Good evening Ladies and Gentlemen:
Here are the following closes for gold and silver today:
Gold: $1187.20 down $17.10 (comex closing time)
Silver $16.73 down 30 cents (comex closing time)
In the access market 5:15 pm
Gold $1188.00
Silver: $16.77
Gold/Silver trading: see kitco charts on the right side of the commentary
Following is a brief outline on gold and silver comex figures for today:
At the gold comex today, we had a poor delivery day, registering 0 notices serviced for nil oz. Silver comex filed with 0 notices for nil oz
Several months ago the comex had 303 tonnes of total gold. Today, the total inventory rests at 243.81 tonnes for a loss of 59 tonnes over that period.
In silver, the open interest fell by 1262 contracts as Friday’s silver price was down by 8 cents. The total silver OI continues to remain extremely high with today’s reading at 173,331 contracts maintaining itself near multi-year highs despite a record low price. This dichotomy has been happening now for quite a while and defies logic. There is no doubt that the silver situation is scaring our bankers to no end.
In silver we had 0 notices served upon for nil oz.
In gold, the total comex gold OI rests tonight at 414,882 for a loss of 2,939 contracts as gold was down $0.10 on Friday. We had 0 notices served upon for nil oz. Whenever we approach first day notice, the entire open interest for the gold or silver complex collapses.
Today, we had a slight change in inventory at the GLD, an addition of .600 tonnes of gold; thus the new inventory rests tonight at 715.86 tonnes. The appetite for gold coming from China is depleting not only gold from the LBMA and GLD but also the comex is bleeding gold.
In silver, /we had no change in silver inventory at the SLV/Inventory rests at 317.930 million oz
We have a few important stories to bring to your attention today…
1. Today we had the open interest in silver fall by 1262 contracts as silver was down in price on Friday by 8 cents. The OI for gold fell by 2,939 contracts down to 414,882 contracts as the price of gold was down by $0.10 on Friday. We continually witness open interest contraction once first day notice approaches on an active precious metals contract.
(report Harvey)
2,Today we had 3 major commentaries on Greece
(zero hedge )
3.Koos Jansen reports on the Chinese gold demand for the last reporting week: 45 tonnes of gold.
(Koos Jansen)
4. Dave Kranzler discusses today’s raid and Friday’s COT report
(Dave Kranzler/ IRD)
5, Spanish regional election brings on anti austerity gains. The ECB not enamoured with the results.
(zero hedge)
6. Bill Holter delivers a super commentary on China’s huge appetite for gold and where this is heading
(Bill Holter/Holter-Sinclair collaboration)
7. We had 4 big misses in today’s USA data report.
(zero hedge)
8. The Russians abort their purchase of 2 Mistral ships. Now comes the damages that France must pay. China is looking to purchase those ships and no doubt that they will deliver the ships to Russia.
(zero hedge)
Let us now head over to the comex and assess trading over there today.
Here are today’s comex results:
The total gold comex open interest fell by 2939 contracts from 417,821 down to 414,882 as gold was down by $0.10 on Friday (at the comex close). For at least the past 18 months, we have been witnessing a total contraction of open interest in an active precious metals month once we are about to enter first day notice. We are in the active delivery month of May and here the OI fell by 6 contracts falling to 76. We had 0 notices filed yesterday. Thus we lost 6 gold contracts or an additional 600 oz will not stand for delivery in May. The next big active delivery contract month is June and here the OI fell by 16,988, contracts down to 122,309. June is the second biggest delivery month on the comex gold calendar. First day notice is May 29.2015 so we have 3 trading sessions left. The estimated volume today (which is just comex sales during regular business hours of 8:20 until 1:30 pm est) was fair at 203,905. The confirmed volume on Friday (which includes the volume during regular business hours + access market sales the previous day) was poor at 193,583 contracts paper. Today we had 0 notices filed for nil oz.
And now for the wild silver comex results. Silver OI fell by 1261 contracts from 174,5932 down to 173,331 as the price of silver was down in price by 8 cents, with respect to Friday’s trading. We are into the active delivery month of May where the OI fell by 35 contracts and thus falling to 252. We had 30 contracts filed upon with respect Friday’s trading. So we lost 5 contracts or an additional 25,000 oz will not stand for delivery in this active May month. The estimated volume today was poor at 29,406 contracts (just comex sales during regular business hours. The confirmed volume on Friday (regular plus access market) came in at 34,683 contracts which is fair in volume. We had 0 notices filed for nil oz today.
