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gold news & views - charts & more
not so much a forum but rather a news archive

Japanese Banking -- Sharefin, 09:36:11 03/09/02 Sat

Local gov'ts in dilemma over public deposits

goldcorp -- Cyclist, 07:44:00 03/08/02 Fri

has a nice entry point.SWC on its way to 20

Gold -- Cyclist, 07:17:39 03/08/02 Fri

will give a bounce next hour.
Oil stalled

Gold -- Cyclist, 07:00:21 03/08/02 Fri

will give a bounce next hour.
Oil stalled

Gold Specimens -- Sharefin, 00:52:44 03/08/02 Fri

Museum Victoria Gold Collection

Gold in O/S currencies -- Sharefin, 21:53:27 03/07/02 Thu

It appears from the above chart that England has been selling into a rising market.
And this in an attempt to quell the price of gold...
What a parody....

Now isn't that what happened in America in the late 70's???

Now England's reserves are down to 7% backed, if it wanted to join the Euro it would have to re-purchase the gold it has just sold to bring it's reserves back up to 15%.
Fools & their follies....

Here's some more charts on the various prices of gold reflected in the local currency price.
It's very clear that gold is on a bull run in all the currencies (Gold being the ultimate US$ hedge)
And these prices get the double whammy of appreciating when the US Dollar comes off as gold will then strongly rise.

Australian Gold
Canadian Gold
Chinese Gold
Euro Gold
French Gold
German Gold
Great Britain Gold
Indian Gold
Japan Gold
South African Gold
Swiss Gold

And the same for silver:

Australian Silver
Canadian Silver
Chinese Silver
Euro Silver
French Silver
German Silver
Great Britain Silver
Indian Silver
Japan Silver
South African Silver
Swiss Silver

Gold -- Sharefin, 19:31:45 03/07/02 Thu

Japanese gold rush amid fears of financial crisis

Kakuko Arai at first could not decide what to do with the cash she obtained by selling her house after her husband died last year.
She ruled out time deposits at banks because financial institutions seemed unstable, but thought stocks could also be risky since their prices are plunging. So she decided to turn some of her money into gold.

"I'm afraid the banks would collapse, and I don't know too much about financial products," said the 61-year-old, who bought two one-kilogram bars of gold for about 2.7 million yen at a store in Tokyo's Ginza district.

"At least with gold, I know it will not become worthless, whatever happens," she said.

Many Japanese investors worried about the health of Japanese banks and the government's plan to scrap a blanket guarantee on bank deposits on April 1 are making the same choice as Arai, causing a bit of a gold rush in the nation.

In 2001, gold sales for investors in Japan increased about 24% from the previous year to 64 tons, according to the World Gold Council. (WGC). The surge is continuing, with sales reaching 10 tons just in the month of January and 25 tons predicted for February, the WGC said.

-------
Please note that the 25 tons of sales for February equate to approx 804,000 ounces.
Valued at approx $290 per ounce this would then be worth approx $233 million or just over a quarter of a billion dollars.
Not bad purchases for one month.

Gold -- Sharefin, 19:25:28 03/07/02 Thu

175m pounds cost of gold meddle

A study released by the World Gold Council (WGC) to coincide with the last of 17 government gold sales argues the Treasury has incurred significant losses by choosing to convert more than half of its reserves of the precious metal into foreign currency.

The WGC said its research showed that the Government's decision to dispose of 395 tonnes of gold was misguided.

Gold -- Sharefin, 19:24:27 03/07/02 Thu

Thompson set to leave Gold Fields

Gold -- Sharefin, 19:23:24 03/07/02 Thu

Gold hedges tapering off

Gold hedges will taper off in the next year as mining houses seek greater price exposure, said Virtual Metals Research & Consulting.
Gold hedging - selling gold at fixed prices before it is mined - has been a popular industry tactic to guarantee revenue, but critics assert the practice stymies market-driven price moves.

It also has punished some heavily-hedged companies, who actually lost money when they were forced to buy gold at higher prices than they had agreed to sell under options agreements.

Gold prices are near their highest in more than two years.

Hedging encouraged central banks to lend more of their gold, which would otherwise have remained dormant in vaults.

In 1999, the major central banks of Europe agreed to limit lending.

“Hedging really distorted the supply and demand balance, which had a short to medium-term impact on the price,” Virtual Metals CE Jessica Cross said.

“But now it is coming full circle and you could actually see the whole thing unwinding and becoming supportive of the price,’ Cross said.

Gold -- Sharefin, 19:21:43 03/07/02 Thu

No Further Overhang Of UK Auctions To Depress Gold Price

According to the World Gold Council the remaining 320 tonnes of gold left after the sale of 395 tonnes will be equivalent to only 7 per cent of the UK's gross reserves. At this level the UK will have the lowest proportion of gold amongst the leading nations of the European Union and the net result will have been to increase significantly the exposure of the UK economy to the unpredictable policies of the US, Euro-zone and Japanese central banks and governments. By tying the value of the UK's reserves to the success or failures of overseas governments HM Treasury has reduced the UK's economic independence. This, claims the WGC, is further emphasised by the growing inter-dependence of the US, European and Japanese economies. A weakening of any one of these could have a detrimental impact on the others and on the three currencies in which the UK holds the bulk of its reserves.

Gold is the one monetary asset which is no one else's liability. Love it or hate it, gold will not go away and cannot be ignored. It will be interesting to watch the price now that there is no overhang of UK sales.

Gold -- Sharefin, 19:19:16 03/07/02 Thu

Canadian gold stocks fall 4 pct as bullion slides

After recent strength, shares of Canadian gold miners plunged 4 percent on the Toronto Stock Exchange Thursday as bullion retreated further from the key $300 level, but gold watchers said positive prospects for the metal were still intact.

The TSE's gold and precious minerals index has fallen 11 percent in a month from above the 6,000 level, which was reached on early-year exuberance that led to predictions that gold's long decline was over and that it would topple $300 an ounce and rise to $325 in 2002.

Gold -- Sharefin, 19:18:13 03/07/02 Thu

Understanding gold

In the past few months gold has surprised everyone except the faithful by being extremely well behaved. Twenty years of playing the role of black sheep in the family of asset classes has smeared the reputation of the one element that is unique in that it does not tarnish. But perhaps gold, like so many of us, is simply misunderstood.

For many years, the World Gold Council, as the global advocate for gold in all its forms, has argued that gold is an excellent diversifier for investment portfolios. This argument is based on the lack of correlation between changes in the gold price and movements in stock markets. During times of financial uncertainty, investors turn to gold as an asset of last resort ' a safe haven.

Oil -- Cyclist, 12:37:07 03/07/02 Thu

Topping out and will consolidate around 22.5 until March19.
NG popped out of a reverse head and shoulder formation and
is targeting 5.00 end of May

Hui -- Cyclist, 10:43:28 03/07/02 Thu

primed to hit 79 within the same time frame,a break will
propel it to 73 pronto

April Gold -- Cyclist, 09:56:40 03/07/02 Thu

made a turning point yesterday and poised to land
at 283.5 on March 12.

WHY YOU NEED GOLD -- Sharefin, 08:49:03 03/07/02 Thu

WHY YOU NEED GOLD

The Aura Of Gold -- Sharefin, 08:34:52 03/07/02 Thu

The Aura Of Gold

Harmony EduGold -- Sharefin, 07:56:24 03/07/02 Thu

Investing

Harmony EduGold -- Sharefin, 07:54:44 03/07/02 Thu

Harmony EduGold

Notable Quotes -- Sharefin, 07:35:28 03/07/02 Thu

Notable Quotes

Famous Quotes About Gold -- Sharefin, 07:24:58 03/07/02 Thu

Famous Quotes About Gold

Quotables -- Sharefin, 07:22:19 03/07/02 Thu

Quotables

Gold -- Sharefin, 04:15:20 03/07/02 Thu

Taiwan's Feb Gold Imports 3,446 Kgs Vs 10,830 Kgs Yr Ago

Gold -- Sharefin, 04:10:26 03/07/02 Thu

Gold auction may not be Britain's last

The international gold market might not have seen the last of the UK's gold auctions, a leading precious metals analyst said yesterday.

Tuesday's auction, the final in a series of 17, concluded the Bank of England's programme to slash the UK's official gold reserves by 58 percent from 715 tons.

Mitsui precious metals analyst Andy Smith said that, with over 300 tons of gold holdings left, the bank could opt to resume its gold tenders in the future.

"The fat lady [of Threadneedle Street] may not have finished singing. Least transparent of all is why the music should stop at 320 tons left in UK gold reserves," Smith said.

"The question is: 'is this really the last UK sale?' The flaw in the so-called transparency of auctions is that the choice of 320 tons left in reserves after the auctions is completely opaque," he added.

Before Tuesday's auction a treasury spokesperson said there were no plans to hold any more sales after the 2004 expiry of the five-year central bank Washington accord, which capped sales at 400 tons a year.

Gold -- Sharefin, 04:03:50 03/07/02 Thu

Gold's future seen shiny

The gold market is emerging from cyclical lows, making gold miners a potentially attractive investment, according to Jeremy Metcalfe, chairman of UK-listed investment company Tiger Resource Finance

"Gold has been basically in a 20-year bear cycle. When something has been in a bear cycle for so long it takes a lot to turn it around, and I think what is in the process of turning it around is the Japanese banking system," Metcalfe told Reuters in an interview on Wednesday.

Dave, you "Borged" that one -- Sharefin, 03:59:14 03/07/02 Thu

Potemkin Village

Gold -- Sharefin, 03:55:36 03/07/02 Thu

Fidelity US manager seeks solace in gold

The BORG commeth... -- Dave, 03:05:04 03/07/02 Thu

In 2002, the lowest marginal income tax level is 44.31 percent, then it increases to 49.77 percent and 63.33 percent. Forty percent of the working people pay the top marginal tax rate of 63.33 percent, which applies to all income over $33,000.

There are very few tax deductions available, and the tax value of the tax deductions is continuously being reduced.

A sales tax of 25 percent hits just about everything.

The capital gains tax is 59.7 percent for a private person in the high income tax bracket, unless you hold your investment for more than 3 years. It then falls to 44.8 percent.

There are additional taxes on "sinful" and "luxury" products likes cigarettes, alcohol, candy, soft drinks, electronic goods, and other luxuries.

For cars, there is a 180 percent special tax on top of the sales tax of 25 percent. Then there is a registration fee and a weight fee to be paid twice per year for the privilege of using the roads. The price of gasoline is nearly three times as high as it is in the US.
Fidelity US manager seeks solace in gold

Technology stocks are unlikely to make the big comeback many US investors are looking for and may even contract more, says Fidelity's North American fund manager, John Muresianu who has moved overweight into gold to limit his risk against further volatility.

Muresianu, who is has been well-known in the fund management sector for several years and is something of a legend to the IFA sector, is taking what he describes as a "contrary" approach and staying away from defensive stocks while markets are still unstable.

"Although stock prices are down, they are not down as much as the fundamentals. Finance stocks are highly overvalued and derivatives exposure will show themselves as a big problem going forward, alongside a negative bid against blue chip growth companies."

Rather than retreating to traditional cyclical stocks, Muresianu has moved the 400-500 stocks held within his portfolio to put the larger weightings in small-cap value stocks, gold and energy stocks because they act in a risk-averse manner.

"The selling and dominant picture for these sectors looks better than it has been in 10 years and there has never been a better opportunity for gold in 20 years, so my position reflects the concern about financial reports," says Muresianu.

