Where's the Gold - odd things happening down at the Comex

[Peter Presland]

This is really very curious. I thought it was now standard practice to drill random gold bars on delivery to determine if they are, in fact, solid gold and haven't been salted - because forging bars is an old trick that dates back hundreds of years. This is demonstrated by the fact that in 2008 South Africa returned a delivery of gold from Ethiopia after they were discovered they were made from gilded steel (see HERE)

I also have some problems about the alleged deposit of tungsten fake bars to Fort Knox. Why bother doing this? Who is the target of this fake? Presumably the Clinton Administration faking itself? As I recall it, there has not been a proper audit of the Ft. Knox depository for decades and that this was one of the bones GATA has been gnawing at for a long time. For all intents and purposes Ft. Knox could be empty and no one would be the wiser. Prof. Tony Sutton, just before he died, conjectured that Ft. Knox only had a little coin melt in it.

Is there any established evidence that the Bank of England stepped into help out JP Morgan and Deutsche Bank?

I mention these points because I am somewhat cautious when gold traders make statements that cannot be proven or have no basis in fact. Starting rumours in the market to effect the price of a commodity is another old and well established trick and those in the precious metal industry are more than skilled at it.

All good points David, especially the rumours one.

I think the balance of probability is that a default on the March Comex contract WAS narrowly avoided by Central Bank intervention, but the consensus seems to be that it was the ECB that 'saved the day' with its surprise announcement of an unscheduled gold sale coincident with the Deutsche Bank liability falling due. Murky, murky, murky - as always with things gold.

I found the most striking thing about the Safehaven article you referenced was the unarguable facts of that Chinese factory. A quick chunter around that site will alarm ANY Gold Bug and, unlike other chinese counterfeiting operations that draw such ire from the West, my guess is that there will be a deafening silence about this particular operation.