achats d'or par les Banques centrales s'accélérent

l'achat or des banques centrales s'accélére



je parle bien évidemment des achats nets d'or des banques centrales .. ( achats - ventes )
ici on sait depuis un moment déjà que les banques centrales occidentales, et notamment signataires du WAG, ne vendent plus grand chose ..
less banques "orientales" achetant de l'or, de leur coté ..

ce qui fait qu'en 2010 et pour la 1ere fois, depuis 20 ans, le solde des BC est passé net acheteur d' or ..

la tendance s'amplifie pour 2011 , et je ne résiste pas à vous poster cette info..
au moment même où le cartel lance un de ses plus grotesques raids manipulatoires, contre les 2 métaux et particulièrement sur l'argent..


http://www.activistpost.com/2011/05/central-banks-buying-gold-at-record.html



à quand des pleines pages de publicité signées de telle ou telle Banque centrale : acheter or .. par ici, les lingots !

Citation :

au moment même où le cartel lance un de ses plus grotesques raids
manipulatoires, contre les 2 métaux et particulièrement sur l'argent..

le contraire serait étonnant la bête ne saura-réalisera qu'elle est vaincue que lorsqu'elle sera "mourue" et pour cela il n'y a qu'un seul moyen lui retirer tout le physique possible de la circulation , les batailles de papier ne sont pas pour nous , sans physique le papier ne cachera et ne représentera plus rien .

Nofear, t'as un ourson dans la poche...
pas un oursin hein...un ourson, comme ceux des 5 vidéos extra qui vont bientôt avoir les honneurs de la sélection vidéo

lol ... en attendant, de nouvelles statistiques viennent de sortir
le mexique a acheté 100 tonnes d'or en février et mars dernier, la russie et la thailande aussi ( respectivement 18.8 T et 9.3 T en mai )
étrangement, c'est le FMI et non pas le WGC qui fournit les statistiques en question .. 1ere fois que c'est le cas !



http://www.gata.org/node/9882

Mexico went from 7 to 100 tonnes in a flash; Russia, Thailand bought too


Submitted by cpowell on Wed, 2011-05-04 19:48. Section: Daily Dispatches
How strange. The IMF never issued a press release about the Mexican, Russian, and Thai gold purchases:
http://www.imf.org/external/news/default.aspx
Apparently to the IMF only gold sales are news.
* * *
Bank of Mexico Buys 100 Tons of Gold in February, March
By Rhiannon Hoyle
The Wall Street Journal
May 4, 2011
http://online.wsj.com/article/SB1000142405274870393710457630311407359541...
LONDON -- Mexico's central bank purchased almost 100 metric tons of gold in February and March, another signal that emerging markets are likely to steadily raise their gold reserve holdings, industry participants say.
The purchase -- reported in the International Monetary Fund's statistics on international reserves -- follows a shift in the gold market to net central bank buying, following years of official sector sales, and should be welcomed as a positive sign for the yellow metal, said Jonathan Spall, director of commodities distribution at Barclays Capital.

According to the data, the central bank of Mexico bought 93.3 tons of bullion over the two-month period, vastly increasing its total reserves from just 6.9 tons in January.

"Prior to this, they held very little metal, so it is a decent size change," Mr. Spall said. "People are going to view this as bullish, and will now be closely watching other countries in the region, and elsewhere, for further changes."
May IMF data also show continued buying by Russia, of 18.8 tons, and Thailand, of 9.3 tons.
The official sector was a net seller for around two decades before becoming a considerable buyer last year, according to the World Gold Council.
"Mexico seems to be following the trend established by several other central banks recently and is moving toward restoring a prior balance between gold and currency reserves," said George Milling-Stanley, managing director of government affairs at the WGC.
The Bank of Mexico traditionally holds most of its reserves in U.S. dollar-denominated investments.
Since selling more than $30 billion in the exchange market to shore up the peso between October 2008 and October 2009 during the global financial crisis, the central bank has been building reserves to record levels as protection against future bouts of global financial turmoil.
The main source of reserves is oil revenue, as the bank changes dollars for state oil monopoly Petroleos Mexicanos. The bank also uses put options to buy up to $600 million a month from commercial banks when the peso is appreciating against the dollar.
The peso is currently trading at its strongest level against the dollar since early October 2008, closing Tuesday at 11.5620 pesos after dipping below 11.50 pesos in recent sessions.
Foreign reserves were a record $125.8 billion as of April 29.

le mexique, patrie de Hugo Salinas franchit le pas ..mais se refuse à commenter cette statitique inédite

http://www.gata.org/node/9883

Is Mexico starting to buy silver too?


Submitted by cpowell on Wed, 2011-05-04 20:05. Section: Daily Dispatches
Could that ever-exploited country have begun to start standing up for itself? Are its authorities finally listening to their unsung patriot, Hugo Salinas Price? Note the Bank of Mexico's refusal to comment about its gold purchase. At least Reuters tried putting a question to a central bank this time.
* * *
Mexico Ramps Up Gold Reserves at Dollar's Expense
By Dave Graham
Reuters
Wednesday, May 4, 2011
http://www.reuters.com/article/2011/05/04/mexico-gold-idUSLDE7431OZ20110...
MEXICO CITY -- Mexico massively ramped up its gold reserves in the first quarter of this year, buying over $4 billion of bullion as emerging economies move away from the ailing U.S. dollar, which has dipped to 2 1/2-year lows.
The third biggest one-off purchase of gold by any country over the past decade took Mexico's reserves to 100.15 tonnes -- or 3.22 million ounces -- by the end of March from just 6.84 tonnes at the end of January, according to the International Monetary Fund and Mexico's central bank.

Gold has gained 11 percent this year, driven by concern over euro zone debt and the violence in the Arab world, as well as by the U.S. dollar's 7.6 percent decline against a basket of currencies.