"As players in the market become more and more cautious of the levels of risk in the system and deterioration of accounting standards, gold will look more and more attractive. I am convinced that most big stocks are overvalued but most sectors, as they did so in the 70s, can move upwards on the back of this because they are carried by a few [stocks] that do really well."

Lenny Kaplan -- Sharefin, 08:57:33 03/06/02 Wed

GENERAL COMMENTS

Although the final auction of gold by the Bank of England went under the gavel in a most ordinary fashion, it certainly did not meet the irrational expectations of the market, which anticipated a coverage ratio of about 6 to 8 times, and a price above $300. This disappointment led to a rather sharp sell off in the market with one international trading firm, selling about 3000 contracts at critical technical support levels, roiled prices to the $294 level in spot. Excellent physical demand emerged at that level and I would guess that the $292 to $294 level will hold, with prices creeping higher again the next few days. But, all rallies of any considerable nature will have to patiently wait until next week, as option expiration occurs on Friday.

I, for one, am relieved that the Bank of England auctions are now a subject of historians. The psychological effect of these sales cannot be understated to the bull cause. But, I am quite confident that the industry is VERY unhappy about the end of the BOE auctions as they represented a great deal of almost free money. Over the past four years, large trading firms quite easily, and quite profitably, went short gold in front of the auctions.

The Bank of England has lost about $250 Million USD on their sale, on a mark to the market basis. It is perhaps true that the announcement of their auctions may have actually caused excessively low values in the gold price, and their gold was sold quite near the bottom of the market. To demonstrate the extraordinary foolishness of the Bank of England, please note that, on average, all gold sold in the year 2000 was sold at an average of $3.46 UNDER the London A.M. Fix, and in 2002, at an average of $2.93 under. There can no more damning evidence that such statistics. Contrast this with the Swiss, who are about 1/3 of the way through their sales of 1300 tons of gold, 3 times as much as the Bank of England, who quietly and surreptiously sell * to 1 ton a day, each and every day it would appear, and who barely create a ripple on the surface of the gold market.

Gold -- Sharefin, 08:54:57 03/06/02 Wed

WGC GOLD DEMAND TRENDS - 24 Page Report - pdf file

Gold -- Sharefin, 08:53:34 03/06/02 Wed

Russia To Boost Gold And Silver Output Over Next Few Years

Within the next few years Russia will be producing over 200 metric tons of gold and 1,500 tons of silver a year, Chairman of the Gold Producers Union Valery Braiko told a meeting of gold producers in Moscow Wednesday.

Braiko said in 2002 Russian gold output would increase by 17-20 tons from the 154.3 tons produced in 2001. Based on 2001 results Russia is now the fifth largest global gold producer, he said.

There are 639 gold producers in Russia. In 2001 63.625 tons of gold was produced by mining companies, and their share in total gold output will increase considerably in 2002.

Gold -- Sharefin, 08:51:40 03/06/02 Wed

Russia increases state gold purchases for 2002

Moscow, 6 March: Russia's Gokhran, or state precious metals repository, plans to buy 30t of gold from producers this year, compared with 26t in 2001.

The Gokhran also plans to carry on selling precious metals and gemstones from the State Reserve (Gosfond), selling as much this year as in 2001, Vladimir Rybkin, the Gokhran's deputy head, said.

The Gokhran hopes to generate R30bn in budget revenue from these sales in 2002, Rybkin said.

Gold -- Sharefin, 08:49:39 03/06/02 Wed

World Gold Council Slates UK Govt Over Gold Reduction Program

The World Gold Council Tuesday slated the U.K. Government over its gold reduction program in the wake of the final stage of the Bank of England's gold reserves reduction program saying that the latest result has "illustrated how misguided the policy is."

"Everything points to a pretty rosy few years for gold and here we are going the wrong way," he said. "When the Chancellor of the Exchequer starts behaving like a fund manger you're going to get these kind of losses."

The spokesperson confirmed that no further sales have been planned, a move which has pleased the WGC who added that since the announcement in May 1999 Treasury Ministers and officials had re-affirmed the intention of maintaining the gold component of the UK's reserves at around 20% of net reserves.

Gold -- Sharefin, 08:47:17 03/06/02 Wed

TheBullionDesk.com's Norman Comments on U.K. Gold Auction

Following are comments by Ross Norman, an analyst at TheBullionDesk.com, on the last of a series of 17 auctions to sell part of the U.K. gold reserves.

The Bank of England today sold 20 metric tons of gold at $296.50 an ounce, below the spot rate but the highest price achieved since the auctions began in July 1999.

``They were selling that gold against a fantastically attractive backdrop. You've got South African production at its lowest since 1953, figures out yesterday showing Australian production is in decline, mine expenditure in rapid decline, contraction of the supplier base, people unwinding hedging, a stock market going sideways, lower interest rate environment, the Chinese market on the cusp of opening and investment demand at its embryonic stage.

``I think this whole exercise has been thoroughly misguided. As a result of it we estimate the Exchequer is $280 million poorer on the face it -- enough to buy a couple of hospitals. On economic grounds I don't think you can provide a strong case for moving out of gold and into currencies like the yen and the euro, both of which have depreciated, and the dollar, which provides a negative real interest rate. Against an asset which has appreciated over the period of time by 15 percent and does provide an interest rate over and above that.''

On central bank sales:

``There are central banks that want to leave and they're trying to form an orderly queue. I think these chaps are behind the times. Yes they've seen the gold market in a 22-year decline, but I don't think they're fully aware of the blueprint which the producers have to make gold significantly different.''

Gold -- Sharefin, 08:44:53 03/06/02 Wed

German finance ministry, Buba spurn gold sale call

The German Bundesbank and finance ministry on Tuesday rejected suggestions by some government politicians that holes in the public purse could be plugged by the sale of gold and foreign exchange reserves.

"That would be a breach of the (European Union's) Maastricht treaty and would hurt the independence of the Bundesbank," a spokesman for the German central bank said.

Gold -- Sharefin, 08:41:58 03/06/02 Wed

Gold Will Remain Low As Central Banks Line Up To Sell

Gold -- Sharefin, 08:39:32 03/06/02 Wed

Analyst Sees Lower Real Gold Prices Through 2006/07

Australian Bureau of Agricultural and Resource Economics (ABARE) gold analyst Anthony Simms said he sees real gold prices continuing downward through 2006/07.

Simms told ABARE Outlook 2002 attendees prices will be under pressure due to an expected increase in official sector sales, private sector disinvestment and producer hedging.
“Central bank gold sales are expected to increase after September 2004, with the expiration of the current Washington Agreement, which limits official sales. Producer hedging is expected to decline in 2002 before increasing over the medium term, as the contango available to producers improves,” Simms said.

Simms said supply from private disinvestment of gold is also expected to increase over the medium term, as the need to use gold as a safe haven investment diminishes. “These factors will place downward pressure on prices,” he predicts.

Gold -- Sharefin, 08:38:07 03/06/02 Wed

UK gold sales end. Who's next?

Britain 'worse off' after selling gold reserves

Gold -- Sharefin, 08:36:10 03/06/02 Wed

HM Government Gold Auction Result: 5 March 2002

Gold -- Sharefin, 08:34:09 03/06/02 Wed

All that glitters is not gold

Do you believe? - off gold subject -- Sharefin, 22:46:29 03/05/02 Tue

The Inside Truth

Do you believe? - off gold subject -- Sharefin, 22:15:12 03/05/02 Tue

Spot the Boeing

I had to post this as it's almost the same as the gold markets.
Lies, deceipt & the missing booty.

Short term rally April gold, -- Cyclist, 10:49:58 03/05/02 Tue

from an hourly cycle perspective,to start second hour of tomorrow's trading day ,coinciding with a Wednesday turning
point on the daily cycle.

The Coming Bull Market in Gold -- Sharefin, 10:01:41 03/05/02 Tue

The Coming Bull Market in Gold - 1997 article

Option strategies -- Sharefin, 08:46:36 03/05/02 Tue

Paul van Eeden's Options Strategies

Jeff Howard's Options Strategies

Understanding the Gold Price - Paul Van Eeden - PDF File

Gold -- Sharefin, 07:28:42 03/05/02 Tue

The Gold & Silver Room

Gold -- Sharefin, 07:23:18 03/05/02 Tue

Old Gold Rush Report - March 2000 - PDF File

Gold -- Sharefin, 01:24:29 03/05/02 Tue

Gold To Test $300 After BOE Hurdle

Spot gold was little changed Tuesday in Asia in very thin trade limited mostly to some last-minute position squaring before the final Bank of England gold auction slated for later in the global day, traders said.

Still, many market watchers said gold looks poised to make another run at the $300 mark once this auction is out of the way.

Gold -- Sharefin, 01:22:45 03/05/02 Tue

Gold price rally 'likely to be short'

Gold -- Sharefin, 01:21:15 03/05/02 Tue

Gold exports tipped to climb despite production fall

Gold -- Sharefin, 01:18:48 03/05/02 Tue

Ray of hope for Wellesley-Wood

Gold -- Sharefin, 01:16:06 03/05/02 Tue

Gold Price to Average $285 in 2002 as Demand Rises, Abare Says

Canberra, March 5 (Bloomberg) -- Gold prices are expected to average 5.5 percent higher in 2002 as rising demand from jewelers outpaces growth in supplies from companies such as Newmont Mining Corp., Australian forecaster Abare said.

Gold prices are expected to average $285 an ounce this year, up from $270 an ounce in 2001, Abare said in a report presented to its Outlook conference in Canberra. Gold in 2003 is expected to average $289 an ounce, Abare said. Spot gold Monday closed at $296.85 an ounce and has averaged $288.92 so far this year.

The metal has risen 9.2 percent since Sept. 11 as companies such as AngloGold Ltd. cut sales of borrowed gold and investors bought bullion because of concern currency and equity markets may slump after terrorist attacks on the U.S. Gold is Australia's third-biggest export earner after coal and crude oil.

``The increase in the gold price is based on an expectation of stable official sector sales, flat world production, rising fabrication consumption, and an increasing short term role for gold as a safe haven,'' the forecaster said.

Gold demand from jewelers is expected to rise 5.8 percent to 3,685 metric tons in 2002, from 3,483 tons in 2001, Abare said.

Production is likely to rise 0.4 percent to 2,605 tons this year from 2,595 tons in 2001, the report said. Output will drop to 2,585 tons in 2003 after companies cut back on exploring for new reserves because prices fell to 20-year lows in 1999.

Gold -- Sharefin, 01:14:09 03/05/02 Tue

Bank of England ends gold sales this Tuesday

BoE conducts last gold auction

Britain conducts Tuesday the last in a controversial three-year series of gold auctions, which have more than halved its bullion reserves, raising eyebrows in the City and occasional alarm in the gold market.

The Bank of England is to sell off a last lot of 20 tonnes of the precious metal on behalf of the government, the 17th and last auction of a programme to channel a greater portion of its reserves into currencies such as the dollar, euro and yen.

The original announcement in 1999 of the plan to slash the bank's 715-tonne gold stockpile by more than half horrified financial observers brought up to revere bullion as a safe haven in times of economic trouble.

...
"Twenty tons of gold in the London Bullion market which turns over excess of 600 tons a day is not meaningful and the gap that will be left by the UK will probably be filled by the Swiss and maybe some others as well so it's not going to materially affect the supply-demand equation for the gold market," said Williamson.