May initial standings
May 26.2015
Gold
Ounces
Withdrawals from Dealers Inventory in oz
nil
Withdrawals from Customer Inventory in oz
101.85 oz (HSBC
Deposits to the Dealer Inventory in oz
nil
Deposits to the Customer Inventory, in oz
3500.000 oz ???HSBC,
No of oz served (contracts) today
0 contracts (nil oz)
No of oz to be served (notices)
76 contracts(7600) oz
Total monthly oz gold served (contracts) so far this month
15 contracts(1500 oz)
Total accumulative withdrawals of gold from the Dealers inventory this month
164,151.8 oz
Total accumulative withdrawal of gold from the Customer inventory this month
53,156.2 oz
Today, we had 0 dealer transactions
total Dealer withdrawals: nil oz
we had 0 dealer deposit
total dealer deposit: nil oz
we had 1 customer withdrawal
i) out of HSBC: 101.85 oz
total customer withdrawal: 101.85 oz
We had 1 customer deposits:
i) Into HSBC: 3,500.000 oz ???? (not divisible by 32.15)
Total customer deposit: 3500.00 oz
We had 0 adjustments:
Today, 0 notices was issued from JPMorgan dealer account and 0 notices were issued from their client or customer account. The total of all issuance by all participants equates to 0 contracts of which 0 notices were stopped (received) by JPMorgan dealer and 0 notices were stopped (received) by JPMorgan customer account
To calculate the total number of gold ounces standing for the May contract month, we take the total number of notices filed so far for the month (15) x 100 oz or 1500 oz , to which we add the difference between the open interest for the front month of May (76) and the number of notices served upon today (0) x 100 oz equals the number of ounces standing.
Thus the initial standings for gold for the May contract month:
No of notices served so far (15) x 100 oz or ounces + {OI for the front month (76) – the number of notices served upon today (0) x 100 oz which equals 9100 oz standing so far in this month of May. (.2830 tonnes of gold)
we lost 600 oz of gold standing in this May delivery month.
Total dealer inventory: 372,630.992.022 or 11.59 tonnes
Total gold inventory (dealer and customer) = 7,838,715.16 (243.81) tonnes)
Several months ago the comex had 303 tonnes of total gold. Today the total inventory rests at 243.71 tonnes for a loss of 59 tonnes over that period. Lately the removals have been rising!
end
And now for silver
May silver initial standings
May 26 2015:
Silver
Ounces
Withdrawals from Dealers Inventory
5192.537 oz (Scotia)
Withdrawals from Customer Inventory
nil
Deposits to the Dealer Inventory
nil
Deposits to the Customer Inventory
19,496.700 oz (CNT)
No of oz served (contracts)
0 contracts (nil oz)
No of oz to be served (notices)
254 contracts (1,270,000 oz)
Total monthly oz silver served (contracts)
2703 contracts (13,515,000 oz)
Total accumulative withdrawal of silver from the Dealers inventory this month
126,359.680 oz
Total accumulative withdrawal of silver from the Customer inventory this month
3,853,785.3 oz
Today, we had 0 deposits into the dealer account:
total dealer deposit: nil oz
we had 1 dealer withdrawal:
i) Out of Scotia: 5,192.537 oz
total dealer withdrawal: 5,192.537 oz
We had 1 customer deposits:
i) Into CNT: 19,496.700 oz
total customer deposit: 19,496.700 oz
We had 0 customer withdrawals:
i) Out of CNT: 1006.80 oz
total withdrawals from customer; 1006.80 oz oz
we had 0 adjustments
Total dealer inventory: 60.849 million oz
Total of all silver inventory (dealer and customer) 178.779 million oz
The total number of notices filed today is represented by 0 contracts for nil oz. To calculate the number of silver ounces that will stand for delivery in May, we take the total number of notices filed for the month so far at (2703) x 5,000 oz = 13,515,000 oz to which we add the difference between the open interest for the front month of April (284) and the number of notices served upon today (0) x 5000 oz equals the number of ounces standing.
Thus the initial standings for silver for the May contract month:
2703 (notices served so far) + { OI for front month of April (289) -number of notices served upon today (0} x 5000 oz = 14,810,000 oz of silver standing for the May contract month.
We neither lost nor gained any silver ounces standing for the May contract month.
for those wishing to see the rest of data today see:
http://www.harveyorgan.wordpress.com orhttp://www.harveyorganblog.com
end
The two ETF’s that I follow are the GLD and SLV. You must be very careful in trading these vehicles as these funds do not have any beneficial gold or silver behind them. They probably have only paper claims and when the dust settles, on a collapse, there will be countless class action lawsuits trying to recover your lost investment.
There is now evidence that the GLD and SLV are paper settling on the comex.
***I do not think that the GLD will head to zero as we still have some GLD shareholders who think that gold is the right vehicle to be in even though they do not understand the difference between paper gold and physical gold. I can visualize demand coming to the buyers side:
i) demand from paper gold shareholders
ii) demand from the bankers who then redeem for gold to send this gold onto China
vs no sellers of GLD paper.
