Follows is a discussion of gold swaps. Over the past week or so, the S&P 500 has been forming a topping chart pattern and today has seen simultaneous down moves in both the S&P and the gold price. Gold price suppression theorists will cite this day in their argument that there are artificial forces working on the gold price. Apparently a down move in the indexes back in 2008 during the financial crisis correlated similarly with today’s gold action.
Inquiries made by the Gold Anti-Trust Action Committee toward the Federal Reserve and the Bank of International Settlements regarding the derivative trading of Gold Swaps conducted from underlying U.S. gold inventories have not been absolutely transparent. On the one hand, the Federal Reserve has responded with “in connection with your appeal, I have confirmed that the information withheld under exemption 4 consists of confidential commercial or financial information relating to the operations of the Federal Reserve Banks that was obtained within the meaning of exemption 4. This includes information relating to swap arrangements with foreign banks on behalf of the Federal Reserve System and is not the type of information that is customarily disclosed to the public. This information was properly withheld from you. (letter dated Sept 17, 2009 from the Federal Reserve is associating with Freedom of Information). On the other hand, they have recently made a simple assertion that gold swaps are not executed with U.S. inventoried gold reserves.
Bill Murphy of Lemetropole has been beating the drum of gold price suppression since 1999. Although not a subscriber to this site over at Lemetropole, I have had the privilege of witnessing his fervour in person at conventions here in Calgary over the years. In fact, he was instrumental in a presentation showcased by the Gold Anti Trust Action Committee to congress some ten years ago regarding evidence of surreptitious trading patterns associated with the gold price.
Through my own education of derivative markets, I came to learn of short selling and naked options. Gold swaps fit right in to this category of financial instruments. Chartered accountants certainly didn’t Know much about them during the 2008 financial crisis having failed to ensure disclosure during audits. What if the U.S. government has over extended itself in its interest in gold swaps when inventories don’t support the trades? Then what?
Jim Rickards has recently been leading the charge to help the public understand surreptitious gold trading through his most recent book “The New Case for Gold”.