Gold -- Sharefin, 01:05:23 03/05/02 Tue

Worried Japanese go shopping for gold off the shelf

AFTER a decade in which stocks have slumped by 70 per cent, with property values halved and interest rates close to zero, the mood in Tokyo's financial district is almost universally gloomy. But in recent months, retailers of gold have been enjoying a boom in sales.

Japanese are turning to the precious metal, typically bought during times of war and crisis, as a safe haven. It is prized because it can be carried and stored easily and because it endures while currencies and economies collapse.

Japan, the world's second-largest economy, hardly fits the pattern, but fears are mounting that the banking system is lurching towards crisis under a huge burden of bad loans.

Gold -- Sharefin, 09:06:43 03/04/02 Mon

DRD suspends Roger Kebble

DRC's Kebble suspended

Gold miner Durban Roodepoort Deep (DRD) said on Monday it had suspended Roger Kebble as an executive director because of his role in a deal that resulted in substantial losses for the company.

PM Group Opinions -- Sharefin, 09:04:31 03/04/02 Mon

Gold

Silver

Platinum

GATA -- Sharefin, 08:52:05 03/04/02 Mon

GATA Urges Support For Congressmen Ron Paul's Gold Transparency Bill

Research by the Gold Anti-Trust Action Committee Inc. has been cited by U.S. Rep. Ron Paul, R-Texas, in support of his legislative proposal to prevent the U.S. government from intervening in the gold market without authorization from Congress.

Markets -- Sharefin, 06:40:16 03/04/02 Mon

Swiss seer ends his silence, but with no welcome tidings

I think we are in a structural bear market that will last for five to 10 years. It is not a nice picture. But it will not go straight down. From time to time there will be fiscal and monetary stimulus. Markets will get oversold and will rise for awhile. Markets will zigzag downward. It will not be over until stocks trade at attractive valuation levels.

Charts vs Charts -- Sharefin, 05:46:00 03/04/02 Mon

Once again Kitco's live gold chart has failed to print the highs in gold when it just passed over $300.
Instead of showing the price it goes to flat line mode.

Kitco

UK Live Gold

This effect of cutting off the peaks off the rises is starting to become commonplace when specific targets are met.

Gold over $300 -- Sharefin, 02:31:25 03/04/02 Mon

Lenny's Daily Commentary -- Sharefin, 19:03:57 03/03/02 Sun

Daily Precious Metals Report

In general, the precious metals disregarded a raft of economic negatives last week to rally strongly in price. Gold was up $5 on the week, even as the US stock markets surged, even as the value of the USD maintained its lofty perch, and even as the final Bank of England auction of 20 tons of gold looms next Tuesday morning. Last week also saw sizable unprecedented buying of very short term call options, perhaps almost 1.5 million ounces, due to expire next Friday. Open interest on the Comex options is above 5,000 contracts at the $295, $295, $300, $305, and $310 strike prices. I foresee quite a volatile week ahead as any upward price movement will force the sellers of the above options to become large buyers as they "delta" hedge their positions. Please remember that the sellers of call options are forced to buy more and more, in ever increasing quantities, as prices rise in order to maintain a hedged position. And, with such a large open interest in options existent, it may turn out that such buying could become a self-fulfilling prophecy as each purchase of gold forces prices higher, which then necessitates even more buying.

Gold -- Sharefin, 18:59:04 03/03/02 Sun

TVX Gold seeks compensation after Greek gold-processing project blocked

Gold -- Sharefin, 18:57:04 03/03/02 Sun

FDR, Thief of America's Gold

As Franklin D. Roosevelt was inaugurated as president on March 4, 1933, Americans were in a state of panic. Banks were failing every day, and people clamoured by the thousands to withdraw their money. Ordinarily they might have accepted paper money in the form of gold certificates, but people feared that the government might simply resort to printing worthless money to meet the massive withdrawal requests. They didn't want paper. They wanted gold. Furthermore, people who had gold certificates rushed to redeem them for real gold.

Gold -- Sharefin, 18:53:48 03/03/02 Sun

Gold in the Information Age

We depart from the usual Zeal fare to wax philosophic on the future for gold in the Information Age. Will gold wither or thrive in the next macro-stage of human technology?

Gold -- Sharefin, 18:51:24 03/03/02 Sun

Bundesbank gold sale clarified

"The whole move is Eine Kleine Nachtmusik to the conspiracy theorists' ears. Acting at a time when gold prices looked poised to climb above $300 an ounce, is it a coincidence that a key bullion bank has contradicted all of its previous comments on gold? While we would hesitate before being drawn into the conspirators' camp, it is a question that begs to be asked and eschews a response: a rising gold price is in effect a result of weakening confidence in the global financial system. Operating at the centre of this system, do the central banks really give a thumbs up to a rampaging gold price?"

Gold -- Sharefin, 18:49:12 03/03/02 Sun

Reserve disclosure - the Enron factor

Inconsistent reserve reporting doesn't bother too many people - until you start subtracting ounces. The issue has come to the fore again after the Prudential Securities report that damned a large quantity of Newmont's reserve ounces. It is an industry, not a company, problem.

Gold -- Sharefin, 18:45:26 03/03/02 Sun

The best gold investments - indexed funds

Gold -- Sharefin, 18:43:01 03/03/02 Sun

Gold boss barred from South Africa

Mark Wellesley-Wood, chairman and chief executive of South Africa's Durban Roodepoort Deep, declared he would not relinquish his business responsiblities after South African government officials said Wellesley-Wood could not return to the country. Speaking from London, an audibly incredulous Wellesley-Wood said he was "mystified" at what he believed was a betrayal. "I feel I have been hijacked and personally assassinated. No reason has given. All my papers are in order," he said.

Gold -- Sharefin, 18:35:57 03/03/02 Sun

Last UK gold auction could be most successful

The final Bank of England gold sale next week could prove the most successful ever as bidders, banking on a repeat of the low allotment price seen at the last auction, pile in to snap up some bargain bullion, traders said.

Since Britain's central bank announced its selling intentions in May 1999, the auctions have become an almost routine part of the fabric of the bullion market and have sometimes suffered from a sheer lack of interest.

But traders said this auction could attract record levels of attention as players seize the opportunity to grab a share of the 20-tons parcel at a low price.

"It's the final auction, so it's the last chance for people to get the gold, so I would expect everyone to pile in. People will be hoping that the price will be as low as last time and that they can buy the metal more cheaply than, say, getting it at the morning fix," one said.

"I don't think there will be any surprises ahead of the auction in terms of the price, however immediately after I think we'll see some action," one trader said.

Peter Hillyard, senior manager of precious metals at the London arm of Australian bank ANZ, said: "We may find the last sale will be interesting. I believe the gold price will be above $300."

"We have never before had an auction where the price has had a three in front of it and I think this time we could see this," Hillyard said.

Gold -- Sharefin, 18:33:20 03/03/02 Sun

US slowdown swaying investors to gold

One option in analysing the present situation might be to pose the question, 'what is different in the gold market at present as opposed to other occasions when gold price increases were experienced?' The most glaring difference is the economic slowdown being experienced by the US and other developed markets at present, he observes The recent liquidation of large US gas company Enron, coupled with the decreasing shareprices of other major US companies, are being reported as some of the reasons for the move of investors to the gold market.

Chilling News from S.Africa! -- cb2, 16:52:21 03/03/02 Sun

Or is it only Kebble-istic?

DURBAN ROODEPOORT DEEP - JOHANNESBURG
Gold boss barred from S. Africa
Mark Wellesley-Wood, the UK-born chairman and chief executive of Durban Roodepoort Deep, has been refused re-entry to South Africa ahead of litigation against former business associates, JCI Gold and Consolidated African Mines.

Whatever it is, knowing M.W-W. it must be more. A shadow of Zimbawe crossing over the sun of the socialist government may also foretell the fate of SA - in the end.

Very disturbing - though the cabal (if there is one - or two) will it find most distressing, when the largest producer is in disarry. Or will this be the final excuse to paper over the dirty game?

As much as i'd like to show my allegiance to Durban, Goldfields and Harmony - I'm rather leaving this country for good, and go physical (almost) only - (Hello Belgian), took me awhile, though got more to go.

Mesmerized, seeing through? cb2

When -- JPS, 10:03:34 03/03/02 Sun

when will the SM fall after this rally...Tuesday maybe?
If the BoE auction gets a good result...and the SM falls... hello gold stocks

Glod not mentioned here either...you gata love it though... -- TYoung, 20:03:46 03/02/02 Sat

Pictures of a Stock Market Mania

Let me try this again...grrr...sorry -- TYoung, 14:22:27 03/02/02 Sat

Contrary Investor

Glod never mentioned...nor need it be.. -- TYoung, 14:18:34 03/02/02 Sat

Gold -- Sharefin, 10:14:07 03/01/02 Fri

Gold's tiny nuggets are thriving

Veteran gold investors, like Bishop at Gold Mining Stock Report, acknowledge the price of gold needs to notch more gains to keep the high-fliers, well, flying. "Almost nothing in the gold stock sector is cheap at this time," he is telling clients. Yet Bishop is very optimistic that bullion will continue its slow march across the $300 level and beyond. "My expectation is that the days of gold trading below $300 are severely limited."

Gold -- Sharefin, 09:15:04 03/01/02 Fri

ITM Trading Newsletter

Gold -- Sharefin, 04:40:25 03/01/02 Fri

Paul & GOLD - Greenspan & ENRON

The following is the official transcript of February 27th exchange between U.S. Rep. Ron Paul, R-Texas, and Federal Reserve Chairman Alan Greenspan before the House Financial Services Committee.

Charts to view -- Sharefin, 23:53:03 02/28/02 Thu

Silver

Platinum

Palladium

Looking at the teacups -- Sharefin, 23:28:59 02/28/02 Thu

Gold & the other PM's look set to break out short term.

Gold -- Sharefin, 23:27:04 02/28/02 Thu

Global Player: Gold's Luster Starts To Return, It's Virtues Can Hide Big Risks

Global Player: Gold's Luster Starts To Return, Part 2

Gold -- Sharefin, 23:22:01 02/28/02 Thu

Gold Ends Higher, Despite GDP Gain

Precious metals futures settled mixed Thursday with gold seen as lethargic and unable to hold onto its early gains on fund and trade buying, although it did manage to close higher than Wednesday.

Fund buying and support by two major trading firms were responsible for an early move up to $298 an ounce, but some participants agreed that overreaction to news reports that the U.S. was bombing anti-aircraft sites in the northern no-flight zone inside Iraq was an underlying reason for the bullish tone in the market.

"Something's clearly going on in gold," Tyree at RCG said. "It's not just Japanese buying, it's not just alternative investments, it's not just short covering. It's a combination of these things."

Gold -- Sharefin, 23:19:35 02/28/02 Thu

Mexico's December Gold Output Up 31.1% To 2,897 Kg

Mexico's December Silver Output Up 13% To 262,399 Kg

Gold -- Sharefin, 23:17:28 02/28/02 Thu

Gold cautious before UK sale

COMEX gold was constrained by the approach of Britain's final 20-tons bullion auction on Tuesday

The floor continued to buzz about options interest and the purchase of $295 and $325 calls on Wednesday, after a chunky bullish call option transaction went through late last week.

Some were puzzled by the timing of such a transaction so close to a Bank of England auction, which in most previous instances the market approached from the short side.