And now the Gold inventory at the GLD:
may 26.2015/we had a slight addition of .600 tonnes of gold to the GLD inventory/inventory rests at 715.86 tonnes
May 22.2015: no changes in gold inventory at the GLD/Inventory rests at 715.26 tonnes
May 21./no changes in gold inventory at the GLD/Inventory rests at 715.26 tonnes
May 20./we had another withdrawal of 2.98 tonnes of gold leaving the GLD. Inventory rests tonight at 715.26 tonnes
May 19/no changes in gold inventory at the GLD/Inventory at 718.24 tonnes
May 18/we lost another 5.67 tonnes of gold inventory at the GLD/Inventory rests at 718.24 tonnes
May 15./no change in gold inventory at the GLD/Inventory rests at 723.91 tonnes
May 14./ a huge withdrawal of 4.41 tonnes of gold/Inventory rests at 723.91 tonnes
May 13.2015: no change in inventory at the GLD/Inventory rests at 728.32 tonnes
May 12/no change in inventory at the GLD/inventory rests at 728.32 tonnes
May 11/ no changes at the GLD/Inventory rests at 728.32 tonnes
May 8/ they should call in the Serious Fraud squad as the owners of the GLD just saw 13.43 tonnes of gold leave its vaults heading for China:
Inventory tonight: 728.32 tonnes
May 7. no change in gold inventory at the GLD/741.75 tonnes
May 6/no change in gold inventory at the GLD/741.75 tonnes
may 5/no change in gold inventory at the GLD/741.75 tonnes
may 4/no change in gold inventory at the GLD./741.75 tonnes
May 26 GLD : 715.86 tonnes.
end
And now for silver (SLV)
May 26.2015: no change in SLV /Inventory rests at 317.93 million oz
May 22.2015: no changes in SLV/Inventory rests at 317.93 million oz
May 21.no changes at the SLV/Inventory rests at 317.93 million oz
May 20/no changes at the SLV. Inventory rests at 317.93 million oz/
May 19.2015: we lost another 1.195 million oz of inventory at the SLV/Inventory rests at 317.93 million oz/
May 18.2015: we lost another 1.625 million oz of inventory at the SLV/Inventory rests tonight at 719.125 million oz
May 15./no change in silver inventory at the SLV/inventory rests tonight at 320.75 million oz
May 14/ a huge withdrawal of 1.912 million oz from the SLV/Inventory at 320.75 million oz.
May 13.2015: no changes at the SLV/Inventory rests at 322.662 million oz
May 12/no changes at the SLV/Inventory rests at 322.662 million oz
May 11/no changes at the SLV/Inventory rest at 322.662 million oz
May 8/ today we lost a huge 2.87 million oz of silver from the SLV/Inventory 322.662
May 7/no change in silver inventory/325.53 million oz
May 6/we had a huge withdrawal of 2.143 million oz of silver from the SLV/325.53 million oz
May 5/no change in silver inventory at the SLV/327.673 million oz
May 26/2015 no change in inventory/SLV inventory 317.930 million oz/
end
And now for our premiums to NAV for the funds I follow:
Note: Sprott silver fund now for the first time into the negative to NAV
Sprott and Central Fund of Canada.
(both of these funds have 100% physical metal behind them and unencumbered and I can vouch for that)
1. Central Fund of Canada: traded at Negative 8.2% percent to NAV in usa funds and Negative 8.4% to NAV for Cdn funds!!!!!!!
Percentage of fund in gold 60.6%
Percentage of fund in silver:39.0%
cash .4%
( May 26/2015)
2. Sprott silver fund (PSLV): Premium to NAV falls to-0.58%!!!!! NAV (May 26/2015)
3. Sprott gold fund (PHYS): premium to NAV rises to -23% to NAV(May 26/2015
Note: Sprott silver trust back into negative territory at -0.58%.
Sprott physical gold trust is back into negative territory at -.23%
Central fund of Canada’s is still in jail.
end
Early morning trading from Asia and Europe last night:
Gold and silver trading from Europe overnight/and important physical
stories
(courtesy Mark O’Byrne/Goldcore)
John Nash RIP: “Beautiful Mind” Game Theory May Lead to Gold Standard
By Mark O’ByrneMay 26, 20151 Comment
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– ‘Beautiful Mind’ Nobel winner Nash dies in tragic crash
– Nash was subject of movie “A Beautiful Mind” with Russell Crowe
– Nash was renowned mathematician who developed game theory
– Game theory suggests that world may be forced back onto a gold standard
– Debased dollar vulnerable to bitcoin, crypto-currencies, silver and gold
– Gold standard could cause a price reset at $10,000
The death of mathematician John Nash on Sunday was met with a degree of sympathy and publicity seldom enjoyed by mathematicians whose contribution to society is usually a quiet, unappreciated one, behind the scenes. The 86 year old was killed with his wife in a tragic taxi accident in New Jersey.
