Gold Street is where South Africa's mining history goes to die | GATA | THE GATA DISPATCH

Gold Street is where South Africa's mining history goes to die

Submitted by cpowell on 02:19PM ET Wednesday, June 20, 2018. Section: Daily Dispatches South Africa is a member of both the International Monetary Fund and the Bank for International Settlements, organizations that help execute the gold price suppression scheme of the major developed countries to exploit the developing world. GATA would be glad to make a presentation to the South African government and the Reserve Bank of South Africa to explain the scheme and how it devastates the country. If you have any contact with the government or central bank, please ask them about their indifference to this issue and why South Africa is a rich country insisting on being poor.
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Gold Street Is Where South Africa's Mining History Goes to Die
By Ana Monteiro and Felix Njini
Bloomberg News
Tuesday, June 19, 2018
The death rattle of the industry that once symbolized South Africa can be heard in the town of Carletonville -- on Gold Street.
That's where Paseka Selemela has been guarding cars since 2010, when the scaffolding business he worked for closed. Prior to that he was an assistant at a now-shuttered mine owned by AngloGold Ashanti Ltd. Nor has he found work in other gold mines around the town, home to the world's deepest shafts. Many of his friends and family members also have joined the legions of the retrenched, including 8,500 people in the area last year alone.
 . For the remainder of the report:
https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2018-06-20/gold-street-is-where-...

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Chinese company in talks to buy large gold mine in Indonesia - June 1, 2018. | GATA THE GATA DISPATCH.

Chinese company in talks to buy large gold mine in Indonesia

Submitted by cpowell on 01:05PM ET Friday, June 1, 2018. Section: Daily Dispatches By Julie Steinberg and P.R. Venkat
The Wall Street Journal
Friday, June 1, 2018
A Chinese mining-exploration company is in advanced discussions to acquire an Indonesian gold and silver mine for around $1.5 billion, according to people familiar with the matter.
Pengxin International Mining Co.'s deal for the Martabe gold mine, one of Indonesia's largest, hasn't been finalized, but a $1.5 billion price tag would represent a doubling in its value from two years ago.

 Shares of Pengxin, which is listed in Shanghai, have been suspended from trading since mid-April pending a "major asset restructuring," according to a regulatory filing. The Shanghai-based company disclosed on May 22 plans to take over a company that owns the Indonesian mine, without providing financial details. ...
... For the remainder of the report:
https://www.wsj.com/articles/chinese-company-in-talks-to-buy-one-of-indo...

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Wolfgang Munchau: The euro must be made more robust to rival the dollar - May 28, 2018.- GATA | THE GATA DISPATCH