"The market is aware that central bank sales are a threat to the market and yet we see continued buying,"

Gold -- Sharefin, 23:15:02 02/28/02 Thu

WSJ- HEARD ON THE NET:Gold Has New Luster For Investors

Gold -- Sharefin, 23:12:21 02/28/02 Thu

Production of gold falls to new low

Gold -- Sharefin, 23:08:40 02/28/02 Thu

Is It Really a Gold Rush?

Some predict that this change could send millions of Japanese rushing to their banks to withdraw their savings and begin buying gold, foreign currency and overseas stocks. The speculation has the media in a froth and foreign brokers and bankers in Tokyo licking their lips.

Gold -- Sharefin, 23:06:38 02/28/02 Thu

Gold's catapult to $335 still in play

Gold -- Sharefin, 22:09:06 02/28/02 Thu

Mahendra's Prophecy

Next three months’ predictions from 01-3-2002 TO 30-6-2002

Gold Prices will rise (Jupiter is saying)

As I predicted that in early 2002 we will see a rise in gold prices we are already seeing that.

According to the planetary position jupiter is saying gold prices will rise continually in the next three months.

In the mid year of 2001 I had mentioned in my interview with the SABC (South African Broad Casting) and many Radio & TV interviews that Gold prices will reach a historic high price in 2002/3. Also in my book (WORLD PROPHESIES) I have mentioned about the gold price rise and I have given many reasons for that as follows:

(a) Uncertainty in stock market which will make the common man lose faith in the stock shares.
(b) A big business house will collapse which example we are seeing in ENRON - many investors have shaken
up.
(c) Middle East Crises.
(d) Counterfeit in the US dollar which is the heart currency for the world.

This above reasons will help the gold prices to shoot up. That is what Jupiter is saying.

From early March i.e. 1/3/2002. Jupiter is entering in the 12 degree which will give a boost to yellow valuable metal which is gold. In these three months gold prices can reach US $ 350.

-----

Not only is it written in the stars but also in time & price:

Also here:

Gold -- Sharefin, 21:57:41 02/28/02 Thu

Gold Is Beginning to Sparkle Again As Investors Seek Stable Investments

Abandoned for years by all but a loyal group of investment curmudgeons, Wall Street has got gold fingers again.

The precious metal recently rose above $300 an ounce, its highest level in nearly two years, and mutual funds that invest in gold mining companies have been star performers against a backdrop of dismal performance in other areas of the stock market.

The rise stems largely from increased demand in the U.S., where low interest rates have made bond and money-market yields unattractive and fears of war in the Middle East have people looking for safer investments. Also giving the price a boost is renewed interest by Japanese investors who are looking to guard against the falling value of the yen. Many Japanese, worried about the health of commercial banks amid a prolonged economic crisis, also have been shifting money out of savings accounts into gold as their government prepares to end blanket deposit-insurance.

To some, the minigolden age has been a long time coming. Indeed, to a group of hardy investors known as gold bugs, the rise in gold price isn't so much a profit opportunity as vindication. "Gold has been a currency for 3000 years and it's only in the past 20 that people have forgotten about its importance," says Henry Bingham, a strategist at Van Eck Global, a New York investment firm that specializes in natural-resources stocks and commodities. Mr. Bingham says he has invested in gold since 1967. "What we are seeing now is a secular revaluation of gold, back to somewhere close to where it belongs," he says. The gold rally has helped the Van Eck International Gold Fund rise by 51% in the past 12 months, close to the 54% rise posted by the American Stock Exchange Gold Bugs Index. During that same period, the Standard & Poor's 500-stock index is down 10.5%.

But before saddling your horse to get in on the action, consider this: Ever since gold peaked at more than $800 an ounce in 1980, every few years prices have spiked, tempting investors into thinking a new gold rush was about to happen. Indeed, some money managers caution that recent gains might be just another tease. For example, gold prices rallied in 1998 after the Russian government defaulted on its debt and the Federal Reserve had to orchestrate a bailout of hedge fund Long-Term Capital Management. But gold quickly fell back as investors became infatuated with technology stocks.

For gold prices to rise or even maintain their current levels, experts say, two things must happen: Interest rates must remain low and the U.S. dollar must weaken. Clearly, short-term interest rates are low now, but many economists believe they aren't likely to fall further, and indeed could start to rise if the economy improves. Their argument was reinforced somewhat Wednesday by Fed Chairman Alan Greenspan, who told Congress that he sees signs the recession is winding down. And the dollar remains strong, compared to the yen or euro, and shows little sign of weakening.

The strong dollar is bad news because as other currencies weaken, the amount of gold foreign buyers can afford goes down, thus depressing demand. Also, if gold prices remain high for a year or two, mining companies may well boost capacity, which eventually would boost supply.

Because the equation for a sustained rally in gold prices is incomplete, Bill Martin, co-manager of the American Century Global Gold Fund, which is up 60% in the past year, says now may not be the time to start dabbling in gold and gold-related stocks. "Some gold stocks are up 70% and the price of gold is only up 10%, so something has got to give," he says.

Gold is the ultimate in defensive investing. It can be worth putting a small portion of your portfolio in it, but it's unwise to put a lot of money into gold unless you subscribe to the following: 1) You think stocks are overvalued. 2) You believe corporations are going to default more often on bonds and other debt obligations. 3) Deflationary pressures, or a weak economic recovery, will erode corporate earnings. 4) The U.S. dollar will fall and banks will be weakened by their lending and derivatives exposure to parties like Enron.

Because many gold bugs take some or all of these views, they stand apart from Wall Street's bulls. Indeed, rather than pore through balance sheets or examine corporate trends, as many portfolio managers do, gold bugs tend to be well-versed in such things as the history of central banks' monetary policies. Such histories are useful for gold investors to know because central banks are big owners of gold and frequently sell it or lend it to short sellers, both of which serve to help lower gold's price. "There's a lot more to our kind of investing than figuring out how much toothpaste some consumer-oriented company is going to sell," says Gregory Orrell, manager of the Monterey OCM Gold Fund, who started following gold after his father invested in several mining businesses.

Indeed, the price of gold dipped to around $290 last week after the German central bank hinted it would sell gold, though prices stabilized after investors realized those sales wouldn't occur until 2005 at the earliest. Such gyrations are signs of novices in the gold market these days, some investors say.

And while the Enron debacle might make gold seem like a relatively safe investment, the sector is filled with its own horror stories of dubious management teams touting phony Mother Lodes. In 1997, for example, a Canadian company called Bre-X Minerals burned scores of investors who bid up its stock after company officials told of a huge strike in Indonesia that proved bogus. "Gold is about the most illiquid of all the major sectors that people invest in," says David Gillespie, manager of the Rydex Precious Metals Fund. "It's not a place to play."

That said, there are plenty of legitimate gold-mining companies in which to invest. Mr. Martin, the American Century money-manager says people seeking to invest in the sector should consider Newmont Mining and Barrick Gold. Neither can be considered cheap by conventional measures -- shares of Newmont, which is based in Denver and trades on the New York Stock Exchange, have risen 54% in the past year and fetch a hefty 61 times anticipated earnings. Barrick, based in Toronto, fetches 32 times expected earnings and its stock has risen 27% on the Big Board in the past year. Indeed, most gold stocks are relatively expensive these days, fetching on average 37 times earnings, compared to 31 for the entire Standard & Poor's 500, according to Multex.com, an investment research company.

Newmont recently completed its acquisition of Canada's Franco-Nevada Mining and has acquired control of Australia's Normandy Mining, so it could benefit from squeezing out costs, Mr. Martin says. And Barrick, he says, is the lowest-cost producer in the business and also is less vulnerable to market fluctuations because it sells gold in advance at set prices, which protects shareholders if the price of gold falls.

But while the rise in gold reflects a new sense of caution by investors in a world that looks considerably more dangerous than it did a year ago, Mr. Martin says he doesn't sense it will regain its status as the last, best place for investors to park their money. "We live in a paper economy now," he says. "I don't think the demand for hard assets that gold bugs favor is coming back."

Gold -- Sharefin, 18:43:56 02/28/02 Thu

"You have the choice between trusting the natural stability of gold or the honesty and intelligence of members of the government. And with all due respect to these gentlemen, I advise you, as long as the capitalist system lasts, vote for gold."

George Bernard Shaw

JP Morgan -- Sharefin, 18:36:38 02/28/02 Thu

JP Morgan & Gold Derivatives

MDG -- Cyclist, 17:31:03 02/28/02 Thu

has moved in the last 5 trading sessions within a dollar.
It is forming a nice flag on the daily,uptrend line is running from January 4,breakout to down side
is 12.80 and the upside is 13.25

SWC follow up -- Cyclist, 16:44:56 02/28/02 Thu

As timing is more important than price,swc was sold at the close.Short term cycle top was reached at the end of the trading session and will reenter in a few days.
FCX,GG and MDG were bought one hour before the close in realignment with the cyclical movement of gold.

Lenny's corner -- Sharefin, 04:48:30 02/28/02 Thu

GENERAL COMMENTS:

When the Chairman of the U.S. Federal Reserves speaks, the markets watch carefully for any nuance in tone or attitude. When Mr. Greenspan forecast a gradual recovery in the economy in the USA, the markets did not quite know what to do. Certainly, it would be somewhat bearish for gold if the stock markets started doing very well and some fear escaped the general psychology of the markets. But, on the other hand, it is most bullish that USD interest rates will not be raised shortly as debt instruments are certainly competition to gold. All in all, it was most neutral and gold dropped by a bit over $1.50, about a third of yesterday's spectacular rally. Technical support levels of $295 to $296 held nicely and I would think that today was just a bit of a retracement of yesterday's rally.

What I truly haven't figured out is why anyone, much less some professionals in the market, are buying VERY short dated out of the money calls on the floor of the exchange. Yes, it seems true that over 1 million ounces of $300 and $310 calls were bought in the last few days that expire a week from Friday. And, yes, today someone bought about 2000 contracts of the April $325 gold call options. I strongly believe that such trades are just part and parcel of a larger strategy in the gold market, and not just a hope of sharply higher prices in the coming days.

Silver did very little today and is really not worth commenting on. It simply followed the gold price and stayed within expected ranges.

The surprise was the platinum market, up $14 as prices broke major resistance on the charts and flirted with the $500 level on the opening in New York. Its sister, palladium barely noticed and closed roughly unchanged. It seems to be the result of serious short covering in Japan and is not sustainable, in my opinion, as the trade sold heavily into the rally.

The next Bank of England auction occurs next Tuesday, the final sale. And let's look at the results marked to the market. They have sold 12.068 million ounces of gold at an average price of $273.793 so far. With gold now trading at $297.50, that equates to a loss of about $286 Million USD had they just held their original position. Now, to be fair, the above analysis does not consider the interest gained from holding USD, Euros, and Yen, although I suspect such gains do little to better the situation. Looking at the hard numbers, I wonder why other Central Banks would even consider selling into a gold market that looks to go higher for the first time in decades.

The gold market remains quite firm even with the USD very strong. I would believe that sharp increases in the gold price remain outside the realm of possibility if the USD remains as strong in the near future. Yes, we can go higher, perhaps $310 to $315, but I would watch the USD carefully for a reliable signal as to the future of gold.

Gold -- Sharefin, 04:46:07 02/28/02 Thu

Asia Precious Metals: Gold Barely Moved; Uptrend Intact

Spot gold barely moved in listless trading Thursday in Asia, though market participants and analysts still agree gold appears to be in an uptrend.

"It does feel there is still momentum towards the upside," he said, adding that he is "fairly bullish" that gold might again try to push through resistance around $310/oz.