The 2002 movie “A Beautiful Mind” with Russell Crowe popularised the story of his work on game theory – a mathematical study of how decisions are made – and his life with schizophrenia. He developed what became known as the ‘Nash Equilibrium’ for which he won the Nobel Prize for Economics in 1994.
Game theory, according to Wikipedia, is the study of strategic decision making. Specifically, it is “the study of mathematical models of conflict and cooperation between intelligent rational decision-makers.”
The most famous scene from “A Beautiful Mind” shows him applying his nascent theory in a social setting. While he and his college friends sit in a bar drinking a group of girls enter, one of whom is a particularly stunning blonde woman. As the young men prepare to descend upon the girls in an attempt to win the favour of the blonde girl, Nash devises a strategy.
The blonde girl is obviously very used to male attention and it probably earns her the jealous resentment of her friends and so the scenario of a group of young men vying for her attention is not likely to lead to a favorable outcome.
Instead, Nash suggests that his friends focus their attentions on the other girls – ignoring the blonde. The other girls thereby enjoy some male attention perhaps amplified by the satisfaction that the beauty is being left on the shelf. The humbling experience then brings the blonde into the range of the young men whereas, had she received their initial attentions she would likely have been unobtainable.
In his excellent 2012 book ‘The Golden Revolution’, John Butler describes how Nash’s game theory would suggest that the era of fiat currencies is drawing to a close and the world will soon be forced back onto some form of gold standard.
Butler believes that the BRICS nations, especially Russia and China, will not stand for a dollar reserve currency in its current form and that this will likely cause them to move back to a form of gold standard. Indeed, since publication of the book the central banks of some BRICS nations have been rapidly acquiring gold – particularly the Central Bank of Russia and the People’s Bank of China (PBOC).
In an important interview with Reuters in 2012 Butler suggested that if one country – he cited Russia – were to back its currency with gold it could cause a 20% collapse in the dollar in just 24 hours. In order to stabilise the currency and in an attempt to preserve the reserve currency status of the dollar the U.S. would be forced against its will to back its currency with gold.
If the dollar were to be fully backed by gold it would cause a dramatic spike in the price of gold. With M1 at nearly $2980 billion at the time and stated gold reserves of 8,500 tonnes, gold would have to be revalued at roughly $9,900 per ounce.
Critics will attack Butler’s bold call in terms of the timing of these events as clearly $10,000 per ounce gold did not happen in 2013. However, the substantive points Butler makes regarding game theory, a return to some form of gold standard and gold potentially being revalued to $10,000 per ounce remain valid.
Indeed, events in recent years such as
– the continuing deterioration of the U.S.’ fiscal position (national debt now over $18.24 trillion and unfunded liabilities of over $100 trillion)
– the continuing debasement of the dollar and decline in its position as sole reserve currency
– Russia’s and China’s steady accumulation of gold bullion reserves
– China’s using gold as an important strategic tool in order to position the yuan as a rival reserve currency and enhance Chinese monetary, financial and economic power
all suggest that Butler’s timing will have been wrong but the call may be proven correct in the fullness of time as competitive currency devaluations and currency wars escalate .
The status of the dollar as a global reserve currency is by no means guaranteed. A fiat currency which suffers continual debasement through currency creation on a scale never seen before in history will not be tolerated indefinitely.
Continuing demand for gold and silver bullion throughout the world and especially in Asia and the emergence ofcryptocurrencies and bitcoin show the world is moving towards alternatives already.
Owning physical gold in secure vaults will protect one’s wealth from the instability stemming from a disruption to or transition from the current fragile international financial and monetary system.
Must Read Storage Guide: 7 Key Bullion Storage Must Haves
MARKET UPDATE
Today’s AM LBMA Gold Price was USD 1,194.00, EUR 1,095.56 and GBP 774.77 per ounce.
Friday’s AM LBMA Gold Price was USD 1,211.00, EUR 1,083.45 and GBP 772.96 per ounce.
Yesterday was a spring bank holiday in the UK and the U.S. observed Memorial Day.
Yesterday, gold dipped below $1,200 an ounce near a two week low while the U.S. dollar climbed higher after Fed Chair Janet Yellen was seen to reaffirm the central bank’s tightening stance on monetary policy.
Overnight, gold bullion in Singapore was down 0.8 percent at $1,197.46 an ounce and gold has traded sideways in London too.