Wolfgang Munchau: The euro must be made more robust to rival the dollar

Submitted by cpowell on 03:12AM ET Monday, May 28, 2018. Section: Daily Dispatches By Wofgang Munchau
Financial Times, London
Sunday, May 27, 2018
https://www.ft.com/content/ca8c6826-5f76-11e8-ad91-e01af256df68
Many years ago I used to attend an annual seminar in pleasant surroundings in which the participants discussed the politics and economics of two European countries. There were usually two groups.
One would talk about foreign policy -- mostly transatlantic relations. The other discussed economics and especially the euro. At the end the two listened to each others' conclusions with polite boredom. The European Union would today be in a better place if the foreign policy folk inside and outside that room had made the euro their own project.
The dollar, by contrast, has been an integral part of U.S. foreign policy for many years. Its role as the global anchor currency allows the United States to cut off an entire country from access to international commerce and finance, as in the case of Iran. Or a group of individuals as in the case of Russia.
The euro was not designed as a geopolitical instrument. I recall the debate in Germany in the 1990s. The Bundesbank deliberately rejected the idea of a strong international role for the euro, fearing it might conflict with the objective of price stability.
I also recall the debates among international economists about whether the euro could challenge the dollar as a global reserve currency. The opportunity was there. Serious academic papers were written. The fact that it did not happen was the result of a conscious political choice.
That choice is in part responsible for the EU's difficulty in finding an effective response to Donald Trump today. The biggest problem with the U.S. president's decision to pull out of the Iran nuclear deal is the extraterritorial effect. European companies that defy the U.S. sanctions would be cut off from U.S. financial and product markets. So would the banks that fund those companies. Multinational companies or banks cannot afford that. Mr. Trump can behave in this way because the U.S. is ultimately in control of all dollar-based financial flows, including those that originate outside the United States.
The EU cannot impose extraterritorial sanctions on U.S. companies that defy European policy. The euro is not as critical to them as the dollar is to Europeans. After the euro was introduced in 1999, it quickly became the world's second most important currency but still lags behind the dollar on most metrics. Its share of foreign exchange reserves was under 20 per cent at the end of 2016, compared with 64 per cent for the dollar, according to the European Central Bank. The gap was of similar magnitude in the categories of international debt and loans. The dollar leads the euro in foreign exchange turnover by a factor of three to one. The only category where the euro has almost caught up is that of a global payment currency. In the past decade the gap narrowed but it has widened again since the financial crisis.
In response to Mr. Trump's decision to cancel the Iran deal, the European Commission only managed to dig up the old blocking statute -- a ban on European companies complying with the sanctions. The problem is that the EU has no financial instruments to protect European companies. How, for example, would you compensate a European bank for no longer being able to transact in dollars?
The failure to develop the euro into a rival to the dollar also makes the EU more vulnerable to trade tariffs. This is mostly due to the trade surplus. This, in turn, is the result of the eurozone decisions as to how to tackle the debt crisis: by forcing crisis countries to run positive current account balances. One consequence of this policy has been a populist backlash of the kind we see in Italy right now. U.S. protectionism is another.
Before the financial crisis the eurozone ran a small current account surplus. By last year, it reached 3.5 per cent of economic output. The larger the surpluses became, the more dependent the eurozone had become on the rest of the world.
Instead of hyperventilating about Mr. Trump, Europeans might want to reflect on what got them into this mess. The EU would be more resilient today if it had not handled the eurozone crisis the way it did, and if its founders had made the euro more robust from the outset. Technically, it would still be possible for the EU to fix the problem, but that would require a degree of political union that goes far beyond even what Emmanuel Macron, the French president, has proposed. It requires at its core a mutualised debt instrument, a euro bond, as a financial instrument to underpin a large sovereign debt market. It would also require a broader mandate for the European Central Bank.
I am, of course, aware that there is no political support for this in northern Europe. But just wait until Mr. Trump imposes tariffs on BMW, Mercedes, and other European companies. Events are starting to intrude.
-----
Wolfgang Munchau is an associate editor for the Financial Times.

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GATA is a civil rights and educational organization based in the United States and tax-exempt under the U.S. Internal Revenue Code. Its e-mail dispatches are free, and you can subscribe at:
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U.S. launches criminal probe into bitcoin price manipulation - May 24, 2018 - GATA | THE GATA DISPATCH.

U.S. launches criminal probe into bitcoin price manipulation

Submitted by cpowell on 01:46PM ET Thursday, May 24, 2018. Section: Daily Dispatches By Matt Robinson and Tom Schoenberg
Bloomberg News
Thursday, May 24, 2018
The Justice Department has opened a criminal probe into whether traders are manipulating the price of bitcoin and other digital currencies, dramatically ratcheting up U.S. scrutiny of red-hot markets that critics say are rife with misconduct, according to four people familiar with the matter.
The investigation is focused on illegal practices that can influence prices -- such as spoofing, or flooding the market with fake orders to trick other traders into buying or selling, said the people, who asked not to be identified because the review is private. Federal prosecutors are working with the Commodity Futures Trading Commission, a financial regulator that oversees derivatives tied to bitcoin, the people said. ...
... For the remainder of the report:
https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2018-05-24/bitcoin-manipulation-...

Bullion Star's gold market charts suggest demand remains strong - May 21, 2018. GATA | THE GATA DISPATCH.