Sergio Martin, chief economist for HSBC in Mexico, said the government probably saw gold as a highly liquid asset that would reduce exposure to the falling greenback.
"They're probably thinking that getting out of dollars and into gold makes sense because we know that the dollar has some trend to depreciate in the near future at least," said Martin. "I don't think they're going to lose money with this."
Mexico's foreign currency and asset reserves hit a record $128 billion in April, making the gold purchased mostly in February and March worth nearly 4 percent of that total. Mexican central bank data on gold holdings only exists through March.
The central bank did not respond to a request for comment.
According to the International Monetary Fund, Latin America's No. 2 economy now owns $4.93 billion worth of gold, which hit a record $1,575.79 an ounce on Monday.
Other emerging economies such as China, Russia and India have also beefed up bullion reserves over the past few years.
Credit Suisse precious metals analyst Tom Kendall said it was worthy of note that Mexico, whose economy is very closely tied to the United States, had taken this step.
The size of the purchase "is certainly pretty chunky to have been accomplished in that space of time. So it certainly gives another sizable layer of support to gold's position in the international reserves system," he added.
George Milling-Stanley, managing director of government affairs at the World Gold Council industry group, said Mexico was following a recent trend among central banks to restore a "prior balance between gold and currency reserves."
"This is further supported by the fact that the May IMF numbers show continued buying by Russia and Thailand of 18.8 tonnes and 9.3 tonnes respectively," he added.
Mexico's reserves rank it 33rd among the top official holders of gold. The United States is the largest official holder of gold, with 8,133 tonnes, which account for 73.8 percent of its total international reserves.
China is the sixth largest holder of gold, with 1,054.1 tonnes, or just 1.6 percent of total reserves, while eighth-ranked Russia now has some 811 tonnes of gold, up from 788.78 in January, according to the IMF data.
Silver, which hit a record price earlier this year, may also have been on Mexico's buying list, said Martin at HSBC.
"I think Mexico has moved from second to first place in the list of global silver producers, so they may have been buying silver to help the price," he added.

et ça aussi, ça donne pas mal ..

les banques centrales des BRICS vont accélérer leurs achats d'or dans les années qui viennent, la Chine en 1er lieu
selon Rob mac Ewen, ex pgd de goldcorp, l'une des figures majeures du secteur aurifère

********************

reuters

China "Aims To Have More Gold Than America"



THE CENTRAL BANKS of developing countries will Buy Gold at an increasing rate in coming years, with China being a leading player, according to a major industry figure.

Reuters
A worker displays gold ingots at a manufacture unit of PT Logam Mulia in Jakarta
Rob McEwen, founder and former head of Goldcorp, now the world's fifth largest Gold Mining company, believes central bank purchases could help push the price of gold to $2000 an ounce by the end of the year.
"China is out to have more gold than America, and Russia is aspiring to the same,"said McEwen, who is now chairman and CEO of junior miner US Gold. "When you have debt, you don't have a lot of flexibility. China wants to show its currency has more backing than the US."
According to figures from the World Gold Council (WGC), China's gold reserves were worth $48.2 billion in March 2011. This compares to $372.2 billion for the US. Russia's gold reserves were estimated to be worth $36.1 billion.
Central banks became net buyers of gold in 2010. The WGC reports that, over the past decade, European central banks alone have accounted for approximately 10% of the world's annual gold supply, selling an average 388 tonnes a year. However, these sales "have virtually come to a halt" in the last three years, the WGC says.
A survey by Central Banking Publications revealed this month that over 70% of reserve managers expect central banks will remain net gold buyers.
-END-
The central bank buying news is SO bullish, SUPER bullish. Back at the turn of the century when gold was selling at less than $300 per ounce, GATA knew the price of gold had to go UP and UP because there was a supply/demand deficit of about 1500 tonnes per year. We knew the low gold prices were unsustainable because The Gold Cartel was supplying the difference to keep the price suppressed. The Gold Cartel could not keep up supplying gold at such low prices, as it meant they would gradually run out of available central bank supply. Thus they then made a conscious decision to manage the price rise, which they keep doing. Yes, it is a losing battle, but that is what they do … all to do what they can to save the dollar as best they can and keep interest rates as low as possible … as well as to assist their Behavioral Finance operations.
Now that major institutions are buying, the supply/demand deficit is growing again and they are being forced to dump more and more gold to keep the price of gold from exploding. This too is unsustainable. The bums are in deep trouble and this is why this correction will not last too long.
You have to wonder how much gold the central banks really have left in their vaults. The ignorant mainstream gold world will probably throw out a figure of 30,000 tonnes. My guess is that the more valid number is closer to 10,000 to 12,000 tonnes.

Le Mexique a augmenté de 90 tonnes ses réserves en 2 mois source cnbc ce jour.

oui Nofear, c'était posté plus haut ds la file ... et source officiele du FMI..

j'en profite pour faire le point des réserves d'or des banques centrales amérique latine

source reuters

************
REUTERS FACTBOX-Latin American central banks sit on gold
May 4 (Reuters) - Mexico massively ramped up its gold reserves in the first quarter of this year, buying over $4 billion of bullion as emerging economies move away from the ailing U.S. dollar, which has dipped to 2-1/2 year lows
Mexico's central bank said its recent purchases of gold were part of its normal policy for managing the country's international reserves.
The World Gold Council, an industry group, said earlier this year emerging market central banks were expected to be the biggest official buyers of gold, as they seek to diversify some of their reserves out of U.S. dollars.


Here are some facts about gold holdings in Latin America:

VENEZUELA
HOLDINGS: 365.8 tonnes
VALUE: $16.48 billion
FOREX RESERVES: Venezuela has $26.66 billion in overall
foreign reserves.
STATUS: Venezuela is the largest official holder of gold in
Latin America. Central bank authorities in Venezuela, a gold
mining country, have said they intend to increase gold reserves
with local production. Mining companies in Venezuela are
obligated to sell 50 percent of their output to the bank and
the rest can be exported.