Today, there is more U.S. economic data due – core durable goods, durable goods orders, HPI, flash service PMI, CB consumer confidence, Richmond manufacturing data, and new home sales. Negative data should see gold rise and positive numbers could see more weakness.
The outlook for Greece remains very uncertain. If they do not make their IMF payment next week it may trigger more safe haven demand for gold bullion.
The risk that the heavily indebted Chinese economy goes into recession and drags the U.S. and the world with it remains underestimated. China’s top banking regulator warned overnight of rising credit risk from real estate, local government debt and “unconventional” forms of finance, sources with direct knowledge told Reuters.
The regulator highlighted Beijing’s struggles to prevent risky debt from engulfing a stuttering economy.
In late morning European trading gold is down 1.06% at $1,194.05 an ounce. Silver is off 1.99 percent at $16.76 an ounce and platinum is also trading off 1.37 percent at $1,132.20 an ounce.
end
(courtesy London Telegraph/Titcomb/GATA)
Banks brace for more FX-rigging pain as civil lawsuits come forth
Submitted by cpowell on Sun, 2015-05-24 01:04. Section: Daily Dispatches
By James Titcomb
The Telegraph, London
Saturday, May 23, 2015
Banks are bracing for hundreds of millions of pounds in new claims for foreign exchange manipulation from class-action lawsuits triggered by last week’s vast market rigging fines.
Barclays, Royal Bank of Scotland, and four other banks were ordered on Wednesday to pay $6 billion (L3.84 billion) by UK and US authorities.
The Barclays penalty represents the biggest bank fine in British history.
The regulators, detailing how traders gathered in chatrooms using monikers such as “The Cartel” and “Coiled cobra” to rig the $5.3 trillion-a-day currency market, also forced the banks to plead guilty to criminal charges.
Lawyers say that the fines, as well as an investigation from the European Commission, could be a springboard to damaging civil litigation in the UK and Europe. …
… For the remainder of the report:
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/finance/newsbysector/banksandfinance/11625158…
end
Eric Sprott correctly states that the ECB will save Greek banks but not the Greek citizens nor its government:
(courtesy Eric Sprott/Kingworldnews/Eric King/GATA)
ECB would save Greek banks but not the government, Sprott tells KWN
Submitted by cpowell on Sat, 2015-05-23 22:50. Section: Daily Dispatches
6:50p ET Saturday, May 23, 2015
Dear Friend of GATA and Gold:
Greece, its government, and its people can go down but the European Central Bank means to protect the country’s banks, Sprott Asset Management’s Eric Sprott tells King World News today. The bankers, Sprott says, “care more about the banking system than they care about the government because they don’t want the domino effect to start.” Sprott’s interview is excerpted at the KWN blog here:
http://kingworldnews.com/billionaire-eric-sprott-on-the-greatest-financi…
CHRIS POWELL, Secretary/Treasurer
Gold Anti-Trust Action Committee Inc.
end
Bill Murphy discusses manipulation with Greg Hunter of USAWatchdog
(courtesy Bill Murphy/Greg Hunter)
Governments keep metals down to avert ‘derivatives nightmare,’ Murphy says
Submitted by cpowell on Mon, 2015-05-25 01:40. Section: Daily Dispatches
9:40p ET Sunday, May 24, 2015
Dear Friend of GATA and Gold:
Interviewed by USA Watchdog’s Greg Hunter, GATA Chairman Bill Murphy says governments and investment banks need to suppress gold and silver prices to avert a “derivatives nightmare.” Murphy adds that it’s strange that silver is the only market the U.S. government purports to have investigated without finding impropriety. The interview is 28 minutes long and can be viewed at USA Watchdog’s Internet site here:
http://usawatchdog.com/rising-gold-price-could-set-off-derivative-nightm…
CHRIS POWELL, Secretary/Treasurer
Gold Anti-Trust Action Committee Inc.
end
Have fun with this: coming to a store near you!
(courtesy Associated Press/Via Minneapolis Star Tribune/GATA)
Businesses turn to dollar in fiercely anti-American Venezuela as currency crashes
Submitted by cpowell on Mon, 2015-05-25 13:42. Section: Daily Dispatches
By Hannah Dreier
Associated Press
via Minneapolis Star-Tribune
Saturday, May 24, 2015
CARACAS, Venezuela — It’s still possible to buy a gleaming Ford truck in Venezuela, rent a chic apartment in Caracas, and snag an American Airlines flight to Miami. Just not in the country’s official currency.
As the South American nation spirals into economic chaos, more products are not only figuratively out of the reach of average consumers but literally cannot be purchased in Venezuelan bolivars, which fell into a tailspin on the black market last week.
Businesses and individuals are turning to dollars even as the anti-American rhetoric of the socialist administration grows more strident. It’s a shift that’s allowing parts of the economy to limp along despite a cash crunch and the world’s highest inflation. But it could put some goods further out of reach of the working class, whose well-being has been the focal point of the country’s 16-year-old socialist revolution.