Bullion Star's gold market charts suggest demand remains strong

Submitted by cpowell on 12:48AM ET Tuesday, May 22, 2018. Section: Daily Dispatches 8:50p ET Monday, May 21, 2018
Dear Friend of GATA and Gold:
Bullion Star's latest gold market charts suggest that despite gold's recent decline in U.S. dollars, gold demand remains strong in China, Russia, and Switzerland. Bullion Star's report is headlined "Gold Market Charts -- May 2018" and it's posted here:
https://www.bullionstar.com/blogs/gold-market-charts/gold-market-charts-...
CHRIS POWELL, Secretary/Treasurer
Gold Anti-Trust Action Committee Inc.
CPowell@GATA.org

Forget about oil at $80, because the big rally is in forward prices- May 21, 2018. | GATA | THE GATA DISPATCH.

Forget about oil at $80, because the big rally is in forward prices

Submitted by cpowell on 01:06PM ET Monday, May 21, 2018. Section: Daily Dispatches By Catherine Ngai, Alex Longley, and Javier Blas
Bloomberg News
Monday, May 21, 2018
Brent crude oil grabbed all the attention after spot prices hit $80 a barrel last week. And yet, almost unnoticed, a perhaps more important rally has occurred in the obscure world of forward prices, with some investors betting the "lower for longer" price mantra is all but over.
The five-year Brent forward price, which has been largely anchored in a tight $55-to-$60 a barrel range for the past year and a half, has jumped over the last month, outpacing the gains in spot prices. It closed at $63.50 on Friday.
"For the first time since December 2015, the back end of the curve has been leading the complex higher," said Yasser Elguindi, a market strategist at Energy Aspects Ltd. in New York. "It seems that the investor community is finally calling into question the lower for longer thesis." ...
... For the remainder of the report:
https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2018-05-21/forget-about-oil-at-8...

LBMA suspends Russian precious metals refinery from 'good delivery' lists -May 15, 2018.GATA | THE GATA DISPATCH

LBMA suspends Russian precious metals refinery from 'good delivery' lists

Submitted by cpowell on 11:44PM ET Tuesday, May 15, 2018. Section: Daily Dispatches By Peter Hobson
Reuters
Tuesday, May 15, 2018
LONDON -- The London Bullion Market Association said today it had suspended the Ekaterinburg Non-Ferrous Metals Processing Plant from its gold and silver good delivery lists due to "ownership-related issues."
The refinery in Russia is controlled by Moscow-based conglomerate Renova Group, which along with its key shareholder, billionaire Viktor Vekselberg, was sanctioned by the United States on April 6.
The LBMA said in a notice the refinery would be removed from its active good delivery lists from May 14.
The good delivery lists contain refineries whose gold and silver bars meet the required standard for acceptability in the London bullion market, the world's largest.
The London Bullion Market Association did not comment when asked whether the suspension was linked directly to the sanctions. "Due diligence in regard to the credibility of the lists is continuously reviewed on an ongoing basis," LBMA chief executive Ruth Crowell said. ...
... For the remainder of the report:
https://www.reuters.com/article/usa-russia-sanctions-gold/update-1-lbma-...

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U.S. retreat from trade deals poses new threat to the dollar on May 13, 2018 | GATA THE GATA DISPATCH.

