’t be gas a the gas station, and your bank will be shut. Cash doesn’t transfer very well without the bank settlement process.
That’s the problem.
COMEX Gold Drops $681 on October 24, 2008
Filed under: austria, Bank of England, BOE, Britain, Central Banks, Credit Crisis, DEBT, Dollar, Economic Collapse, economic depression, Economy, Europe, european union, Germany, global economy, gold, gold shortage, Great Depression, Greenback, hyperinflation, Inflation, Lehman Brothers, london, manipulated economy, manipulated prices, market manipulation, mortgage, mortgage companies, mortgage lenders, nationalization, platinum, silver, silver shortage, south africa, Stock Market, switzerland, UBS, United Kingdom, US Economy, us mint, Wall Street | Tags: HBOS, Jurg Kiener, Krugerrand, run on banks
Gold Runs Out In Germany
Allan Hall
London Evening Standard
October 12, 2008
Risk-averse Germans are turning to gold in troubled times – but there’s none left.
German gold dealers say demand has skyrocketed this past week to 10 times normal so no more orders can be taken for the foreseeable future.
“The demand exceeds our capacities by a great deal,” said Heiko Ganss, head of precious metal company Pro Aurum.
“The requests cannot be satisfied right now,” a dealer from the Düsseldorf WGZ Bank confirmed.
“Demand for gold as a conservative investment has risen dramatically,” said stephan Henkel. “right now the demand is about 10 times as high as in normal times.”
Gold deliveries now take between four and six weeks.
The US mint said on Monday it had exhausted some of its supply of bullion coins and was struggling to meet demand for gold, silver and platinum.
South Africa’s Rand Refinery, producer of the world’s most popular gold bullion coin, the Krugerrand, temporarily ran out of the coins in August.
Londoners Queue-Up on Sidewalk to Buy Gold in Rush for Money Haven
Bloomberg
October 9, 2008
Londoners stood in line outside the largest gold coin and bar retailer in the city’s West End shopping district, clogging the lobby and trading among themselves as they sought a safe haven for their money.
“People want something tangible, something they can hold on to, something the banks can’t give them,” said Chris Burrow, the owner of ATS Bullion, the gold dealer in the Strand that traces its roots back to the 17th century. “There’s no time to breathe. We’re rushed off our feet. Staff are exhausted.”
As U.K. stocks tumbled to a five-year low, paced by financial-services companies, gold advanced. Since Lehman Brothers Holdings Inc.’s Sept. 15 filing for bankruptcy protection, exacerbating the worldwide credit crisis, gold for immediate delivery has jumped 19 percent.
“Investors are rushing to safe havens and physical gold seems to be the favorite one,” said Frederic Panizzutti, a senior vice president at MKS Finance, one of Switzerland’s four bullion refiners.
British government action to prop up the banking industry has failed to reassure investors. The U.K. on Oct. 8 promised 50 billion pounds ($86 billion) of capital to banks, the same day the Bank of England cut its benchmark interest rate by half a percentage point. Last month, the government brokered a takeover of HBOS Plc, Britain’s largest mortgage lender, and seized control of Bradford & Bingley’s mortgage division.
Austria Witnesses New Gold Rush
BBC
October 12, 2008
The financial crisis is prompting people to look for safer forms of investment than stocks and shares.
The interest in gold coins is so great that many of the world’s major mints are struggling to keep up with demand, including the Austrian Mint, which produces the Vienna Philharmonic – one of the best-selling bullion coins worldwide.
Sales of Vienna Philharmonic gold coins have gone up by more than 230% since last year.
Kerry Tattersall, the director of marketing at the mint, says production has gone into overdrive.
“We are running at present something like three shifts on all of the machines, on the presses, producing both gold and the silver bullion coins.