The latest sign of an emerging dual-currency system came this month when Ford Motor Co. union officials said the company had reached a deal with officials to sell trucks and sport utility vehicles only in dollars.
A few weeks earlier American Airlines announced that it had stopped accepting bolivars for any of its 19 weekly flights out of Venezuela. Customers must now use a foreign credit card to buy the tickets online. Virtually all other foreign carriers have made the same switch with the government’s consent, according to the Venezuela Airlines Association.
Driving the shift is the crumbling value of the bolivar, which has lost more than half its value this year, plunging to 400 per dollar on the free market as Venezuelans scramble to convert their savings into a more stable currency. Desperate, people are selling bolivars for a rate 60 times weaker than the strongest of country’s three official exchange rates. …
… For the remainder of the report:
http://www.startribune.com/businesses-quietly-switch-to-dollar-in-social…
end
Bill Holter also discusses the following in his commentary: the concept of a new gold fund under the direction of China:
(courtesy Reuters/GATA)
China sets up gold fund as part of ‘Silk Road’ initiative, official media say
Submitted by cpowell on Mon, 2015-05-25 13:48. Section: Daily Dispatches
By Ruby Lian and A. Ananthalakshmi
Reuters
Monday, May 25, 2015
China has established a fund that is expected to raise about $16 billion for gold-related investment as part of its “Silk Road” initiative to develop trade and transport infrastructure across Asia and beyond, official media reported.
The fund, which will be run by a new company to be set up by gold producers and financial institutions, is expected to raise an estimated 100 billion yuan ($16.13 billion) in three phases, Shanghai Securities News reported at the weekend.
Two leading gold producers, Shandong Gold Group, the parent of Shandong Gold Mining Co. Ltd., and Shaanxi Gold Group will take stakes of 35 percent and 25 percent respectively, with the rest owned by financial institutions, the newspaper said.
The fund’s activities could take in the launch of gold-backed exchange-traded funds and buying stakes in listed gold companies and mining firms. …
… For the remainder of the report:
http://in.reuters.com/article/2015/05/25/china-gold-idINKBN0OA0G62015052
end
(courtesy Turd Ferugson/Chris Powell/GATA)
TF Metals Report: Bullion banks now short 350% of all Comex gold and silver stocks
Submitted by cpowell on Tue, 2015-05-26 03:49. Section: Daily Dispatches
11:51p ET Monday, May 25, 2015
Dear Friend of GATA and Gold:
Bullion bank shorting of gold and silver on the New York Commodities Exchange has reached grotesque levels, the TF Metals Report’s Turd Ferguson writes tonight — 350 percent of the total available supplies of gold and silver reported in Comex warehouses. He notes that while the big banks lately have been prosecuted for and have admitted rigging markets in London-based interest rates, currencies, industrial metals, energy, and equities, there have been no prosecutions and admissions of big banks for rigging the gold and silver markets.
This curious omission is a clue to what’s really going on in the latter markets — the surreptitious involvement of governments, which control market-rigging prosecutions. To paraphrase former President Richard Nixon’s befuddled remark to the journalist and television program host David Frost: When the government does it, that means that it’s not illegal — and indeed in the United States the Gold Reserve Act of 1934, as amended in the 1970s, gives the U.S. Treasury Department, operating through the Exchange Stabilization Fund, the authority to rig any market in the world in secret:
http://www.treasury.gov/resource-center/international/ESF/Pages/esf-inde…
Maybe that’s why the CME Group, operator of the major futures exchanges in the United States, offers discounts to central banks for their secret trading of all major futures contracts on CME Group exchanges:
http://www.gata.org/node/14385
This is all the biggest open secret since Hans Christian Andersen wrote the fairy tale “The Emperor’s New Clothes” almost 200 years ago. Today the fairy tale is the “market” system of the West —
http://www.gata.org/node/14839
— with financial news organizations filling the role played by Andersen’s cowardly bystanders.
Don’t bother pointing this out to the Financial Times, New York Times, Reuters, Bloomberg, the Associated Press, The Economist, or any other Western news organization that claims respectability. They all already know, having been given the documentation and having resolved to suppress it and never even hint about it with a critical question to anyone in authority. For the moment gold and silver market rigging can be discussed openly only in China —
http://www.gata.org/node/10380
http://www.gata.org/node/10416
— whose fairy tales impose different burdens on different people.
The TF Metals Report’s analysis is headlined “On with Rory and Denver Dave” and it’s posted here:
http://www.tfmetalsreport.com/blog/6870/rory-and-denver-dave
CHRIS POWELL, Secretary/Treasurer
Gold Anti-Trust Action Committee Inc.
end
Demand for gold for the last reporting week: May 11-May 15 was 45 tonnes of gold which is huge.