U.S. retreat from trade deals poses new threat to the dollar

Submitted by cpowell on 01:49PM ET Sunday, May 13, 2018. Section: Daily Dispatches By Chelsey Dulaney and Joshua Zumbrun
The Wall Street Journal
Sunday, May 13, 2018
Trade friction is emerging as the latest threat to the U.S. dollar's position at the heart of the global financial system.
For decades, central banks have held the bulk of their foreign-exchange reserves in the dollar, reflecting the dominant role the U.S. and its currency have played in global trade. As the U.S. pulls back from partnerships while countries like Mexico and Japan strike their own trade deals, the dollar's dominance could be undermined, investors and analysts said. That dominance has been referred to as an "exorbitant privilege," allowing the U.S. to borrow cheaply and run persistent deficits.
 Though a less U.S.-centric trade system would take years to fully evolve, it would have significant implications for global central bankers charged with allocating some $11 trillion in reserves. Many are now ramping up investment in such currencies as the euro and Chinese yuan, reflecting the effects of such moves as the U.S. retreat from the North American Free Trade Agreement and Trans-Pacific Partnership.
While the U.S. and Mexico remain in negotiations over Nafta, which could come to a head in the coming days as House Speaker Paul Ryan has set a Thursday deadline to receive paperwork, Mexico has struck major trade deals in recent months with the European Union and the group of Pacific Rim nations that make up the TPP.
Alejandro Daz de Len, governor of Mexico's central bank, said that while the U.S. remains Mexico's most important trade partner, he expects the euro to play a bigger role in the country's foreign-exchange holdings in coming years as the balance of the nation's bilateral trade shifts in that direction. ...
Jens Nordvig, chief executive of analytics firm Exante Data, estimates global central banks could shift $200 billion to $300 billion in reserves into the yuan, euro and a handful of other foreign currencies this year as a result of trade changes. His estimate is based on central banks' increased buying of Chinese bonds in the first few months this year.
While he cautions that central bankers tend to adjust reserves slowly, "the flows that potentially come out of this are really big."
Few are calling for an immediate end to the dollar's reign as the world's primary reserve currency.
Central banks held about 63% of their reserves in U.S. dollars at the end of last year, the lowest level in four years, according to data from the International Monetary Fund. Meanwhile, allocations to the euro rose to 20% and reserves held in the Japanese yen rose to 4.9%.
"What's sure is that over the long term, if trade relations change, it will have an implication on the currency makeup of the reserves," said Christian Deseglise, global head of central banks for HSBC . "As trade becomes more denominated in euros [and yuan], they'll need to have currencies to match." ...
... For the remainder of the report:
https://www.wsj.com/articles/u-s-retreat-from-trade-deals-poses-a-new-th...

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Vancouver Convention Centre East
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http://cambridgehouse.com/e/international-mining-investment-conference-2...
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GATA is a civil rights and educational organization based in the United States and tax-exempt under the U.S. Internal Revenue Code. Its e-mail dispatches are free, and you can subscribe at:
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GATA | THE GATA DISPATCH: GATA's Ed Steer to speak at Vancouver conference May 15-16. - May 4, 2018.

GATA's Ed Steer to speak at Vancouver conference May 15-16

Submitted by cpowell on 02:33PM ET Friday, May 4, 2018. Section: Daily Dispatches 10:34a ET Friday, May 4, 2018
Dear Friend of GATA and Gold:
GATA Board of Directors member Ed Steer, editor of Ed Steer's Gold and Silver Digest, a daily letter of financial news and analysis (https://edsteergoldsilver.com/), will speak at Cambridge House's International Mining Investment Conference in Vancouver, British Columbia, on Tuesday and Wednesday, May 15-16.
Other speakers include Frank Holmes of U.S. Global Investors, Peter Schiff of Euro Pacific Capital, and David Morgan of The Morgan Report and Silver-Investor.com. Dozens of mining companies will be exhibiting.
Admission is C$19 for those who register in advance and $C33.86 at the door.
For more information, visit:
http://cambridgehouse.com/e/international-mining-investment-conference-2...
CHRIS POWELL, Secretary/Treasurer
Gold Anti-Trust Action Committee Inc.
CPowell@GATA.org

GATA | THE GATA DISPATCH: Amid 'relentless' futures selling, silver nears breakout, GoldMoney says, April 21, 2018.

Amid 'relentless' futures selling, silver nears breakout, GoldMoney says

Submitted by cpowell on 01:27PM ET Saturday, April 21, 2018. Section: Daily Dispatches 9:29a ET Saturday, April 21, 2018
Dear Friend of GATA and Gold:
A research report by GoldMoney's Stefan Wieler concludes that "relentless selling pressure in the futures market" has been suppressing silver prices but that the market is on the verge of a breakout. The report is headlined "Silver on the Verge of a Breakout" and it's posted at GoldMoney here:
https://www.goldmoney.com/research/goldmoney-insights/silver-on-the-verg...
CHRIS POWELL, Secretary/Treasurer
Gold Anti-Trust Action Committee Inc.
CPowell@GATA.org