MEXICO
CENTRAL BANK HOLDINGS: 100.15 tonnes
VALUE: $4.93 billion
FOREX RESERVES: Gold is less than 4 percent of $126 billion
in reserves.
STATUS: Mexico jumped in the global rankings of official
gold holders after purchasing 90 tonnes of gold between January
and March. Before the massive buy, Mexico held around 6.84
tonnes in late January.

ARGENTINA
CENTRAL BANK HOLDINGS: 54.7 tonnes
VALUE: $2.7 billion
FOREX RESERVES: Gold is slightly more than 5 percent of $52
billion in reserves
STATUS: Argentina -- along with Brazil, Bolivia, Peru and
now Mexico -- is among the world's top 50 official holders of
gold reserves.

BRAZIL
CENTRAL BANK HOLDINGS: 33.6 tonnes
VALUE: $1.56 billion (as of March 2011)
FOREX RESERVES: Gold is less than 0.5 percent of $317
billion in reserves.
STATUS: Brazil has held the same amount of gold since 2008
but does not discuss plans to increase or decrease its reserve
holdings.

PERU
CENTRAL BANK HOLDINGS: 34.7 tonnes
VALUE: $1.6 billion
FOREX RESERVES: Peru has $46.18 billion in overall foreign
reserves, 80 percent of which is in U.S. dollars.
STATUS: The value of Peru's gold holdings increased from
$1.564 billion last December because of rising gold prices.
Gold has gained 11 percent this year, driven by concern over
euro zone debt and the violence in the Arab world, as well as
by the U.S. dollar's 7.6 percent decline against a basket of
currencies <.DXY>.

ECUADOR
CENTRAL BANK HOLDINGS: 26.3 tonnes
VALUE: $1.3 billion
FOREX RESERVES: $4.16 billion in reserves
STATUS: The value of the central bank's gold holdings have
gradually increased with rising prices.

toujours selon les données du FMI ( et non celles du WGC)

- la russie a ajouté 13.72 T à ses réserves d'or
- le mexique ajoute 5.93 T, et totalise donc achats de 99.1 T d'or pour 2011 ..

même si c'est encore timide, les banques centales européennes achétent également de l'or ... pour la 1ere fois depuis la création de l'euro en 1999

ces achats se font sous forme de pièces et représentent € 6 millions, 180 kg ( sans compter les 0.6 T de l'estonie )

à comparer avec les 1937 T d'or vendues sur les 12 dernières années

http://www.mineweb.com/mineweb/view/mineweb/en/page33?oid=129375&sn=Detail&pid=110649

la banque centrale du Kazakstan prévoit d'augmenter ses réserves d'or en achetant la totalité de la production minière du pays



Kazakh central bank plans to augment its gold reserves by buying the country's entire bullion output



et en complément ( merci à Ubu-roi de Bourso)




ALMATY, Kazakhstan – La banque centrale du Kazakhstan a annoncé qu’elle exercerait d’ici peu son droit d’achat sur l’or produit à l’intérieur des frontières de son pays afin d’augmenter ses réserves en métal jaune. Ceci pourrait considérablement réduire les exportations d’or des pays d’Asie centrale, aux sols riches en or.

Le Kazakhstan était classé en 2010 à la vingtième place des pays producteurs d’or, avec 26,9 tonnes sur les 2688,9 tonnes extraites de par le monde la même année. Lors de la première moitié de l’année 2011, le pays avait déjà extrait 18,832 tonnes d’or.

Le plus récent bilan de la banque centrale, ayant été envoyé à certains reporters sans jamais n’avoir été publié sur internet, fait état de la volonté de la banque centrale de se procurer l’or produit à l’intérieur du pays, mais ne fait aucune mention quant à l’arrêt des exportations.

Vous pourrez trouver des informations quant au Kazakhstan en suivant ce lien.


Voici quelques liens proposés :
Source de l'article :

http://www.24hgold.com/francais/actualite-or-argent-la-banque-centrale-du-kaza khstan-achete-tout-l-or-produit-a-l-interieur-de-ses-frontie.aspx?article=361151 7512G10020&redirect=false&contributor=Fil+D%27Or

Statistiques du Kazakhstan :
http://www.24hgold.com/english/stat_country.aspx?pays=Kazakhstan

Réserves d'or de la banque centrale du Kazakhstan (73.6 tonnes fin 2010)
:
http://www.24hgold.com/english/stat_country_detail.aspx?pays=Kazakhstan&d eid=19576B1670

la banque centrale de Colombie achéte 2.3 T d'or, et porte le montant de ses réserves à 9.14 T d'or

1er achat depuis 1998, et 33% d'augmentation de ses réserves ...



http://www.reuters.com/article/2011/08/31/gold-cen
banks-idUSL5E7JV18N20110831

au tour de la Roumanie de réfléchir aux moyens qu'elle va mettre en peuvre pour augmenter ses réserves d'or .

but: doubler les réserves existantes de 100 à 200 Tonnes d'or, en achetant éventuellement la production nationale d'or du pays





http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2011-09-05/romania-central-bank-to-discuss-reserve-structure-mediafax-says.html



Romania Central Bank to Discuss Reserve Structure, Mediafax Says

By Andra Timu
Bloomberg News
Monday, September 5, 2011



BUCHAREST, Romania -- Romania's central bank will analyze the future structure of the country's international reserves and a possible increase of the gold reserve, Mediafax reported, citing Governor Mugur Isarescu.