A great report today from Koos Jansen:
(courtesy Koos Jansen)
Posted on 26 May 2015 by Koos Jansen
Don’t Believe Everything You Read On The Internet
Wholesale gold demand measured by withdrawals from Shanghai Gold Exchange (SGE) vaults remains very strong this year at 45 tonnes in week 19 (May 11 -15). Year to date 903 tonnes have been withdrawn.
Year to date withdrawals are up 20 % from 2014 and 8 % from 2013. In the next chart we can see the strength of SGE withdrawals in 2015 compared to previous years.
We can see withdrawals are stronger than ever. We must consider though, the gold withdrawn can be supplied through domestic mining output, import and recycled gold (and stock-carry over). Bare in mind, it’s not proven how much of what component has supplied the SGE this year. Additionally, withdrawals could have been made through the Shanghai International Gold Exchange (SGEI).
Don’t Believe Everything You Read On The Internet
Recently a website called Want China Times published a story titled, “China Could Crash US Dollar With 30,000 Tons Of Gold: Commentary”. I would like to share my opinion on this story about the Chinese gold market that has directly or indirectly reached many readers.
First I would like to go back to last year. On May 17, 2014, I published an article on the Chinese silver market, “Chinese Real Estate Debt Settled In Silver?”. Based on an article from Want China Times, I wrote real estate debt in the Chinese city Ordos was settled in physical silver. Real estate debt of 1 million yuan was settled with 500,000 yuan in silver, according to Want China Times (WTC). Regrettably I copied this story. A commenter on my post raised serious concern about the validity of the WTC story. On May 19, I wrote WTC an email asking for the original source their article was based on. Until this day I have received no reply on this inquiry.
On June 2, 2014, WTC published an article that was also eagerly read in the gold space, “Wall Street Concerned Over China’s Gold Hoarding”. WTC disclosed the source of this article to be a Chinese website called BWChinese, that quoted an analyst from Hong Kong, Leung Hai-Ming. Again my doubts on the integrity of WTC was triggered. I called WTC, BWChinese and tried to find Leung Hai-Ming. On the BWChinese website I couldn’t find anything that remotely resembled the story at WTC. On the phone BWChinese couldn’t help me either.
On June 3, 2014, I received an email from WTC in response to my question about the source of the “Wall Street Concerned Over China’s Gold Hoarding” article:
Dear reader of WantChinaTimes,
As your request on email and a call from Charlie in In Gold We Trust, we have found the story you mentioned in our website comes from an article in BWCHINESE. It was written in Chinese. Here is its link:
http://www.bwchinese.com/article/1057136_5.html
Thanks for your mail and call. I hope this info will be useful to you.
WantChinaTimes.com
2014-06-03
At the time my blog was titled In Gold We Trust.
When reading the link to BWChinese it became apparent to me the WTC article could not have been based on this story. The story on BWChinese was about gold, but did not resemble the content of the WTC article. Perhaps WTC thought I couldn’t read Chinese and thus wouldn’t figure out that there was no source, who knows. In any case they sent me a false link, which severely damaged their credibility.
I decided to publish my findings and write I was wrong on the Chinese real estate market in my post from May 17, 2014 – as I came to believe WTC is no credible source and real estate debt was not settled in silver. I had learned to be more skeptical, especially towards “Chinese” websites – WTC is based in Taiwan, and thankfully I can always correct myself when I’m wrong.
Back to WTC’s recent piece, the 30,000 tonnes story from May 15, 2015. In this article they refer to the source Duowei, again a Chinese “unreadable” website. And again, WTC is quoting a gentleman with a Chinese name, this time it’s Jin Zihou. From Want China Times:
China has the ability to crash the unstable US dollar with 30,000 tons of gold reserves, says Chinese economic observer Jin Zihou.
Who exactly is Jin Zihou and where did he say this? Well, Jin Zihou is an author (/blogger) with no particular expertise of the Chinese gold market, he wrote an article published on May 6, 2015, at … wait for it … BWChinese. The Duowei story is nearly an exact copy of Jin’s story at BWChinese. Shortly we’ll discuss where he got the 30,000 tonnes number. Let us continue at WTC:
In a commentary posted online, Jin noted that former US Federal Reserve chair Alan Greenspan once said that the renminbi could become unexpectedly powerful in today’s financial system if Beijing would convert its US$4 trillion in foreign reserves into gold.