GATA | THE GATA DISPACH: Russia says it keeps all its gold reserves at home

Russia says it keeps all its gold reserves at home

Submitted by cpowell on 01:11PM ET Saturday, April 21, 2018. Section: Daily Dispatches Russia Entrusts Its Gold to No One, has Zero Bullion in U.S.
From Russia Today, Moscow
Saturday, April 21, 2018
The Central Bank of Russia keeps all its bullion at home, since only in Russia can its gold be completely safe, according to Anatoly Aksakov, the chairman of the State Duma Committee on Financial Markets.
Answering a question about Turkey's decision to repatriate its gold from the U.S. Federal Reserve, Aksakov said: "We do not have a gold reserve in the United States. We have only foreign exchange reserves abroad. No one can lay hands on our gold." ...
... For the remainder of the report:
https://www.rt.com/business/424752-russia-gold-reserves-us/

GATA | THE GATA DISPATCH: Eric Sprott's weekly review: Closer to a short squeeze in metals?, April 21, 2018.

Eric Sprott's weekly review: Closer to a short squeeze in metals?

Submitted by cpowell on 01:06PM ET Saturday, April 21, 2018. Section: Daily Dispatches 9:06a ET Saturday, April 21, 2018
Dear Friend of GATA and Gold:
Reviewing this week's market action, mining entrepreneur Eric Sprott and Craig Hemke of Sprott Money News discuss the seemingly growing possibility of a short squeeze in the monetary metals. Their discussion is 13 minutes long and can be heard at Sprott Money here:
https://www.sprottmoney.com/Blog/if-your-systems-going-to-crash-you-want...
CHRIS POWELL, Secretary/Treasurer
Gold Anti-Trust Action Committee Inc.
CPowell@GATA.org

GATA | THE GATA DISPATCH: NY Fed nominee faults bitcoin for lacking elasticity and central bank sponsorship, on April 21, 2018.

NY Fed nominee faults bitcoin for lacking elasticity and central bank sponsorship

Submitted by cpowell on 12:57PM ET Saturday, April 21, 2018. Section: Daily Dispatches But isn't that the point of cryptocurrency -- and gold?
* * *
Likely New York Fed President Says Bitcoin 'Doesn't Pass the Basic Test' for a Currency
By Jeff Cox
CNBC, New York
Friday, April 20, 2018
The central banker expected to be the next head of the New York Fed doesn't think much of bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies.
"Cryptocurrency doesn't pass the basic test of what a currency should be," John Williams, currently the head of the San Francisco Fed but the nominee for the top slot in New York, said during a speech today.
 A currency should be "basically something with a store of value," he said, adding that currencies need to be "elastic" to be able to support varying economic and financial conditions. ...
"The idea of the supply of currency and thinking about currency really belongs more in the sphere of government and central banks," he said.

GATA | THE GATA DISPATCH: Iran switches from dollar to Euro as official reporting currency, APRIL 19, 2018.

Iran switches from dollar to euro as official reporting currency

Submitted by cpowell on 01:08AM ET Thursday, April 19, 2018. Section: Daily Dispatches From Reuters
Wednesday, April 18, 2018
LONDON -- Iran will start reporting foreign currency amounts in euros rather than U.S. dollars, state media said today as part of the country's effort to reduce its reliance on the U.S. currency due to political tension with Washington.
The new policy could encourage government bodies and firms linked to the state to increase their use of the euro at the expense of the dollar.
Central bank governor Valiollah Seif said last week that Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei had welcomed his suggestion of replacing the dollar with the euro in foreign trade, as the "dollar has no place in our transactions today."
Tehran has been trying for years to move away from the dollar, although much of the country's international trade is still conducted in dollars and ordinary Iranians use them for travel and savings.

GATA | THE GATA DISPATCH | Jay Taylor: How much longer can the American empire run on fake money? Originally published on April 16, 2017.

This digest includes 1 new article:

Jay Taylor: How much longer can the American empire run on fake money?

Submitted by cpowell on 10:42AM ET Monday, April 16, 20186:44a ET Monday, April 16, 2018
Dear Friend of GATA and Gold:
Financial letter writer Jay Taylor's new commentary, "How Much Longer Can the American Empire Run on Fake Money?," cites GATA's work and adds:

Read more...

GATA | THE GATA DISPATCH | Iran's currency collapses as central bank freezes foreign exchange - April 15, 2018.