The bank's policy board will discuss a proposal made by President Traian Basescu to double the country's gold reserves to almost 200 tons in the following period, after developing the Rosia Montana gold mine, together with Gabriel Resources Ltd. (GBU), Isarescu said in a speech in the southeastern city of Constanta, according to Mediafax.

au tour de la Bolivie d'acheter or !

décidément en ce moment, les banques centrales se ruent sur l'or



Morales a fait passer une loi autorisant la banque centrale bolivienne à racheter la production d'or du pays , ils vont peut etre même essayer d'en chopper dans les pays voisins vu que la production nationale est déclinante : ( production or bolivie : 6 tonnes en 2010, en baisse de 14% versus 2009 )

les réserves d'or de la BC de Bolivie ont déja été multipliées par 10, depuis 2005



http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2011-09-07/bolivia-central-bank-to-buy-local-gold-output-to-boost-reserves.html



Bolivia Central Bank to Buy Local Gold Output to Boost Reserves

Q
By Alex Emery - Sep 7, 2011 11:19 PM GMT+0200




Bolivia’s central bank will buy gold from local producers to boost its international reserves, the Andean country’s Vice President Alvaro Garcia Linera said today.

Bolivian President Evo Morales enacted a law authorizing the bank to buy gold through state mining company Empresa Boliviana de Oro, Garcia Linera said in a speech broadcast by La Paz-based television station Bolivision.

The bank will pay miners the same rate as traders who sell the gold to Brazil and Peru, Garcia Linera said. Bolivia’s central bank has increased its international reserves 10-fold to $11 billion since 2005, he said.

Bolivia produced 6 metric tons of gold last year, down 14 percent from 2009, according to the Mining Ministry.

To contact the reporter on this story: Alexander Emery in Lima at aemery1@bloomberg.net

To contact the editor responsible for this story: Dale Crofts at dcrofts@bloomberg.net

les banques centrales occidentales sont net acheteuses d'or pour 0.8 T, cette année ... à comparer avec les ventes effectuées ds le cadre du Washington agreement, les années qui ont précédé ..



c'est un rappel, mais les nouveaux chiffres d'achats nets d'or par les BC occidentales, viennent de sortir et confirment cette nouvelle tendance !







http://www.blanchardonline.com/investing-news-blog/econ.php?article=3321

.

la banque centrale de thailande a acheté 9.3 T d'or en août 2011

la bolivie 7 tonnes d'or, et la russie, 5.6 tonnes d'or

elles ont toutes les 3 payé l'or, au prix fort, ce qui en dit long sur leur appétit pour le métal jaune



http://business.financialpost.com/2011/09/30/thailand-bolivia-and-russia-boost-gold-reserves/

L'Europe n'a pas l'air con avec ses 180 pov kilos...

selon les très officielles statistiques du WGC, les banques centrales ont acheté 192.30 tonnes d'or pour le 1er semestre 2011.

le pourcentage d'or dans les réserves de change des banques centrales est bien entendu plus élévé en occident que dans les pays émergents, ce qui laisse une marge d'augmentation considérable des réserves d'or des banques centrales , donc un potentiel de hausse du cours de l'or, très elevé

75.4% pour les usa contre 1.6% pour la Chine, et 8.2% pour la Russie , y'a pas photo !



******************************



Central Bank Buying Means Gold to Rally to $2,000: Chart of Day

October 13, 2011, 10:52 PM EDT

• By Sungwoo Park
  

Oct. 14 (Bloomberg) -- Gold may surpass $2,000 per ounce for the first time by early next year, as central banks in emerging markets add the precious metal to reserves to diversify away from the dollar, according to Mine Life Pty.

The CHART OF THE DAY shows the proportion of gold in the international reserves of India, Russia, China and Mexico is lower than the rates in the U.S., Germany and France, based on data compiled from the World Gold Council. The lower panel tracks central bank holdings in metric tons and the bullion price since March 2008. Central banks last year were net gold purchasers for the first time in two decades.

"I certainly expect international central bank gold buying to continue, especially in emerging economies where foreign reserves are growing," said Gavin Wendt, founder and senior analyst at Sydney-based Mine Life, which publishes reports on the metals industry. "It’s the safest option for them."

Immediate-delivery bullion has dropped 13 percent since setting a record $1,921.15 on Sept. 6. The metal is still up 18 percent this year, having outperformed equities and Treasury bonds because investors sought alternatives amid low interest rates and economic-slowdown concerns. The dollar, which mostly moves inversely to gold, was down 2.2 percent this year against a basket of currencies of six major U.S. trading partners by 6:22 p.m. in Shanghai yesterday. Bullion was at $1,671.99 an ounce at the same time.

Central banks, the biggest gold holders, have expanded reserves as bullion is headed for an 11th straight annual gain. Central bank and government-institution buying totaled 192.3 metric tons in the first half of 2011, World Gold Council data show. Gold accounts for 75.4 percent of the U.S.’s reserves and 72.7 percent of Germany’s. The ratio is 1.6 percent for China and 8.2 percent for Russia, WGC data show.

"Governments in many places like Asia and South America are rapidly embracing gold as a security mechanism," said Wendt, who expects gold at $2,500 in 2013. "The value of their U.S. dollar foreign reserves has drastically fallen over the past decade." Thailand, Bolivia and Tajikistan raised reserves in August, according to the International Monetary Fund.

--With assistance from Nicholas Larkin in London

je viens de mettre la main sur un graphique fort révélateur ...



achat et ventes d'or,nets des banques centrales depuis la signature du 1er washington agreement



d'après les statistiques officielles du GFMS





à propos de la signature du Washington agreement et puisque cela refait surface en ce moment, avec une interview de Dimitri Speck par James Turk

je vous invite à relire ou découvrir cet excellent papier de Ed Steer tout à fait prémonitoire :

les fameuses ventes d'or des BC de 1999 à 2009 correspondent en fait à ... des régularisations de prêt d'or fait aux bullions banks.

et absolument pas à des ventes de physique



http://www.gata.org/node/4244



Is the Washington Agreement a Fraud? - by Ed Steer


Submitted by Administrator on Sat, 2003-11-08 08:00. Section: Essays
Archimedes was born in
287 BC in Syracuse, Sicily

Archimedes was a famous mathematician whose theorems and philosophies became world-known. In his own time he gained a reputation few other mathematicians of this period achieved. He is considered by most historians of mathematics as one of the greatest mathematicians of all time. He discovered pi.