Greenspan once said that China could convert its $4 trillion reserves into gold, according to Jin Zihou. First of all there is no evidence Greenspan has ever said this. Second, would it be a smart thing to do? If China would sell $4 trillion and buy gold in a short period of time the global monetary system would collapse and the value of the dollar would evaporate, which would immediately halt global trade. This is not particularly in China’s interest. Needless to say, China is slowly trying to get out of its grotesque USD position, but it can not convert $4 trillion into gold any time soon. So, I’m not so sure about this statement from Greenspan.
With the US dollar growing more unstable and China being America’s largest creditor, Beijing could potentially crash the US dollar with 30,000 tons of gold, Jin said.
However, Alasdair Macleod, head of research for GoldMoney, states that China could have easily piled up 25,000 tons of gold between 1982 and 2003, meaning its gold reserves could have exceeded 30,000 tons by now.
Alasdair Macleod has written an article in 2014 stating “the Chinese state has probably accumulated between 20,000 and 30,000 tonnes since 1983”. In my humble opinion this estimate is based on no evidence, but you can read the article and make up your own mind. Now, was the 30,000 tonnes number conceived by MacLeod or Jin? The onlysource I could find on the 30,000 tonnes number is MacLeod’s estimate. In a new Chinese jacket (Duowei, Jin) the story was transformed and made additional rounds. (if someone else has an additional source I would love to read it, please comment below.)
Starting from BWChinese via Duowei and Want China Times the 30,000 tonnes story was re-ignited and has spread over the internet. Shortly after Russian website Pravda.ru published, “China Saves Up 30,000 Tons Of Gold To Topple US Dollar From Global Reign”. Pravda did not include any links, but they mention Duowei as the source (so again, this was MacLeod’s estimate). Sputnik published, “Dragon Rising: China’s Gold Will Break World’s Dependence on US Dollar”. From Sputnik:
China can ultimately overthrow the US dollar domination using its 30,000 tons of gold reserves, according to Chinese economist Jin Zihou.
Clearly Sputnik used the WTC article. They continue:
Remarkably, Alasdair Macleod, a researcher and former Executive Director at an offshore bank in Guernsey and Jersey, pointed out that between 1983 and 2003 China could have secretly accumulated almost 20,000 tons of gold.
This is not remarkable, as Jin and MacLeod are the same source.
There have been many blogs and websites that copied the same story, all multiplied from the WTC article. My point being, the truth is hard to come by and the internet did not make the process more easy, at best only faster. From my personal experience I like to use hard evidence as a foundation from where speculation can be used to progress. Recently I wrote an article trying to separate facts from speculation regarding PBOC gold purchases, which you can readhere.
My grand father told me as early as 1965, “don’t believe everything you read on the internet.”
Koos Jansen
E-mail Koos Jansen on: koos.jansen@bullionstar.com
end
The following is extremely important:
(courtesy Bill Holter/Holter-Sinclair Collaboration)
China has only one option …
The title is of course a little misleading because China has many options, none of which except one in my opinion will actually work. Options to what exactly you ask? Options to a collapsing global economy and an imploding financial system which will surely affect China as much as anywhere else, but with one caveat. I take these events as a given, others do not but betting against an outright panic and global bankruptcy is betting against pure mathematics itself.
Let’s back up a little bit and look at where China is currently. They are the second largest economy in the world (maybe the largest, we can’t really know because the numbers here, there, and everywhere are made up). China is by far THE largest manufacturer in the world and also an enormous exporter. China is also in a three horse race as to who owns the most U.S. Treasuries with Japan and unbelievably the Federal Reserve itself. They have an oversized shadow banking system which has already been shown as fraudulent in several cases regarding copper, zinc and lead as “collateral” (or not).
The Chinese also have a stock market bubble boiling that makes the tulip craze http://www.zerohedge.com/news/2015-05-22/chinas-tulipmania-full-frontal-shenzhens-parabolic-stocks-just-hit-67x-pe look tame. Because of sheer size of the country, they are opening something like four million brokerage accounts per month. In recent days they have had several stocks hit new highs only to drop 50-60% or more in just one day. In fact, they had one company stock hit a new high and then go to ZERO the following day because it was discovered their books were cooked to a crisp.
We also know China is a huge importer of gold AND the largest producer of gold in the world. NONE of their production ever leaves their borders. There have been estimates of gold tonnage held by many. Alisdair Mcleod believes they may have 25,000 tons or more, I personally believe it is possible if you include legacy or “elders” gold. Others believe the number is closer to the 5,000 ton range. My belief is that 10,000 tons is a justifiable number and very easily proven, if this is true, much of it had come from the U.S. and other Western sources and thus depleting the reserves.
I assume the number is 10,000 tons or more, this is a safe number in my mind. I think it is also a safe bet to say the U.S. has sold a minimum of one half of “our” gold which would leave about 4,000 tons. If this is the case, there is already a new world order where C