Iran's currency collapses as central bank freezes foreign exchange

Submitted by cpowell on 11:55AM ET Sunday, April 15, 2018. Section: Daily Dispatches Iran Bans Sale Of Foreign Currencies at Exchange Bureaus
From Radio Farda
(Radio Free Europe / Radio Liberty, Washington)
Sunday, April 15, 2018
Iran's central bank has announced a ban on the sale of foreign currencies at exchange bureaus. Under new government guidelines, exchange bureaus no longer have the right to buy, sell, or transfer foreign currencies, and the central bank will no longer provide cash to the bureaus.
Mohammad Ali Karimi, head of public relations for the central bank, announced on state-run television on Friday that the guidelines aim to "redefine the job description of exchange bureaus," adding, "They might be given the role of a mediator for cases when Iranian banks are not interacting with some foreign banks."
The exchange rate of Iran's rial to the U.S. dollar is now officially set at 42,000. Karimi said exchange bureaus can sell dollars to banks at the new price. However, there are no dollars available at that rate and no one is willing to sell dollars at the arbitrarily set rate.
It would be a different matter if the central bank would make dollars widely available at the new official rate, but that would drain the state's dollar reserves, as companies and people would scoop up as much as possible because of their lack of trust for the local currency.
Previously, Iran's central bank would provide select exchange bureaus with between $50,000 and $100,000, which they were then allowed to sell at a profit of up to 15 percent.
According to the daily Qanoon, however, exchange bureaus are only allowed to buy or sell gold coins "until further notice."
Amid growing economic and political uncertainty, the rial has plummeted to a record low, dropping to an unprecedented level of 60,000 against the dollar on an emerging black market. ...
... For the remainder of the report:
https://en.radiofarda.com/a/iran-ban-sale-foreign-currency-exchange-bure...

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GATA | THE GATA DISPATCH | Craig Hemke: A lesson in suppression on April 12, 2018.

Craig Hemke: A lesson in suppression

Submitted by cpowell on 03:51PM ET Thursday, April 12, 2018. Section: Daily Dispatches 11:50p ET Thursday, April 12, 2018
Dear Friend of GATA and Gold:
A hundred tonnes of paper gold were dumped on the futures market yesterday to control the monetary metal's price amid war tension, the TF Metals Report's Craig Hemke writes today.
Hemke writes: "Do you really think that some mining CEOs had left standing orders with the bullion banks to immediately sell forward a year's worth of production on any sudden, war-related spike in price? Give me a break! But this is what the apologists and shills want you to believe."
Hemke's analysis is headlined "A Lesson in Suppression" and it's posted at the TF Metals Report here:
https://www.tfmetalsreport.com/blog/8941/lesson-suppression
CHRIS POWELL, Secretary/Treasurer
Gold Anti-Trust Action Committee Inc.
CPowell@GATA.org

GATA | the GATA DISPATCH: Explosion more likely than bull market in metals, GATA chairman says on April 12, 2018.

Explosion more likely than bull market in metals, GATA chairman says

Submitted by cpowell on 01:56PM ET Thursday, April 12, 2018. Section: Daily Dispatches 9:56a ET Thursday, April 12, 2018
Dear Friend of GATA and Gold:
Interviewed by GoldSeek Radio's Chris Waltzek, GATA Chairman Bill Murphy notes the growing anomalies in the monetary metals markets, indicating more desperate interventions by governments and central banks. Murphy predicts that there won't be another bull market in the metals because at some point, when the interventions fail, the markets will just explode. In the meantime, he adds, gold and silver are "the cheapest assets on the planet." The interview is 15 minutes long and can be heard at GoldSeek Radio here:
http://radio.goldseek.com/nuggets/murphy.04.11.18.mp3
CHRIS POWELL, Secretary/Treasurer
Gold Anti-Trust Action Committee Inc.
CPowell@GATA.org

---

GATA | THE GATA DISPATCH: Is Sharps Pixley's Ross Norman really a friend of gold, and his clients? on April 2018.

Is Sharps Pixley's Ross Norman really a friend of gold, and his clients?