Most of the facts about his life come from a biography about the Roman soldier Marcellus written by the Roman biographer Plutarch.

Archimedes was best known for his discovery of the relation between the surface and volume of a sphere and its circumscribing cylinder, for his formulation of a hydrostatic principle -- Archimedes' principle -- and for inventing the Archimedes screw, a device for raising water. Archimedes' Principle states that an object immersed in a fluid experiences a buoyant force that is equal in magnitude to the force of gravity on the displaced fluid.

Legend has it that Archimedes discovered his famous principle while taking a bath. He was so excited that he ran naked through the streets of Syracuse shouting, "Eureka, eureka!" -- "I have found it!"

He also invented things such as the hydraulic screw, the catapult, the lever, the compound pulley, and the burning mirror.

In mechanics Archimedes discovered fundamental theorems concerning the centre of gravity of plane figures and solids.

Archimedes probably spent some time in Egypt early in his career, but he resided for most of his life in Syracuse, the principal city-state in Sicily, where he was on intimate terms with its king, Hieron II. Archimedes published his works in the form of correspondence with the principal mathematicians of his time, including the Alexandrian scholars Conon of Samos and Eratosthenes of Cyrene.

Archimedes played an important role in the defense of Syracuse against the siege laid by the Romans in 213 BC by constructing war machines so effective that they long delayed the capture of the city. But Syracuse eventually was captured by the Roman general Marcus Claudius Marcellus in the autumn of 212 or spring of 211 BC, and Archimedes was killed in the sack of the city.You can read more about Archimedes here.

* * *

We've all had times when the light bulb has gone on and we've said, "Eureka! That's it!" These flashes of insight come not only with a feeling of euphoria, but also with the complete answer to the problem or question at hand ... a "great seeing," if you will. You don't see, you don't see, you don't see. ... Then all of a sudden, you see it all.

The experience I had last week was a derivative of that. "Eureka! Is that it?" A question, rather than a declaration of fact.

I didn't go shouting and running naked through the streets, or even around the office -- but it set off the proverbial light bulb. What precipitated it was an article by Chris Powell, secretary-treasurer of the Gold Anti-Trust Action Committee, posted at the GATA Internet site at Yahoo Groups last week. The story involved Germany's Bundesbank declaring (again) how it was going to be looking for a new agreement to sell even more gold when the Washington Agreement on gold expires in September 2004.

It wasn't the article itself that was of interest, as we've all heard this tired story too many times to let it put the fear of God into us any more. What got my attention was Chris's preamble to the article. This is what he had to say:

"And now Ernst Welteke, president of the Bundesbank, has given another interview musing about selling the bank's gold reserves, which happens whenever the central bankers are nervous that the gold price is getting out of hand. A Reuters story about that interview is appended."

"Keep in mind that when central bankers talk about selling gold, they usually mean writing off as sold their leased gold, gold that is long out of the vault and already sold into the market and a dangerous liability for the bullion banks that borrowed it. Such 'sales' don't add to the gold supply in the market; they help avert a short squeeze by expropriating national assets in favor of influential private interests -- interests that tend to employ central bankers before and after their careers with the central banks."

The moment that I read that, the "Eureka light" turned on. It occurred to me in a flash that this might be what the entire Washington Agreement was about. I fired off an e-mail to Chris with my suspicions, and this is the reply that I got back:

"So much about the Washington Agreement can't be any more than speculation, but better minds than mine in our cause - particularly Frank Veneroso -- have thought for some time that 'gold sales' were just bailouts for the bullion banks. If so, the Washington Agreement was devilishly clever. It was presented as a way of SUPPORTING the gold price by limiting sales so as to avoid hurting those struggling little countries that actually work for a living. What better cover for a scheme to SUPPRESS the price, or at least to keep it from exploding, then by eliminating the chance of a short squeeze?"

"Veneroso thought from the beginning that gold leasing had gotten out of control and that the central banks collectively didn't really know how much they had been leasing, and thus were looking for a method of gradual adjustment of the gold price to a more realistic level."

"I dunno, but I figure that, since they're all a bunch of crooks, misappropriating public wealth in favor of the money powers, the crookedest explanation is the most probable. ... But then I'm a gold nut!" Chris

* * *

For the first time the entire Washington Agreement makes sense ... at least to me. Once the European central banks put their heads together (back in 1999) and came clean with each other, they were absolutely horrified to find just how fast those gold bars were disappearing out of their vaults. That much we already know.

But it was the Washington Agreement that became the red herring to cover their tracks (and their collective behinds) as they attempted to keep a lid on the gold price while they dug themselves out of a physical and paper gold nightmare.

Let's take a look at the text of the agreement one more time....

* * *

Press Communique -- 26 September 1999
Statement on Gold

Oesterreichische Nationalbank
Banca d'Italia
Banque de France
Banco do Portugal
Schweizerische Nationalbank
Banque Nationale de Belgique
Banque Centrale du Luxembourg
Deutsche Bundesbank
Banco de España
Bank of England
Suomen Pankki
De Nederlandsche Bank
Central Bank of Ireland
Sveriges Riksbank
European Central Bank

In the interest of clarifying their intentions with respect to their gold holdings, the above institutions make the following statement:

Gold will remain an important element of global monetary reserves.

The above institutions will not enter the market as sellers, with the exception of already decided sales.

The gold sales already decided will be achieved through a concerted program of sales over the next five years. Annual sales will not exceed approximately 400 tonnes and total sales over this period will not exceed 2,000 tonnes.