Commonwealth Bank of Australia, in a weekly commodity market review issued Thursday, also noted gold tested toward $290/oz this week and held above that level.

"The (gold) market appears to be in a gradual trend higher," Commonwealth Bank said.

A notable feature of this year's gold market in Asia has been the strong buying reported from Japan.

Figures issued Wednesday by Japan's Ministry of Finance show gold imports in January rose to 8.17 metric tons, three times the level seen in January 2001 and equivalent to almost 20% of all gold imports for 2001.

The recent interest in gold among Japanese has been largely attributed to the government's plan to pull the plug on its blanket guarantee for bank deposits April 1.

Itsuo Toshima, Japan regional director for the World Gold Council, said the council estimated gold investment demand in Japan for February "looks like it will be in the neighborhood of around 25 tons."

Gold -- Sharefin, 04:43:20 02/28/02 Thu

Bank's last gold sale

THE Bank of England's final auction of gold reserves on 5 March will bring to an end the sale of 120 tonnes announced in May 1999.

Gold -- Sharefin, 04:41:35 02/28/02 Thu

Gold Flat As Market Calms

Gold's rally remained on hold on Tuesday, with the metal ending the benchmark London afternoon fixing at $296.50 an ounce. Gold has not come out of the afternoon fixing above $300 since its surge to $304.30 more than a week ago.
"The question at the moment is where support is likely to come in," said Kamal Naqvi, metals analyst at Macquarie Equities. "The issues that were helping last week - the attention focused on Japanese buying and the Enron accounting concerns - seem to have eased a little this week. Without those, people are willing to take some profits or square up some positions."
Traders noted the little central bank activity from Asia. "It's not just selling. Unusually, there seems to be some options activity as well," said one. And, in spite of the latest trend away from hedging by producers, a number of mining companies were also spotted in the market. But volumes were modest.

Gold -- Sharefin, 04:34:56 02/28/02 Thu

Rosbank to give $25-30m in advance payments to gold-producing companies

Moscow, Russia, - Rosbank is planning to make advance payments for the extraction of gold and other precious metals to the amount of $25-30 million, according to the bank's press service report. The bank's total turnover of precious metals operations was 152 tons (26 tons of gold and 126 tons of silver) in 2001, up from 140 tons (26 tons of gold and 114 tons of silver) in 2000.

Gold -- Sharefin, 04:33:15 02/28/02 Thu

Ghana's gold company works down hedge

Ghanaian miner, Ashanti Goldfields, the African gold producer nearly ruined by overselling before gold rallied in 1999, is working down its hedge book and can stay profitable in gold’s current rally up to around $340 an ounce, the company said.

Trevor Schultz, Ashanti’s chief operating officer, said in the webcast that the 1,6-million-ounce-a-year producer had reduced its hedge commitment level to 7.5-million ounces from 12-million ounces since incurring market-rattling losses on its forward sales and derivatives positions when gold advanced quickly from $252 an ounce to $340 in late 1999.

“Over this period of time we have not put any new hedges in place,” he said.

“We have just been working to improve and simplify and make our book much more user friendly than it was previously.” Last month Ashanti reached a deal with its creditors to ease its debt burden and potentially make it a more attractive takeover target as the gold industry rapidly consolidates.

Gold -- Sharefin, 04:30:27 02/28/02 Thu

Australia Gold Council Seeks OK On Tax Change

The Council, together with the Association of Mining & Exploration Companies, has been lobbying the federal government for the past 18 months to emulate Canada in allowing full tax deductibility for exploration expenses incurred by companies.

Global Mineral Exploration At 20-Year Low

Exploration for gold, of which Australia is the world's third-largest producing country, fell 11% in unadjusted terms in the third quarter to A$86.4 million from A$96.8 million in the second quarter

Global mineral exploration is at a 20-year low, with the gold sector being the hardest-hit, she said.

And given the five-year lead time between mined exploration and development, there won't be enough new mines to replace the lost production once those currently in operation close, she said.

Gold Now In Local Investors' Radar Screen

Meanwhile, she projected gold bullion to stay in the US$290-US$300/oz level this year with the potential to exceed US$300/oz again.

"My opinion is that Newmont's purchase price has galvanized the institutional fraternity....to sit up and take notice of the gold sector," particularly as Newmont's bid doubled what Normandy was valued at, she said.

Gold -- Sharefin, 19:27:48 02/27/02 Wed

AngloGold said bidding for Boddington

Gold -- Sharefin, 19:24:24 02/27/02 Wed

Investment Underpins Global Gold Demand

The World Gold Council Tuesday said that increased political and financial uncertainty led to a global rise in personal demand for gold investment products during the fourth quarter of last year.

According to the council's quarterly survey of gold demand trends, together with lower interest rates, the rise in gold demand made purchases of gold more attractive for small investors and investment was 8 percent higher in the fourth quarter of 2001 than a year earlier.

From GATA -- Sharefin, 19:18:33 02/27/02 Wed

The BIG Money Is Moving Into Gold

The gold action today was very subdued. Last night J.P. Morgan Chase stopped gold from trading $300 by selling 2000 contracts at $299.50 to a fund. The Gold Cartel is still at it. However, they are now both desperate and pathetic. I say that because they have been found out. The gold scam is surfacing in the investment world and the big money hedge fund crowd is ready to take them on because they now realize how vulnerable they are. These big money folk also realize The Gold Cartel is running out of ammo and losing control of their price-fixing operations.

As I have been saying for weeks, the GATA story is spreading all over the world. For example, a very highly regarded New York hedge fund manager took several phone calls today from other hedge funds with the same kind of query, "what is this I hear about a massive gold short position in the banks."

What I am passing on to the Café is not idle gossip or trivial. It is about as important a bit of information as I will ever pass on. What is happening is the real big money boys are assigning one of their analyst types, or junior people in the firm, to read all they can about the gold situation at www.GATA.org, www.LeMetropoleCafe.com and www.GoldenSextant.com. The analyst is then to report back to the senior traders who are pulling the investment triggers.

Well, after doing his or her homework, the analyst is reporting back that the GATA camp is right. These big money guys now realize they can shift funds into gold with a minimal downside and an upside of many hundreds of dollars per ounce. What a trade that is? They also know that the gold shorts are trapped. They cannot get out except at hundreds of dollars per ounce higher.

One by one they are putting on gold positions and will continue to do so. This new buying, coupled with the ferocious Japanese buying, spells doom for The Gold Cartel crooks. They are going to get one heckuva beating.

YES!

To further emphasize this significant point, I pass on this email from a fellow Café member:

I thought this board would be interested in this e-mail I received from a good friend who is a senior metals trader in New York...he wrote the following:

"As you can see by the action in gold today and during the past few weeks, what the conspiracy theorists (who the professional metals traders hate) have been saying for a long time is basically true. The only difference is that now there are fundamental forces at work that are not only outing everything, but are overwhelming the concerted efforts of several major players to maintain the status quo.

"Make no mistake about it: there is a huge amount at stake here. You can bet that there are several major sell-side players out there basically betting the farm that spot gold will not hold the $300 level with any strength. And $320? You will begin to see some panic as some very large positions will HAVE to be unwound.

"They will have no choice, as their risk departments will force them to do so. Many of these positions are so large and so embedded that you could see a serious melt-up with some limit-up type moves. This is why you see such a huge effort to stop these advances in spot gold. If you think there's no ulterior reason why pundits show up on CNBC and other media on big up days for gold trying to poo-poo these moves, you are naive. Everyone on the large desks knows what's going on and how much is at stake.

"What's changed is their ability to control it...and that includes our Fed and the ECB's. The Bundesbank "announcement" was a good example of this...expect to see more as things spiral out of control. You can bet that many of my friends and co-workers have been quietly buying the miners for their own accounts, knowing the dynamics they see at work under the surface each day. Based on what I am seeing, we're likely entering a period in which the only losers will be those who sell too early, or sell based on past patterns of weakness. From my vantage point, I think things are going to get VERY interesting."

’I thought the board would want to read that. Personal disclosure: I own DROOY and KGC."

K.A.

-END-

Doggone that sounds like me. I swear I did not write it.

Gold quietly set back on Comex and closed right above strong technical support at $296. The quiet before the storm. All dips ought to be bought. Gold can explode at any time.

John Brimelow:

"Indian ex duty premiums: AM $4.23, PM $1.25, with world gold at $297.60 and $298.70. Below legal import point. The Indians dislike spikes.

"Rather a heavy day on Tocom. $US gold edged higher on heavy volume - equivalent to 55,800 Comex contracts, more than double Tuesday (Comex itself traded 37,227 contracts yesterday). Tocom open interest actually declined, by 217,000 ozs, although Warburg and Mitsui variously estimate the public added another 100-130,000 ozs. With mounting disgruntlement over the government's ineffectual reflation package, and a notable phase of weakness in the yen after Japan had closed, there seem a fair chance of further leadership from this quarter in coming days.

"The Nihon Kezai Shimbun responded to public interest today by publishing another story about buying of bullion items by the public. It quotes officials of Tanaka Kikinoku Kogyo (which is the leading manufacturer and distributor of gold investment products) as saying:

"Wealthy consumers are funneling 5-10% of their assets into the precious metal, seeing yields on bank deposits, stocks and real estate as insufficient to protect their fortunes amid the prolonged economic slowdown.."

"which if taken very far would be extremely dramatic news for gold indeed.

"Clearly a large new buyer took a position yesterday in New York hours, greatly alarming the dealers. "Every professional was seen as a buyer" remarks UBS Warburg. Standard London notes the move "seems to have taken a few people by surprise". Open Interest only rose by 381 contracts, suggesting a good deal of short covering. The dealer/commentators seem quite impressed by the 'quality' of the buying. UBS muses:

"Large scale investment (as opposed to speculative) demand for gold has the potential, if it continues at recent rates, to see gold outperform our forecast average of US$296/oz for 2002...".

JB

From the Far Side -- Sharefin, 19:15:02 02/27/02 Wed

(companionmonkey) Feb 27, 13:15
Pardon my redneck French, but HELL YES!
-------------------------------------------
ron paul/cnbc europe
by: benovic2000 02/27/02 12:53 pm
Msg: 108289 of 108302

here in europe we were not cut off but
Greenspan did not even pronounce the word gold.
He was a coward and a hypocrit.He basically avoided a direct answer but eventually improvised something of an answer by saying that policies or strategies of banks(central banks)cannot be discussed publicly.
He was stuttering a lot and visibly didn't like it .
PS imho this sort of "incidents" will happen more frequently in the future.He remained an arrogant person and this will teach him what is awaiting him.

Gold -- Sharefin, 19:08:34 02/27/02 Wed

Germans and Japanese in Tug of War over Gold.

Assuming that there are no subtle nuances in the translation, what Ernst Welteke the president of the Bundebank in Germany actually said last week was, " We have significant gold reserves in the Bundesbank, and of course we are happy if the gold price rises. That shows you should not sell gold at the wrong time. At the moment there is an agreement between the central banks limiting the price of gold. That is sensible, since if we all sold central bank gold the price would plummet. That would not be sensible. But I could imagine that we might slowly sell some of this gold and reinvest in assets that pay interest. We should not sell the gold reserves to pay off federal debt or finance new spending. At best we should use the interest to reduce the debt."