Submitted by cpowell on 02:57AM ET Tuesday, April 10, 2018. Section: Daily Dispatches 11:19p ET Monday, April 9, 2018
Dear Friend of GATA and Gold:
Ross Norman, proprietor of venerable London bullion dealer Sharps Pixley, writes today, "Gold is struggling to find friends."
Is Norman himself one? It apparently depends on the day.
He would seem to be one insofar as his firm sells the real stuff, not mere paper claims against it that create the illusion of infinite supply and thereby destroy gold's very purpose.
But in his new commentary at Sharps Pixley, headlined "Gold Says 'Peak Complacency,'" Norman professes to wonder about gold's being "trapped in narrow trading ranges and unresponsive to geopolitical events," about the lack of news and substantial commentary about gold, and about the seeming complacency of the financial markets.
This is strange, since just a month ago in an interview with Grant Williams for Real Vision's documentary video report about gold, called to your attention by GATA here --
http://www.gata.org/node/18088
-- Norman responded affirmatively to a suggested explanation for gold's inertia: surreptitious intervention against the gold price by central banks.
Norman was asked by Real Vision if central banks would do that sort of thing. He replied: "You betcha," because "it's said that the gold price is the reciprocal of trust in central banks. ... Are they doing it? 'I don't know' is the answer." But he added, "They probably are."
Excerpts from the Real Vision documentary that include Norman's comments are posted at You Tube here:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gjw1lduO6xw
Of course gold price suppression may be the longest-running story of modern central banking. Prefacing GATA's Gold Rush 21 conference in the Yukon back in 2005, South African market analyst and gold advocate Peter George addressed the phenomenon that supposedly baffles Norman today. "In the last 10 years," George said, "the central banks have effectively shown that when there is a real crisis, gold actually goes down -- and it's so blatant, it's a joke." See:
http://www.gata.org/node/20
For years GATA has documented the mechanisms, objectives, and official confirmations of surreptitious intervention in the gold market by central banks:
http://gata.org/taxonomy/term/21
Back in November your secretary/treasurer spoke at the Mines and Money conference in London, not far from the Sharps Pixley showroom, to summarize the last year's developments in central bank gold price suppression policy:
http://gata.org/node/17836
Norman has attended and spoken at that conference before and, given his comments to Real Vision a month ago, is plainly familiar with the proof. Further, since the financial industry regards Norman as a highly respectable person, unlike anyone connected with GATA, your secretary/treasurer would have been glad if he had joined your secretary/treasurer's typically fruitless tour of London financial news organizations to supply the documentation and solicit journalistic interest in the issue.
But with his commentary today Norman now professes to have no idea about what is going on with gold.
Were other respectable people appalled by Norman's candid comments to Real Vision and did they demand a retraction of sorts from him, like his commentary published today, so he might regain his respectability?
In any case, why should investors purchase the monetary metals from a firm whose proprietor now professes not to understand their pricing, just a month after he indicated that he did understand it? Is the regard of other respectable people really worth this betrayal of clients and, really, humanity?
CHRIS POWELL, Secretary/Treasurer
Gold Anti-Trust Action Committee Inc.
CPowell@GATA.org

* * *

GATA | THE GATA DISPATCH | Trump's 'America first' puts dollar last, Deutsche Bank analyst says, On April 9, 2018.

Trump's 'America first' puts dollar last, Deutsche Bank analyst says

Submitted by cpowell on 07:21PM ET Monday, April 9, 2018. Section: Daily Dispatches By Lananh Nguyen
Bloomberg News
Monday, April 9, 2018
President Donald Trump's "America First" policy means the dollar will have to weaken, according to Deutsche Bank AG.
The administration's "irreconcilable" goals of cutting trade imbalances while funding a large fiscal stimulus program pose the biggest challenge to the international monetary system since the breakdown of the Bretton Woods agreement in the 1970s, George Saravelos, global co-head of FX research at Deutsche Bank, wrote in a note. The only way to resolve these conflicting objectives is via a weaker dollar, he said.
That's because the U.S. will probably struggle to attract sufficient foreign capital to fund its twin deficits, and that lack of appetite will likely translate to more currency weakness, he said. .
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... For the remainder of the report:
https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2018-04-09/trump-s-america-first...