The signatories to this agreement have agreed not to expand their gold leasings and their use of gold futures and options over this period.

This agreement will be reviewed after five years.

* * *

The supposed purpose of the Washington Agreement was to give "transparency" to these European central banks' gold dealings. They hoped to bring stability to a market that was always threatened by fears of central banks sales of gold. The "pomp and circumstance" that accompanied this announcement was very impressive. The central banks stated that they would not sell any more gold than their already arranged sales, which (they said) had been made prior to the signing of the agreement.

Now why would all these now desperate central banks come up with an agreement to sell even more gold, when the real purpose of the agreement was to stop it all together?

Item 3 in the agreement is the red herring. It is a smokescreen behind which the banks are, as Chris Powell said, "writing off as sold their leased gold, gold that is long out of the vault and already sold into the market and a dangerous liability for the bullion banks that borrowed it. Such 'sales' don't add to the gold supply in the market; they help avert a short squeeze by expropriating national assets in favor of influential private interests."

The last half of Item 2 of the agreement falls into the same category. If you remove that part of the sentence, plus all of Item 3, we have something closer to the truth. Read through the agreement again without those items. Veneroso and Powell are probably correct.

Would the 2,000 tonnes the central banks said they were going to sell be over and above the approximately 1,400-tonnes-per-year deficit of gold demand over supply? The agreement doesn't say, but I can't see how that would be possible. It's obvious that the gold used to meet the deficit is coming out of central bank vaults at the rate of three to four tonnes per day. It would be interesting to know which banks are the unlucky ones who are supplying this demand, and whether they really want to.

Since the Washington Agreement was signed over four years ago, more than 4,000 tonnes of gold have left central bank vaults to fill the gap between mine supply (plus scrap) and physical demand. Another thousand plus tonnes will leave central bank vaults during 2004 as well. The central banks are being bled white.

One of the other logs to toss on this golden bonfire is the repayment of part or all of the hedge books of some of the gold companies over the last few years. I don't have the exact figure in front of me, but I seem to remember that 500+ tonnes was the number for 2002. The amount of gold originally borrowed by mining companies and now being repaid to their bullion banks (either in paper of one kind of another -- or in physical) has been quite substantial over the last number of years. As others have pointed out, if the bullion banks are being paid back and are covering their own short positions in gold, how come this gold isn't being shipped back out the door to the central banks to cover their short position as well? Just asking.

The reason is pretty obvious - at least to me. The gold is being sold into the market by the bullion banks even before it hits their front door ... undoubtedly with the full blessing of the central banks that originally owned all this leased gold. By doing things this way, the central banks slow the rate at which gold continues to leave their vaults. They just take cash in lieu of physical from the bullion banks - just as they have been publicly saying they wanted to do all along...selling gold (a dead asset) to earn an interest rate on the proceeds. This is how the central banks are helping the bullion banks out of ‘short squeeze' danger. Real cute, isn't it?

Wait a minute....

Well, golly gee! Look what just rolled off the presses from Reuters as reported in Bill Murphy's "Midas" commentary at http://www.lemetropolecafe.com/index.html for November 4. Talking about paying down hedge books -- here's what Gold Fields Mineral Services has to say....

"NEW YORK, Nov. 4 (Reuters) -- For the first time in almost two years, global gold companies in the third quarter were net forward sellers of gold, taking advantage of rising market prices to protect the value of unmined bullion, according to market research firm Gold Fields Mineral Services.

"According to GFMS Managing Director Philip Klapwijk, gold miners collectively sold around 1 tonne of gold last quarter, after seven consecutive quarters of unusual net buying by producers to unwind hedges and benefit from the bull market in bullion. "Producer hedge buybacks played a significant role in gold's rally this year. Spot bullion hit a 7-year high at $393.30 an ounce on Sept. 25 and traded around $380 on Tuesday. Klapwijk was citing the results of the fourth Quarterly Gold Hedge Book Analysis, produced by GFMS on behalf of Investec, an international specialist banking group. He told Reuters on the sidelines of a precious metals seminar sponsored by GFMS and the Silver Institute that the amount of gold hedged wasless important than the change in profile of producers back to being net sellers.

"A GFMS/Investec press release on Tuesday said the report states that the global hedge book, adjusted for options delta, was essentially unchanged from the second quarter at 71.6 million ounces (2,227 tonnes)."

* * *

Well now -- all these ounces that the bullion banks were getting back from the pay-downs on the hedge books of the gold companies have disappeared during the last quarter. That means (of course) that the bullion banks are getting NO extra gold from the gold miners, and every ounce to cover the deficit is now coming right out of central bank vaults. Ouch! (Despite that, the gold price has continued to rise! Fancy that! I thought that that was what ‘the boys' were giving the world as the only reason that the gold price was going up! I think it's time for them to go back to the drawing board on that one.)

And talk about perfect timing -- In the same MIDAS commentary, gold market analyst John Brimelow posts the following:

"A number of commentaries note an upswing in physical of off take because of lower prices, including one on Reuters, which says:

"'In Singapore, the report for much of the bullion trade in Southeast Asia, shows a steady demand for gold especially from neighbouring Indonesia. This helped bullion bars stay at a premium of 10 U.S. cents, down from 30 cents two weeks ago. ... Indonesia ... has been importing up to four tonnes of gold bars daily in the past few weeks, up from one tonne on a normal day."

Brimelow continues:

"With today's announcement from the European Central Bank that a subordinate central bank sold 5 tonnes last week adding to the indication yesterday from the Swiss National Bank that it sold a larger than usual 9-10 tonnes in the same period, a picture is emerging of heavily accelerated central bank selling as gold approaches $390. Doubtless what has been reported is only the iceberg top."

Let me offer a different opinion.