Who jogged his elbow to make this innocuous, but somewhat Teutonic remark is anyone's guess. Minews is not very enamoured of conspiracy theories, but it is a strange coincidence that he made it, à propos de rien (sorry about the French), just when gold was powering through the US$300/oz mark. Maybe someone at the US Treasury or the ECB gave him a nudge. ' It would be a disaster, would it not, if investors saw through paper currencies for that they are - just a myriad of IOUs from ephemeral governments. Put a bit of pressure on gold, Ernst.'

Despite the fact that the German central bank cannot sell gold in any quantity until 2004 under the Washington Accord, it had the desired effect and gold came back to the low US$290s/oz. The Japanese must have been delighted as they have lost faith in their banking system as well as in Mr Koizumi's ability to reform it and are buying gold like crazy. And this is not just theorising Richard Russell who publishes the much respected Dow Theory Letter received the following e-mail just the week before Herr Welteke gave us the benefit of his thoughts.

"I have been trading commodity futures in Tokyo for over 15 years going back to the bubble days of the 80s. Last week the Tokyo gold market saw record volumes on Thursday February 7th and Friday February 8th. Volume on Thursday was a daily record volume of 340,676 contracts which equates to 10.8 million ounces or more than Newmont (now which includes Franco Nevada and Normandy) produces in a whole year. That was followed by a similar volume on Friday. Both days saw volumes larger than the entire open interest. I have never seen anything like this. Open interest from Wednesday to Friday increased by 10%.

I had dinner with two Japanese friend who were visiting...One chap owns 10 buildings in Tokyo and is quite well off. He recently bought 50 kilograms (approx 1,750 ounces) of physical gold bullion. Cost him about yen equivalent of US$520,000 for the purchase. He and his wife hauled the booty over to his safe deposit box at his bank in boxes. He is convinced that gold will go over US$ 1,000 in the future. A friend of his also recently purchased about yen equivalent of US$ 1 Million in bullion. The Japanese are getting seriously concerned about the situation there."

Figure this: The Japanese have been saving for the last 50 years and now have about 11 Trillion dollars in savings. That's TRILLION with a T. They are still saving even in their decade long depression. Let's say the Japanese are concerned enough to take 1% of that which is $110 BILLION and put it into the Gold bullion or Gold share market. Capitalization of all the gold mining companies in the world is estimated at US$35 to US$40 billion."

There is little to add, except that it would appear that the bankers of Germany and the citizens of Japan are involved in a tug- of- war over gold. And while this goes on it is comforting to be told by Chris Thompson, the chairman of Gold Fields, that the gold market is more resilient to central bank sales than before. "We're in a business of long winters and short summers and this looks like the beginning of a new spring," Chris Thompson, said at a presentation on his company in London last week. He went on to claim that diminishing mine supplies and the gold price's recent break through a dismal long-term downtrend to two-year highs would give pause to central bankers considering offloading their stocks.

"In a falling gold market the political decision to sell gold, particularly when the alternative is the U.S. dollar that might rise and give interest, is an easy decision to make. But in a rising gold market.it's a tough decision and it will be interesting to see if the Bundesbank will actually do anything about it in two years time," Thomson concluded.

Gold Production -- Sharefin, 19:03:40 02/27/02 Wed

S.Africa gold output near 1953 low, seen steadier

Gold production slipped to 393,254 kg from 427,981 kg in 2000, the lowest since 1953's 371,395 kg, the Chamber's Chief Economist, Roger Baxter, said in a statement.

``The decline in production is attributed to an 8.4 percent fall in the average grade to 4.13 grams per tonne, and the exhaustion of ore in certain older mine shafts,'' he said.

fcx -- Cyclist, 10:14:55 02/27/02 Wed

a buy at 14,in step with weekly gold cycle,looking for 18/20

SWC -- Cyclist, 10:03:42 02/27/02 Wed

timing 18 tomorrow at the close

Gold -- Sharefin, 03:20:34 02/27/02 Wed

Golds run hard on bullion strength

Gold shares on the Australian and New York Stock exchanges have a had a rollicking twelve hours after bullion kicked up to a $297.50 close in New York last night.
The Australian gold board followed the strong lead set by gold equities in New York last night. By lunch time in Sydney, the gold index had climbed 2.5 percent with both major producers and juniors gaining momentum against the backdrop of the bourse's All Ordinaries index which was 0.6 percent down.

South African domiciled producers showed the biggest gains on the day in the Australian market, albeit on thin volume. AngloGold rose 6.4 percent to A$9.15 and Durban Roodepoort Deep was up 7.29 percent to A$5.15.

Of the pure Australian golds, Normandy showed its status as a proxy for new owner Newmont, adding 4.05 percent to A$2.31. Auriongold, the soon-to-be number one producer rose 3.75 percent o A$2.77.

Newcrest racked up gains of 3.98 percent to A$4.78 and Lihir Gold recovered from a dip earlier in the week with a 2.05 percent increase to A$1.49.

Gold shares were far and away the top performers in New York as both the Nasdaq and Dow Jones Indices ended the day marginally down. Once again, the South Africans showed their leverage to bullion strength. Unhedged producers were the flavour of the day, with Harmony Gold [NYSE:HGMCY] gaining an impressive 11.23 percent to $10.30 a share. Gold Fields [NYSE:GOLD], Harmony's larger unhedged rival, scored an 8.51 percent rise to $8.80.

AngloGold was 5.65 percent stronger at $23.74 and marginal producer Durban Roodepoort Deep [NYSE:DROOY] gained 6.77 percent to $2.68.

The North Americans were not far behind. Placer Dome was the pick of the bunch, registering a 5.42 percent gain to close at $12.25. Unhedged Newmont ended the day 5.22 percent to the good at $24.61, while hedged rival Barrick was 4.02 percent stronger $18.65.

Gold -- Sharefin, 01:35:18 02/27/02 Wed

Gold Up On Short Covering From Japan

Spot gold rose Wednesday in Asia, thanks to short covering by Japanese traders and speculators, traders said.

The covering was triggered by a $5 spike in New York as well as a weaker yen against the U.S. dollar, they said.

Gold -- Sharefin, 01:34:02 02/27/02 Wed

INTERVIEW: Dresdner Doubts Gold's Ability To Hold Gains

Sentiment in the gold bullion market may have turned
bullish, but whether it would sustain a trading range above US$300 a troy ounce hinges on the strength of the U.S. dollar, a senior bullion bank dealer at Dresdner Bank Australia said Wednesday.

Lee, however, acknowledged that many factors have led to a sea-change in the sentiment for gold, particularly as investors and fund managers look for an alternative vehicle to park their funds in the midst of flat bonds, equities and currency markets.

"I'm not a bull on gold...unless you can write me a case that tells me the U.S. dollar is going to be weak from here onwards," Paul Lee, director of precious metals group at the bank, told Dow Jones Newswires in an interview Tuesday.

Gold -- Sharefin, 01:30:33 02/27/02 Wed

Crystallex announces highest gold production since 1995

Gold -- Sharefin, 01:28:53 02/27/02 Wed

Gold pushes JSE higher
Johannesburg - Gains in gold stocks pushed the JSE Securities Exchange higher in early trade on Wednesday after the bullion price rallied in New York, dealers said.

Gold opened higher in a flurry of catch-up and short covering trade in Asia on Wednesday and following New York's options' expiry-led rally overnight.

The all-share index gained 0.49% or 52.7 points to 10887.9 by 09:32, lifted by strong buying in the world's largest gold producer AngloGold and peer Gold Fields. The gold index was 4.58% higher.

"Gold stocks are stronger on the back of a firmer gold price, and some resources are looking good as well... The rest of the market is quiet ahead of the producer inflation data release," a trader said.

Spot gold was trading at $297.50, unchanged from New York's close, and from London's late fix of $294.20.

AngloGold climbed 3.5% or R18 to R532, and Gold Fields jumped 5.5% or 520c to R99.

Harmony Gold surged 7% or 760c to R116.80.

Gold -- Sharefin, 01:27:52 02/27/02 Wed

JSE soars on gold index

The gold index gave the JSE Securities Exchange South Africa (JSE) a positive jump at the start of trading on Wednesday, soaring nearly 5% during the first few minutes.

"The gold index is really flying this morning on the back of the strong gold price and this cheer has spilt over into the resource sector due to the weighting of gold stocks there," one dealer said.

Gold -- Sharefin, 20:35:56 02/26/02 Tue

Vietnam Becomes One of Southeast Asia's Biggest Gold Consumers

Vietnam consumed 73 tons of gold in 2001, 13 tons more than in 2000, according to a report of Vietnam's official news agency VNA on Tuesday.

With its year-on-year increase of 22 percent, Vietnam registered the highest gold consumption growth and became one of the biggest gold consumers in Southeast Asia last year, the report said.

According to the World Gold Council, Thailand consumed 69.3 tons of gold (a year-on-year increase of three percent); Indonesia, 108 tons (a year-on-year increase of one percent); and Malaysia, 22.7 tons (a year-on-year increase of 8 percent). Singapore's consumption showed a slight increase to 12.2 tons.

Gold -- Sharefin, 18:16:12 02/26/02 Tue

Gold Gains Seen Based On Japan

Gold -- Sharefin, 18:13:44 02/26/02 Tue

Call option rumours light gold fuse

The COMEX April gold contract closed at $298.20 an ounce, a $5.3 gain over the opening price as traders tried to price in a number of factors including speculation that America is on the verge of launching an attack on Iraq, the Bank of England's final auction, US interest rates and investor activity.

Gold bugs were excited by news filtering across electronic networks that an unknown investor had taken a bet on the gold price with a "significant" quantity of short-dated COMEX call options with strike prices at $300 an $310 an ounce. The information could not be verified independently although Reuters carried similar information today.

The call options, whether rumour or fact, are important in the context of next Tuesday's final gold auction by the Bank of England. The previous auction was subject to a sting operation that created a buying vacuum before the hammer dropped.

Lenny's Daily Commentary -- Sharefin, 18:10:01 02/26/02 Tue

GENERAL COMMENTS:

The gold market has been the hotbed of news and rumor the last two days, some bullish, some bearish and some quite unbelievable. And yet, here we stand, with prices up quite sharply breaking through technical and price resistance levels some analysts thought impossible just a few days ago. The bearish news has included an admission by Newmont Mining, that it would not repurchase forward sales entered into by Normandy, its latest acquisition in Australia. Originally, officials of Newmont spoke of buying back such derivative positions as quickly as possible. Now, not surprisingly with gold well in excess of $290 per ounce, they have acquiesced and now only plan to deliver into such forward sales as they become due. Another stormy cloud hanging over gold has been the final auction of 20 tons of gold by the Bank of England coming on March 5th. The gold market has historically fallen in value in front of this auction allowing shorts to cover at the auction and pocket significant profits. The other negative has been over-the-counter expiration of gold options going off today, which usually dampens both volatility and interest in the market.

The bullish influences have been the purchase by two Bullion Banks of up to 1 Million ounces of very short-term call options in gold at strikes of $300 and $310. Such purchases are rather unprecedented, as these banks tend to be sellers of such, and their turn-around was the talk of the trade. Another bullish influence was the reiteration of the rumor that American troops were on the ground in Iraq, quickly denied by the U.S. military. This rumor was of very fleeting importance. But, the real reason behind today's sharp rally was the "flight to quality." As news emerged that the upcoming announcement by the government of Japan in regards to their actions to solve their continuing economic travails, it became clear that, AGAIN, the Japanese would do nothing of substance. Buy orders piled onto the floor in exchanges in wave after wave of buying, mostly emanating from overseas. The USD shot up in value and gold was up over $5.00 on the day. The fear, and now the factual proof, that the Japanese government would continue their cultural affinity to avoid facing up to problems shot gold and the USD much higher. The psychology of the market now speaks of much higher prices to come.