Read Full Article Here
Central banks all but stop lending gold
Javier Blas
Financial Times
October 8, 2008
Central banks have all but stopped lending gold to commercial and investment banks and other participants in the precious metals market, in a move that on Tuesday sent the cost of borrowing bullion for one-month to more than twenty times its usual level.
The one-month gold lease rate rocketed to 2.649 per cent, its highest level since May 2001 and significantly above its five-year average of 0.12 per cent, according to data from the London Bullion Market Association.
Gold lease rates for two, three, and six months and for a year also jumped to levels not seen in the last seven years.
Traders said the jump reflects the fact that central banks — mostly European — have almost completely stopped lending gold in the last few days and are not rolling forward old leases after maturity. This is because of fears that some borrowers might not repay their bullion loans if they are engulfed by the financial crisis.
“A number of central banks have been cutting back on their gold lending,” said Tom Kendall, a precious metals strategist at Mitsubishi in London.
John Reade, a commodities strategist at UBS, added that there had been a lot of talk about some central banks being unwilling to lend their gold because of a redoubled focus on the risk of borrowers not returning it.
http://seekingalpha.com/article/99680-..ces-tell-two-different-gold-stories
Blatant Banker Manipulation Of Gold Prices
http://www.prisonplanet.com/blatant-banker-manipulation-of-gold-prices.html
No Mass Mania for Gold Yet – Less than 1% of Public in Western World Have Invested in Gold
http://news.goldseek.com/GoldSeek/1224161100.php
Spot Gold Price Is Now Meaningless
http://www.istockanalyst.com/article/viewarticle%2Barticleid_2713209.html
Gold expected to rally above $1000 in Q1 2009
http://network.nationalpost.com/np/b..o-rally-above-1000-in-q1-2009.aspx
What the Pros Say: All that Glitters is Gold
http://www.cnbc.com/id/27095525
Kiener: Gold Prices To Double On Paper Market Default
http://www.prisonplanet.com/kiener-..o-double-on-paper-market-default.html
Filed under: Britain, Central Banks, Credit Crisis, DEBT, Dollar, ECB, Economic Collapse, economic depression, Economy, Europe, european central bank, european union, global economy, gold, gold shortage, Great Depression, Greenback, hyperinflation, Inflation, london, silver, silver shortage, Stock Market, United Kingdom, US Economy, us mint, Wall Street | Tags: CTFC, gold bars, gold bricks, sweden, switzerland
Reuters
September 25, 2008
The U.S Mint said Thursday it was temporarily suspending sales of American Buffalo 24-karat gold one-ounce bullion coins because strong demand depleted its inventory.
“Demand has exceeded supply for American Buffalo 24-karat gold one-ounce bullion coins, and our inventories have been depleted. We are, therefore, temporarily suspending sales of these coins,” the Mint said in a memorandum to authorized American Buffalo dealers.
The Mint also told dealers that it would work to build up its inventory to resume sales shortly.
FT
September 29, 2008
European central banks have cut their sales of gold to the lowest level in almost a decade, reversing the practice of recent years when hefty sales helped depress prices.
Institutions bound by the Central Bank Gold Agreement – the banks of the eurozone plus Sweden and Switzerland – sold about 343 tonnes of gold in the year that expired on Friday, the lowest amount since the first CBGA was signed in 1999.
This compares with 475.8 tonnes in the year to the end of September 2007. Under the agreement, the banks are allowed to sell up to 500 tonnes of gold each year.
The European trend is part of a global movement of reduced central bank selling and increased investor buying that is helping to underpin high prices at a time of turmoil in financial markets.
GFMS, the precious metals consultancy, estimates global central banks will sell 269 tonnes of bullion in 2008, the lowest since 1995.
Much of the selling by European banks took place between October and December last year.
As central banks sell less, investors are rushing into bullion-backed exchange traded funds to such an extent that some analysts refer to the ETFs as the “people’s central bank” because they are now bigger than most countries’ official reserves.