The ECB and the Swiss National Bank (and others) are shouting from the rooftops that they are selling gold by the truckload because they have no choice but to sell. As I mentioned previously, it takes three or four tonnes of gold per day just to meet the deficit, and that little story two paragraphs ago about Indonesia importing "up to four tonnes of gold bars daily in the past few weeks" chews up the 15 tonnes sold by the Swiss National Bank and the "subordinate" central bank in a week or less. Someone with a more suspicious nature might even assume that these two stories are directly related to each other.

What it boils down to is the central banks and bullion banks are making a virtue out of necessity. As GATA's Murphy long has said, they have to sell it or the price explodes.

Then, quickly on the heels of that commentary, Tim Wood of MineWeb.com comes up with this little gem: "Central Bank Gold Sales on Knife-Edge". I can't speak for you, but along with the ramblings of Buba (Bundesbank), this "Washington Agreement II" they talk about is plain unadulterated "el toro poo poo".

Smoke is billowing everywhere: Britain and its gold sales, Swiss bank sales of "surplus" gold, and the unexpected sales by Portugal, attributed by some to deliveries required under maturing call options written in earlier years, as GATA consultant Reg Howe has noted. Lastly, there appear to be some interesting goings-on in the gold department of one of the Dutch banks.

Here at home in Canada, the Bank of Canada continues to announce (almost monthly) the sale of a little more of what's left of our gold reserves, which are now less than ten tonnes.

That too is a crock.

When I published my essay "When Irish Eyes are Smiling: the story of Brian Mulroney and Canada's gold," the good folks at the Bank of Canada told me that there had been no physical gold in the bank vaults for years. To quote my essay directly: "They advised me (early in 2002) that Canada does not really own this gold at all (at the time we were supposed to have about 40 tonnes). What was left of it had been leased out to various bullion banks years ago ...and yes, it (was) being accounted for as requested by International Monetary Fund accounting rules regarding leased gold. Canada's gold cupboard is bare ... not a 400-oz. good-delivery bar in sight."

So when the Bank of Canada is announcing these sales, they are just announcing the closing of forward sales contracts that were entered into literally years ago. How many years is anyone's guess.

Now, back to all this gold that's being sold. Lost in all of this is the question: Who is buying, and, by extension, who is being bailed out? Part of the gold is covering the daily deficit, and part of it is for ... what?

And gold derivatives continue rocketing skyward with every passing quarter.

As others (and now I) have pointed out for years, none of this activity is showing up in the annual (or monthly) inventory reports of the World Gold Council or Gold Fields Mineral Services. To put the credibility of the Washington Agreement in the esteemed company of these two organizations requires little mental effort. I think I'll toss the IMF and its gold-reporting standards into this distinguished group as well, for gold in hand, gold receivables, and gold swaps are recorded the same way, as being "in the vault." And how about CPM Group? Sure, why not? Off to the guillotine with the lot of them!

After more than seven years, this derivatives-shrouded game of Three-Card Monty is starting to wear a little thin, and it's my belief that the Washington Agreement is a total farce, a piece of paper to wave at the gold world and shout "Boo!!!" every time the gold price shows any signs of "irrational exuberance". Bill Murphy's interview with Tim Wood at MineWeb pretty well sums it up.

And if a new Washington Agreement takes effect in October 2004, it will be (in my opinion) another con job, just like the current agreement.

Somehow, I just don't think they're going to get that far before the whole thing blows up. With Andy Smith of Mitsui recently moaning and groaning over at MineWeb about "speculators" driving the price up and how it's going to end badly for the longs, you just have to know that the shorts are in a world of hurt.

In closing, I'd like to quote someone a little more genteel, and whose understanding of the situation is certainly more visionary than mine. Reg Howe had this to say in the last paragraph of his essay "Long Con: Mother of All Bank Runs":

"In many ways a more interesting question is how foreign central banks -- stuffed to the gills with dollar-denominated paper -- can accomplish the same objective." (That is, protecting themselves from an imploding dollar -- Ed) "And the answer is the same: with gold, their traditional reserve asset. When the central banks realize that too many are not just wise to their scam but also are taking advantage of it, that the gold con artists themselves have become the marks, then the greatest bank run in history will shift into high gear. It will be a run not just from dollars or even from paper currency in general, but from modern central banking itself, as the lenders of last resort succumb to the resurrected worldwide preference for the financial asset of last resort."

It's my bet that there aren't a lot of central banks left in Europe right now that "stand ready to lease gold should the price rise," to use Federal Reserve Chairman Alan Greenspan's words -- and those that are, are probably not very happy about it.

And my opinion is that this is all about to end badly - and soon. It couldn't happen to a nicer bunch of crooks.

If you feel that my vision of the Washington Agreement is closer to the truth than what's actually in the document itself, then all bouquets, kudos, and "attaboys" should be sent to Frank Veneroso and Chris Powell. If you disagree, then all fruits and vegetables that come to hand -- in whatever state of ripeness (or decomposition) they are in -- should be directed to the writer at the e-mail address below.



Ed Steer
Gold Anti-Trust Action Committee
Edmonton, Alberta CANADA
edsteer48@shaw.ca

Central banks top up gold reserves


Central banks have used gold's recent plunge to top up their holdings of the precious metal.

Citation :

Bolivia, Kazakhstan, Tajikistan and Thailand spent a collective $1.52bn (£942m) buying 26.7 tons of gold. However, the Mexican central bank was a seller, reducing its holding by 0.1 ton, according to data compiled by Bloomberg.

Thailand's gold reserves rose 11pc to 152.41 tons and Bolivia's bullion reserves increased 17pc to 49.34 tons. Bolivia increased its holdings by 5pc to tons and Tajikistan's bullion stockpile increased 26pc to 4.74 tons.