Gold -- Sharefin, 17:42:42 02/26/02 Tue

Gold and GG

Yesterday's powerful rally left our too-cautious, 289.30 bid in the dust. Now, applying a simple A-B-C-D analysis (where A=278.40, B=309.40, C=290.50) yields a pivot price of 306.00 and a minimum target of 321.50.

The implication is that the April contract will be on its way to 321.50 if it can close above 306 or trade more than 0.60 (or so) above it intraday.

Above 321.50, there is very little to stop this vehicle from running all the way to 380-400 --just one key high at 336 that was made in October 1999.

Gold -- Sharefin, 17:38:47 02/26/02 Tue

NY gold up amid options focus at noon

COMEX April gold at 1202 EST up $3.50 at $296.40 an ounce, off the high of its $291.60-$297.30 range. Gold jumps after OTC options expired in London, while floor buzzed about a purchase last week of short-term COMEX call options in large size, struck at $300 and $310. Tone remains bullish after bounce off $290 area last week. But a sizable long is still overhead. Market loath to move too far either way before Federal Reserve chairman Alan Greenspan testifies on the economy before the U.S. Congress Wednesday and before the UK holds its last gold auction next Tuesday. Estimated volume a brisk 23,000 lots at noon.

March silver up 4.7 cents at $4.415 an ounce, trading $4.35-$4.44. Volume a heavy 20,000 lots, but dealers say silver simply tracking gold.

Gold -- Sharefin, 17:35:42 02/26/02 Tue

Newmont puts off downsizing

Newmont Mining has ruled out making any hasty decisions on the assets of the newly-acquired Normandy Mining and says any possible downsizing of the target's Adelaide head office is unlikely before the end of next month.

Fresh from securing control of Normandy - there were unconfirmed reports last night that the US suitor had moved past the 90 per cent level of acceptances - Newmont said its moves to generate more than $75 million in first-year cost savings and synergy benefits were gathering momentum.

But senior vice-president and chief financial officer, Mr Bruce Hansen, ruled out any hasty action, saying that although Newmont was reviewing Normandy's non-core and overseas assets, no divestment decisions had been made.

Newmont has committed to the Australian Magnesium Corporation and said it would not sell the Golden Grove project given the depressed zinc price.

Normandy's 9.7 per cent stake in Lihir Gold, worth $170 million, is viewed as surplus but Mr Hansen said Newmont was yet to decide whether to exit the Papua New Guinea miner's share register.

Lihir said yesterday that it was profitable again, earning $US42.8 million ($83.4 million) for 2001.

"We don't feel like we have a gun to our head, we haven't made a determination of whether we are going to be a buyer [of Lihir] or whether we are not going to be a shareholder," Mr Hansen said.

He also said the unhedged Newmont would let Normandy's 8 million-ounce hedge book unwind naturally after deciding that "if it's under water, we are not going to put cash into it, we will simply deliver".

Brokers said his comments contributed to Newmont's chess depository interest securities falling on their first day of trade yesterday. The CDIs closed at $4.57 after opening at $4.65.

Newmont could find out as early as next month whether its CDIs, issued to Normandy shareholders as part of the takeover consideration, will be included in the S&P-ASX200 index.

Newmont is also yet to hold talks with AngloGold and Newcrest Mining about the future of the Boddington expansion project, while Mr Hansen said talks with its Super Pit co-owner Barrick Gold Corp about streamlining the operational structure were only preliminary.

Meanwhile, the chief executive of Lihir, Mr Alan Roberts, said he expected gold output and mining costs this year to be in line with 2001 levels.

Lihir produced 647,942 ounces last year, and expects annual output to continue above 600,000oz for the next three years. Production is then expected to increase to between 700,000 ounces and 800,000 ounces between 2005 and 2008..

Gold -- Sharefin, 17:33:43 02/26/02 Tue

India's gold jewellery rip-off

Most gold jewellery advertised in India as 22-carat is of a lesser quality, a survey by the Bureau of Indian Standards (BIS) has revealed.
The BIS found over 80% of the shops surveyed were passing off anything between 13.5 and 18 carats as 22-carat gold.

Gold -- Sharefin, 17:32:21 02/26/02 Tue

Lihir hedge - boon or bane for predator?

As takeover rumours continue to swirl around Papua New Guinea miner Lihir Gold [ASX:LHG], analysts are zeroing in on the factors expected to boost the company's asking price. First on the list is Lihir's burgeoning reserve base and a growing expectation that production will soon be lifted to above a million ounces a year. On the flip side, some are expecting Lihir's 2.5-million-ounce hedge book and aggressive forward-selling policy to scare off prospective buyers which are scaling back their own hedges.
Only last month Lihir reported a 3 million ounce reserve upgrade to 15 million ounces and one Sydney-based gold analyst says he expects another 5 million ounces to be added to the reserve category by mid-year. Rod Antal, a spokesman for Lihir, said the current drilling programme would continue only within the company's 34-million-ounce resource area. He said an updated reserve statement would be issued around the middle of the year but would give no detail on what the substance of the report was likely to be.

While the group continues racking up more reserve ounces, expectation is also running high that a substantial production increase to a million ounces a year is on the cards.

Gold -- Sharefin, 17:30:47 02/26/02 Tue

HM Government Gold Auction Programme

The Bank of England today announces the auction on behalf of Her Majesty's Treasury of approximately 20 tonnes of gold. The auction, which will be on a single, or uniform, price basis, will take place on Tuesday 5 March 2002. A copy of the auction announcement notice published by the Bank of England is attached.

Note for Editors

On 7 March 2001, HM Treasury announced that, on behalf of HM Treasury, the Bank of England would sell approximately 120 tonnes of gold from the Exchange Equalisation Account in a programme of six auctions of around 20 tonnes each in the financial year 2001/2002 on the terms and conditions set out in an Information Memorandum which was published on 7 March 2001. This is the final auction in this programme of six. This sale will bring to an end the programme to restructure the United Kingdom's official reserves that was announced by HM Treasury on 7 May 1999.

From the Far Side -- Sharefin, 17:19:41 02/26/02 Tue

(Gold_Lunatic) Feb 26, 18:33
FOR ASTROLOGY BUGS: THURSDAY, 27 February begins the FULL MOON.

I confess I neither believe nor disbelieve the theory of ASTROLOGY. The reason I am agnostic about the analysis of heavenly bodies (stars) is simply that I have never studied its rationale and practice. Perhaps, it is because I am too pragmatic to weigh and consider the tenets of ASTROLOGY. It is hard for me to believe the stars can influence events and the lives of people.

In all fairness on the other hand, I must recognize certain phases of the moon have indisputable effects upon certain aspects of nature and even the human mind and body.

Any high-school science major knows moon phases exert substantial forces upon ocean tides. It determines when tides are rising or falling. By the same token we know the human body is composed of about 75-80% WATER. Therefore, if the moon has marked effect upon immense oceans, it is conceivable to me lunar phases can affect the fluids in our bodies. Curiously, the menstrual period of women has approximately the same time length of a lunar cycle (about 30 days).

However, the most astounding evidence of the lunar affect on humans is its influence upon the mind or psyche. Many reports have been published in professional journals, testifying that hospital emergency rooms tend to dramatically fill and overflow during periods of the full moon. Moreover, many law-enforcement officers who I have interviewed corroborate the evidence that the rate of violent crimes accelerates during the full moon.

All this circumstantial evidence obliges me to begin thinking the moon may indeed have a material effect upon the "waters" within our bodies - which in turn influences our thinking patterns… and often in the extreme.

Evidence of Lunar Effects in the Gold Market

As an objective long-term successful investor, I am always skeptical… and I do my due diligence. In this case I looked at a number of significant gold bull runs of recent years - and time matched them against the appearance of the full moon. Frankly, the results were startling.

During the last 20 years there are a number of remarkable occurrences of the Full Moon exactly marking ( +/- 2 days ) an important bottom OR top in gold. It may be statistical coincidence or NOT - the math is beyond the realm of my competence. Consequently, I ask myself if this is just curious coincidence.

OBSERVE:

CAN IT ALL BE JUST COINCIDENCE, OR ARE THERE GOLD LUNATICS AT WORK?

On the day of the Full Moon, August 7, 1979, CASH GOLD registered an important low at $285. A little over five months later CASH GOLD REACHED AN ALL-TIME HIGH OF $850. Gold zoomed 198%. And although the actual record high was January 20, 1980, Gold really began the 20-year bear market on February 1, 1980 - the day of the Full Moon!

If that doesn't grab your attention, try this:

On March 8, 1993 - the day of the Full Moon - Cash Gold finally bottomed after a long bear market in precious metals. The registered low that day was $343. During the next five months Cash Gold finally peaked at $426 - PRECISELY ON THE DAY OF THE FULL MOON, August 2, 1993. Lunar Gold rose 24% in the period!

Although to a considerably less extent, there were other “Full Moon Rallies” on 5/6/93, 6/4/93, 7/3/93, 8/21/94 and 12/7/95. The average gold price increase of these Gold Lunatic Rallies was 5.8% - and lasted on average 23 days to reach its zenith.

The Gold Lunar review brings us to September 25, 1999…the day of the Full Moon. It was a Saturday with all markets closed. On Sunday, it was announced in Washington that 15 European Central Banks made decided to quit the Gold Cabal movement. And once the first rays of the sun hit Tokyo on Monday morning, GOLD SOARED LIMIT UP… followed by near like action in New York - hours later. During the next seven trading days, the world watched in utter awe, while gold make the greatest surge in over 15 years - zooming more than 25%.

There you have it - EIGHT Gold Lunatic Rallies coinciding with the Full Moon. Three gargantuan and five mini-gold rallies. Furthermore, we will be blessed with another Full Moon. So, all "lunatics" nervously await possible moon ACTION ON GOLD, because the moon's "pull" already started on Wall Street.

Wouldn’t that be eerie?

Is all this pure coincidence, or does the moon indeed have an effect upon gold at important reversal points… I still am not sure.

What do you think?

p.s.
If gold soared today $5 in NY, how will the craze affect it in the Tokio tonight which already is already in the shine of silvery full-moon.

Gold -- Sharefin, 17:10:29 02/26/02 Tue

Savant Crawford reads cosmic tea leaves

Crawford also has made good calls on individual stock picks. He recommended investors buy into gold mining stocks such as Newmont Mining (NYSE:NEM) in April 2001 -- the stock rose from about $16 to nearly $24. The pundit is bullish on the shiny metal itself, believing its long-term bearish cycles have turned and will be up for years.

Now Crawford is a market grizzly of the extreme kind. He warns investors the bear market ravaging Wall Street is here to stay for years. That's partly due to the unprecedented bull run in the 1980s and 1990s and stocks are likely to be pushed to bear market P-E ratios, he said.
The market is ready for a fall near the quarter's end, Crawford said. The reasons: it marks the fiscal year's end in Japan, which many see as teetering on the edge of financial disaster, and the stars are not aligning well.
"We PREDICT some kind of MELTDOWN as we approach the quarter's end, March 27-31!," Crawford wrote in a recent newsletter. "Mars conjoins the Saturn opposing Pluto while Mercury squares them all, completing a very dangerous T-Square."

April Gold -- Cyclist, 16:37:22 02/26/02 Tue

had its break out today at 297 and looking for March 12
as a top with a 318 price tag.

