Precious Metals

Your Most Important Gold and Silver Questions — Answered

"Western central banks have no use for gold and, instead, want to make it obsolete. They want to move the world to an electronic currency that can be fully tracked, traced and taxed. In addition, Europe’s central banks, especially Germany, needs cash and liquidity to fight the European sovereign debt crisis. So you should indeed expect European central bank gold sales going forward. But importantly, that does not mean gold will go down. It would be more like the period from 1978 to 1980 in the U.S. when our Treasury dumped millions of ounces of gold on the market, and yet gold prices soared." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingYour Most Important Gold and Silver Questions — Answered

Bankers, bankers uber alles, uber alles in der welt

"The episode has long weighed on the reputation of the BIS. However, what has received less attention is the role of the BoE in the affair. What emerges from the history, which appeared on the BoE's website on Tuesday, is that the UK's central bank prioritised the appeasement of the BIS over the British government's wishes to freeze the sale of Czech assets. The history, written by BoE officials and completed in 1950 but never published, also records that the UK central bank sold gold after this date on behalf of the Nazis -- and without waiting for the consent of the British government -- on the back of pressure from the BIS." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingBankers, bankers uber alles, uber alles in der welt

Bank of England helped the Nazis to sell plundered gold

"The Bank of England insists its role in the episode was 'widely misunderstood.' The Nazis invaded Czechoslovakia in September 1938. In March the following year, the Bank of International Settlements (BIS) asked the Bank of England to switch £5.6m-worth of gold from an account for the Czech national bank to one belonging to the Reichsbank. Much of the gold - nearly 2,000 gold bars - was then 'disposed' of in Belgium, Holland and London. The BIS was chaired at the time by Bank of England director, German Otto Niemeyer. The UK central bank also sold gold for the Nazis in June 1939, without waiting for approval from Westminster." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingBank of England helped the Nazis to sell plundered gold

Bank of England Vault Floor Layout

"The Bank of England Virtual Tour is pretty neat - specifically the 360 degree rotatable picture of the main gold vault. 'Crazy to do from a security perspective', so interesting to consider the need for transparency was greater than the need for secrecy. The website/app is great fun for anyone liking shiny things. I wanted to explore a few additional details, create a historical record for posterity and completely debunk the 1,300 tonnes of leased gold idea before it gains too much traction in the metals space." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingBank of England Vault Floor Layout

Gold imports jump 102% in Pakistan; ban imposed

"Following the Indian government’s decision to discourage gold import by imposing 8% duties, buyers have reportedly shifted to Pakistan where the precious metal is allowed to be imported duty free since 2001. An official handout by Pakistan's Economic Coordination Committee (ECC) of the Cabinet, headed by Finance Minister Ishaq Dar, has noted that there have been serious apprehensions that the duty free import of gold is being abused by unscrupulous elements." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingGold imports jump 102% in Pakistan; ban imposed

India July silver imports highest in 5 years

"Silver imports in July 2013 are the second highest in any month in the last five years. On the other hand, gold has seen a steep decline in imports in June (only 8.908 MT) compared to 37.618 MT in May, the second lowest in last five years. Experts say traders are importing more silver because of trade restrictions on gold by the Government of India since June 3. The decrease in silver prices over the last three months is also driving imports. 'Due to restrictions on gold, these figures were expected and traders are waiting for gold prices to fall further before they start buying,' said Kishore Javeri of Javeri and Company." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingIndia July silver imports highest in 5 years

500,000 Indian workers lose jobs as jewellers curb gold imports

"Vijay Gopal, a goldsmith at one of India's leading branded jewellery manufacturing unit in Coimbatore, lost his job last month. 'Since last three decades I was working in this market and never felt the need to learn any other skill. I am clueless on how I will feed my family of six,' said Gopal. Gopal is not alone. The government’s move to tighten the screws on gold imports, and the decision by major jewellers such as Tata Group's Tanishq, TBZ, Geetanjali Jems and others to curb gold sales, have caused some collateral damage: a cloud over the future of industry workers. Mrityunjay Sarangi, secretary, ministry of labour, refused to comment on the issue." Continue reading →

Continue Reading500,000 Indian workers lose jobs as jewellers curb gold imports

Minnesota Starts to Regulate and Track Gold Coin Dealers

"Minnesota has passed legislation that would regulate bullion coin dealers. But it has coin dealers and coin club officials scratching their heads over just what it means and how to comply. Implementation of the bill will have the effect of licensing bullion coin dealers in the state. Bullion coin dealers will be subjected to registration as of July 1, 2014, with the state commissioner of commerce at a fee of $25 for a bullion coin dealer and $10 for his representatives. The legislation defines 'bullion coin' as any coin that contains 'more than one percent by weight of silver, gold, platinum, or other precious metals.'" Continue reading →

Continue ReadingMinnesota Starts to Regulate and Track Gold Coin Dealers

Confusion, not regulation the major dampener for Indian gold demand

"While it is likely that imports will be dampened as a result of the new regulations, at least part of the reason for that will be because of the sheer confusion as to exactly what is going on. As UBS explains, 'The difficulty is that the new regime appears quite complex from implementation and logistical standpoints. How exactly are customs authorities going to track all this flow and ensure that all the required quotas are met? Where will the bonded warehouses be located? Will there be enough warehouse capacity in necessary locations? How does this new framework fit in with participants' business models in terms of logistics and distribution?'" Continue reading →

Continue ReadingConfusion, not regulation the major dampener for Indian gold demand

Indian central bank has debased the rupee 99% vs the dollar; no hope in next Guv too

"The rupee has lost almost 99 percent of its value against the US dollar since 1947 when the rupee was at parity with the dollar. The dollar itself has been no great paragon of virtue and has lost 98 percent of its value against gold in the same period ($35/ounce in 1947 to around $1,330 today). So to state the the RBI has decimated the value of the rupee would actually be an understatement of sorts. But it continues to amaze me when I see the RBI Governors being extolled to the realm of divinity by the media. 'Headless Chicken' would be a much more appropriate description of how they have performed over the last few decades." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingIndian central bank has debased the rupee 99% vs the dollar; no hope in next Guv too