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/finance/commodities/8858493/Central-banks-top-up-gold-reserves.html

les banques centrales ont profité du repli des cours de l'or pour acheter 148 tonnes d'or , sur le 3émé quadrimestre, source WGC

le wgc ne précise pour le moment pas qui sont ces Banques centrales, acheteuses d'or ... mais on se doute bien d'où ça vient ...



toujours est'il et c'est là l'important... qui a étonné de nombreux traders ... achats massifs d'or des banques centrales, sur repli des cours...

c'est dire si il y a du support sur l'attaque en cours



Central banks made their largest purchases of gold in decades in the third quarter, as a sharp drop in prices in September accelerated the shift to bullion as a means of diversification.

The scale of the buying, at 148.4 tonnes on a net basis, was far bigger than previously disclosed, surprising some traders.

The data were published in a quarterly report by the World Gold Council, a lobby group for the gold industry, on Thursday.

The WGC declined to identify of the central banks behind the majority of the buying citing "confidentiality restrictions," saying only that "a slew of new entrants emerged wishing to bolster gold holdings."

Central banks are one of the most important drivers of the gold market but few disclose details about the changes in their bullion reserves.

Central banks became net buyers of gold last year after two decades of heavy selling -- a reversal that has helped propel the price of bullion to a high of $1,920.30 a troy ounce, up 600 per cent in a decade.



This year, led by emerging market central banks intent on diversifying their growing foreign exchange reserves, they are set to buy more gold than at any time since the collapse of the Bretton Woods system 40 years ago, the last time the value of the dollar was linked to gold.

The purchase of 148.4 tonnes in July-September is the largest since GFMS, the consultancy which produces the data underlying the WGC reports, began compiling quarterly numbers in 2002. Before then, the last time central banks were net buyers of gold was in 1988 when they bought 180 tonnes.

Marcus Grubb, head of investment at the WGC, said of the buyers: "We believe it's a number of purchasers from different countries."

The majority of the buying took place in September after prices fell sharply from record levels at $1,900 to a low of $1,534.49, he said. It coincided with growing international tensions over the US dollar after a dispute in Washington about raising the US debt ceiling.

However, Mr Grubb said the buyers were probably pursuing longer-term targets: "Central bank buying tends to follow a different heartbeat than pure investment purchases of gold. It's often based on targets set earlier in the year on gold as a proportion of foreign exchange reserves."

He predicted that central bank buying for the full year could be 450 tonnes, implying a further 90 tonnes in the fourth quarter.

GFMS last month said central bank purchases were likely to be in excess of 400 tonnes and could reach 500 tonnes, an upward revision from its forecast in September of 336 tonnes.

Elsewhere, the WGC reported that China overtook India to become the largest consumer of gold jewellery in the third quarter. Chinese jewellery consumption rose 13 per cent from a year earlier to 138.6 tonnes, while buying from India -- traditionally the world's top consumer -- fell 26 per cent.

source

merci à l'un de nos lecteurs qui nous fait parvenir un graph fort éloquent :



en rouge : les réserves d'or des banques centrales

en bleu : l'expansion monétaire du papier

période 1945-2011







http://www.mining.com/2011/11/23/the-case-for-using-europes-590-billion-gold-reserves-in-the-euro-zone-bailout/



article orignel ici, avec d'avantages de graphs sur money supply, inflation etc etc ... à lire absolument , merci à Lo2

http://www.caseyresearch.com/editorial.php?page=articles/gold-still-answer-investors&ppref=TWT231ED1111A

achat de 25 Tonnes d'or en octobre par banques centrales de Russie, Kazagstan, et mexique



Russia, Kazakhstan, Colombia Raise Gold Reserves in October

Nicholas Larkin - Nov 25, 2011 5:06 AM CT

Russia, Kazakhstan, Colombia, Belarus and Mexico added a combined 25.7 metric tons of gold valued at $1.38 billion to reserves in October, a month after prices rose to a record.

Russia’s bullion reserves rose 19.5 tons to 871.1 tons last month, according to data on the International Monetary Fund’s website. Kazakhstan’s assets increased 3.2 tons to 73.6 tons, Colombia’s gained 1.2 tons to 10.4 tons, Belarus expanded assets by 1 ton to 31.9 tons and Mexico added 0.9 ton to take holdings to 106.3 tons, the data show. Germany cut reserves by 4.7 tons to mint commemorative coins and Tajikistan cut 0.4 ton of gold.

Central banks are expanding reserves for the first time in a generation as prices head for an 11th straight annual gain and assets in exchange-traded products rose to an all-time high. Purchases may reach 450 tons this year, according to Marcus Grubb, managing director of investment research at the London- based World Gold Council. Central banks and government institutions bought 142 tons last year, IMF data show.

"Given gold’s much more attractive levels in October, we would not be surprised if a similar trend of significantly more buying than is reflected by IMF data actually occurred during the month," Edel Tully, an analyst at UBS AG in London, wrote in a report today.

Gold touched a record $1,921.15 an ounce on Sept. 6 and averaged $1,671.25 last month, valuing Russia’s purchase at about $1.05 billion.

Germany’s gold reserves are at 3,396.3 tons, the IMF data show. The country is the second-biggest holder after the U.S., according to the World Gold Council. A Bundesbank spokesman confirmed the sale and said it was done to mint commemorative coins, which is the only reason it sold bullion during the past few years.

-END-

la banque centrale de Corée du sud achéte 15 tonnes d'or en novembre dernier, ce qui porte ses réserves d'or à 54.4 Tonnes d'or, soit une augmentation de 38% du stock d'or



Merci à Christophe pour nous avoir fait passer l'info



http://www.zerohedge.com/news/bank-korea-increases-gold-reserves-massive-nearly-1-billion-or-39-november-alone

un graph qui se passe de commentaires

les réserves d'or offielles des BRICS depuis 1948



c'est à dire les 5 grandes puissances émergentes : Brésil, la Russie, l'Inde, la Chine et l'Afrique du Sud