Gold -- Sharefin, 04:00:25 02/26/02 Tue

Gold -- Sharefin, 03:56:07 02/26/02 Tue

Celtic Resources - first gold pour

Gold -- Sharefin, 03:54:45 02/26/02 Tue

Bundesbank Will Not Sell Gold Until 2004

The German government has said it cannot sell the Bundesbank's gold reserves before an agreement expires in 2004 and that it has no plans to use the revenue from gold sales to plug the country's budget deficit.
“A sale of gold reserves is presently not possible” because the “European Central Bank and 14 other national central banks have agreed a moratorium that is valid until 2004,” the government said in a statement e-mailed to news organizations.
The gold price has fallen by over 30 percent since 1996 as investors including central banks decide that they no longer need to hold it as a hedge against inflation and instability. The 1999 accord that limited central bank’s from selling the metal pulled the commodity back from a 20-year low of around $250 an ounce to an average of $274.96 over the past year.
The so-called Washington accord limits European central banks to selling 400 tons of gold a year. Bundesbank President Ernst Welteke said last week that he “could imagine that we slowly sell” some of the bank's gold reserves. His comments sent gold prices down as much as 2 percent.

Gold -- Sharefin, 03:51:43 02/26/02 Tue

Glamis Gold reports record gold production and results for 2001

Glamis Gold Ltd. is pleased to announce financial and operating results for the fourth quarter 2001 and the year. 2001 saw the Company return to profitability accompanied by a 140% appreciation of its share price, the best of all North American gold producers. Highlights for the year include:

* Gold production of 230,065 - a new record.

* Total cash cost of $172 per gold ounce.

* Earnings of $0.07 per share.

* Commercial production announced at San Martin Mine; expansion completed mid-year; and 114,216 ounces of gold produced at a total cash cost of $120 per ounce.

* Three-fold increase in Marigold Mine reserves; approved feasibility study to more than double production; and completed financing to build the project.

* Ended the year with $45.9 million in cash and a debt-free balance sheet.

* 100% unhedged at year-end.

The Gold Dollar -- Sharefin, 03:45:22 02/26/02 Tue

The Gold Dollar

Gold -- Sharefin, 20:24:26 02/25/02 Mon

'Gold more resilient against official sales'

The gold market is more resilient to central bank sales than before, despite Germany hinting that it may sell some reserves, the chairperson of South Africa’s Gold Fields said.
“We are in a business of long winters and short summers and this looks like the beginning of a new spring,” Chris Thompson, told an analysts’ briefing.

“In a falling gold market the political decision to sell gold, particularly when the alternative is the US dollar that might rise and give interest, it is an easy decision to make.” “But in a rising gold market it is a tough decision for the banks to make and it will be interesting to see if the Bundesbank will do that,” Thomson added.

Gold -- Sharefin, 20:06:22 02/25/02 Mon

Glittering rally sets world's goldbugs abuzz AROUND THE MARKETS

The shudder that went through the gold market last week hasn't swept the glitter out of the goldbugs' eyes.
In the past few weeks, gold prices have shot up, passing $300 an ounce for the first time in two years and prompting fresh proclamations of a new era for the long-beleaguered precious metal. But then along came Ernst Welteke, president of the Bundesbank and gold-rally party-pooper, who suggested Wednesday that the German government might start gradually unloading gold in favor of interest- bearing investments. The comment shaved several dollars off the price and elicited a clarification from the central bank: There would be no sales of Germany's gold holdings in the near future.

The Bundesbank's reversal highlights one of the many reasons that the goldbugs are all aflutter. After prices languished for years, 15 European central banks including the Bundesbank agreed in 1999 to limit annual sales of gold through 2004.

Other factors are now brightening gold's luster and drawing hedge funds and speculators into the market.

Fund interest "What we're seeing is that the funds are taking massive long positions," said Alan Williamson, head of commodities research at HSBC Investment Bank in London. The funds are encouraged by a drop in the gold supply caused by a slide in mining output, a global stock-market slump that is sending investors in search of new assets, and widespread financial uncertainty.

"Traders used Welteke's comments as a catalyst for a long- anticipated sell-off," Williamson said. "But the way we see it is, if gold doesn't rally over the next six months, it's hard to envision when it will rally. All the stars are in alignment."

Marc Faber, a longtime contrarian and publisher of The Gloom, Boom & Doom Report in Hong Kong, contends that the Enron scandal could lead investors to shun financial assets in favor of hard assets such as real estate and commodities.

"If Enron proves to be just the tip of the iceberg, gold could provide the kind of leadership it had in the 1970s when it rose from $35 an ounce to $850," Faber says in his latest report.

Japanese buyers When the financial world teeters, gold traditionally becomes the investment of last resort. Japanese investors, who have seen the value of their stock holdings wither, are piling into gold. In the last quarter of 2001, Japanese purchases of gold shot up 54 percent, according to the World Gold Council.

Faber argues that Japanese buying could become a major force in the gold rally. He says that Japan, which has a population of 120 million and a per-capita gross domestic product of more than $35,000, imports about 100 tons of gold a year. By comparison, India, with a population of 1 billion but a per-capita GDP of only about $300, imports nearly 900 tons a year.

Gold bugs will be watching closely this week for signs that the rally is for real. After the recent sharp climb, they worry that if gold prices slip too far too fast, the retreat could trim enthusiasm. Williamson said that if the price holds at around $290 and moves back toward the $300 level, "then the sell-off would have been a very positive pullback."

But even if the price slides below $290, Williamson isn't intending to shed his gold-bug credentials. "If the price dips back to $285, that probably just means the rally would be slower than otherwise," he said.

From GATA -- Sharefin, 20:04:36 02/25/02 Mon

After Bundesbank Gold Story, DEUTSCHE BANK TURNS BIG BUYER!

A fierce battle was waged the last 24 hours between gold bulls and bears right above $290 spot, which has been a key technical level for many years. As reported recently and often, The Gold Cartel has thrust gold back every time that level has been breached to the upside for 3 1/2 years now.

Of special interest this time is that the specs are mostly long below $290. If the cabal wins again (taking gold below $290 on a close basis), many of these black box tech specs will turn sellers and prolong the inevitable gold market bull move.

Gunning for the specs, the Gold Cartel forces were loaded for bear today and were close to winning the day when Deutsche Bank showed up as a big buyer right above $290. Word to me was they could not buy enough at their price levels in the futures pits so they called upstairs and began buying in the physical market.

This may be MOST significant. Deutsche Bank is named in Reg Howe’s Complaint and I used to hear about them all the time on the sell side along with Goldman Sachs and Chase. See this reading from Reg Howe’s lawsuit:

"On May 7, 1999, just as gold threatened to surge over $300/ounce in response to new doubts whether the proposed IMF gold sales would go forward, the British announced that the Bank of England, on behalf of the Exchange Equalisation Account in the British Treasury, would sell 415 tonnes of gold in a series of public auctions. Although this announcement came with no warning and was completely unexpected by most, the previous evening Bill Murphy of GATA reported in his Midas column at Le Metropole Cafe: "Deutsche Bank's bullion desk is calling their clients saying that the gold market is stopping at $290."

Gold -- Sharefin, 20:01:50 02/25/02 Mon

CONFISCATION?

Gold -- Sharefin, 07:58:26 02/25/02 Mon

Gold producers divided on hedging

In any other industry, the closing out of a small hedge position would attract little interest. It would not be considered worth a public announcement, nor would it push up a company's share price. Only in the gold industry is hedging such a politically charged issue.

When Gold Fields, South Africa's second largest gold producer, closed out its only hedge, 160,000 ounces of forward sales at the Tarkwa mine, Chris Thompson, chairman, told the market: "Gold Fields is now totally unhedged, which is an affirmation of our policy."

Gold -- Sharefin, 07:55:53 02/25/02 Mon

Here's the links that were posted.

The Other Bubble

Gold given April lift-off date by technical analyst

When Did the Gold Price Manipulation Begin?

Sharefin - my moniker -- Sharefin, 07:44:19 02/25/02 Mon

Some ass is posting on Kitco using my moniker.
Shame he hasn't got more class.

He's posting good links but rest assured it's not me.

Nationalist Weekly Market Commentary -- Sharefin, 06:45:29 02/25/02 Mon

Profiting from the NASDAQ mania

We all know how the central banks have been selling gold for the past 8 years. They now have considerably less than they started with. Indeed, if they keep selling the same amount, then the sales become ever larger percentages of what they have left.

At the same time, we know that all nations have abandoned the gold standard, so that all currencies are utterly imaginary. And it is now much easier for developed nations to stabilize their imaginary units in relation to the imaginary dollar than it was to defend that unit against an attack on a fairly modest gold reserve standing behind it in the old days. The developing countries which are subject to tidal waves of hot foreign capital (created by the inflationary bias of the system of imaginary currencies) moving into and out of their countries have a much tougher time.

We also know that Japan is beginning to walk away from its social committments in the face of the pressures brought on by low birth rates and an aging population. They have cancelled deposit insurance on savings above $75,000 worth of yen, causing many Japanese to start purchasing gold.

Of course, the entire G-8 as the problem of falling birth rates and aging populations- it is just that Japan is a little ahead of the rest of us. So suppose the trend continues, and people throughout the G-8 start buying gold, in response to one crisis after another.

Argentina freezes bank deposits. Japan cuts deposit insurance to lower the cost of cleaning up insolvent banks, as the U.S. securities markets create "money" in the form of money market funds full of securitized receivables from God knows who insured by companies levered 150 to one, while our imperial government erases the imaginary units of all who oppose its ideology of an homogenized, atomized and de-racinated humanity - confiscations which are frightfully easy and impossible to defend against since the "money" exists only in some computer memory bank from which it can be erased by some clerk operating from a distant terminal.

Gold cannot be erased and siezures are terribly visible and upsetting to the neighbors, requiring first that the imperial government find out where your gold is, and then conduct a big messy raid a la Elian Gonzalez to grab it.

Suppose people finally begin using gold and promises of gold in exchanges, at the same time that the central banks are running out of supplies to sell.

Over long time periods - ten to twenty years - imaginary currencies and central bank gold sales seem like a very risky business. A critical mass of citizens can use that gold to bypass the imaginary money financial system, and then the government is left with no ability to command the productive resources of its subjects.

What will they use, at that point, to purchase the gold they need to restore confidence?

These national governments have legal tender laws requiring that they accept their imaginary units in satisfaction of tax liabilities.

We all know that they will have to confiscate gold by demanding that taxes be paid in gold rather than in imaginary dollars. Of course, any attempt to tax or confiscate gold will only deepen the crisis of confidence while requiring highly intrusive, visible and labor intensive efforts to re-assert central authority.

For the past 150 years, basic industry and manufacturing has generated the "surplus" that governments have taxed and redistributed to buy the loyalty of their de-racinated constituents (natural loyalties having long since been purged so as to render the population tractable and easier to rule). But as the developed world rids itself of manufacturing by moving it to the developing world, it is betting its future on the ability of financial and business services to generate that surplus, and there is no evidence that an economy narrowed to business and financial services can reliably produce that surplus over extended periods of time. The developing world can develop its own business and financial services industries and leave us with capacity to produce intangible benefits which, unlike cars or computers, cannot be sold at any price.

At least in an industrial society, bankrupty can free the productive assets to begin producing again. In a financial services society, bankrupty obliterates the "table stakes" upon which the economy depends, crippling its institutions and taking them out of the international game. A turn of fashion could le