Rich investors are snapping up gold bars
September 30, 2008
Investors in gold are demanding “unprecedented” amounts of bullion bars and coins and moving them into their own vaults as fears about the health of the global financial system deepen.
Industry executives and bankers at the London Bullion Market Association annual meeting said the extent of the move into physical gold was unseen and driven by the very rich.
“There is an enormous pick-up in investment demand. I have never seen a market like this in my 33-year career,” said Jeremy Charles, chairman of the LBMA. “The gold refineries cannot produce enough bars.”
Gold and silver dealer reports an ‘unprecedented’ shortage of metals
The Post
September 28, 2008
A surge for demand in gold and silver has resulted in an unprecedented shortage of the metals for retail investors in recent days, according to Gold and Silver Investments, a Dublin-based firm that allows retail investors to speculate on movements in the value of precious metals.
Gold and Silver Investments director Mark O’Byrne said the supply of gold and silver available for small retail investors suffered a dramatic deterioration within hours on Friday, as wholesalers reported that government mints and refiners, the primary suppliers of the metals, had stopped offering new supplies.
‘‘It’s absolutely unprecedented,” said O’Byrne, who said the shortages were likely to drive up the costs of gold and silver in the secondary market.
‘‘This did not happen even in the 1930s and the 1970s, and will result in markedly higher prices in the coming months.”
According to O’Byrne, gold and silver were now only easily accessible in the primary market, which consisted of central banks and other major traders of the precious metals.
However, he said that minimum transaction sizes in this market were out of reach for most retail investors – at approximately $350,000 for gold and $135,000 for silver.
Analyst: Dollar May Sink, So Look to $1,500 Gold
http://www.cnbc.com/id/26970932
Central banks favor gold as crisis unfolds
http://www.reut..02?virtualBrandChannel=10338&pageNumber=2
CFTC Relents and Probes Silver Market
http://endthefed.blogspot.com/2008/09..rket.html
Filed under: bear sterns, Big Banks, central bank, copper, Credit Crisis, DEBT, Dollar, Economic Collapse, economic depression, Economy, global economy, gold, gold shortage, Great Depression, Greenback, hyperinflation, Inflation, silver, Stock Market, US Economy, us mint | Tags: run on banks
Gold Drops Below $790
Bloomberg
August 14, 2008
Buyers of wedding bands and makers of fillings, take heart: Metals prices fell sharply, following in oil’s footsteps, and as the dollar rallied. Gold lost 8.4% of its value this week, with August gold ending at $786 a troy ounce, below the psychologically significant $800 level. Today alone, the shiny yellow metal lost 2.7%. Gold is down 22% from its record close of $1003.20, reached on March 18; it hit that mark around the time Bear Stearns went belly up, which sent freaked-out investors into hard assets. Silver futures took the gold medal this week, though, in the weekly percentage decline event – August silver fell 16% this week to end at $12.8010 a troy ounce. Almost 10% of that drop came today. A silver lining: Copper fell only 1.7% this week.
U.S. Mint Suspends Gold Eagles
Numis Master
August 14, 2008
The Gold Anti-Trust Action Committee is reporting at their website that The U.S. Mint has suspended sales of American Eagle one ounce gold coins and is refusing orders from dealers.
GATA reports that two coin and bullion dealers have confirmed the suspension by the Mint. This news was initially reported by American Precious Metals Exchange.
Chris Powell, Secretary/Treasurer of GATA, says in a website posting, “The suspension is overwhelming evidence that the futures contract price of gold on the commodities exchanges is substantially below the physical market price and that, indeed, the commodities exchanges are being used as GATA long has maintained – as part of a massive scheme of manipulation of the precious metals, currency, and bond markets.”
As of today, fractional gold (1/10 oz, ¼ oz and ½ oz Gold American Eagles) remain unaffected by the shortage. The mint web site is currently not reporting any suspensions of sales and one ounce uncirculated coins are still for sale at the web site.
noworldsystem.com 