BullionStar Blogs

Dear U.S. Mint: Give Us the Fort Knox Audit Documents!

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• Koos Jansen

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Interim research update. As readers might have seen on these pages, since 2014 I’ve been investigating the inventory audits of the US official gold reserves, which should proof the existence of the metal that embodies the credibility of the world reserve currency. My first article showed the official narrative: all the bars of in total 8,134 tonnes of … Continue Reading

Bullion Banking 101 – Speech by BullionStar's Torgny Persson

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• BullionStar
• 14 Comments

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The following speech, by BullionStar CEO Torgny Persson, was given to an audience during a Precious Metals Seminar held at BullionStar’s shop and showroom premises in Singapore on 19 October 2016. Introduction What have I got here? It’s 87 grams of gold. As many of you know, we have our own bullion vault integrated in BullionStar’s … Continue Reading

Trump and Gold

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• BullionStar
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It was an event-filled and turbulent evening last night as the results for the 45th US presidential election rolled in, signalling that the majority of the American electorate had voted for Republican candidate Donald Trump. Trump received over 270 of the 538 electoral college votes needed to secure a majority. Trump will now be inaugurated as … Continue Reading

Swiss Gold Refinery Argor-Heraeus to be Acquired

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• Ronan Manly
• 4 Comments

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News has just emerged in the gold market that the giant Swiss precious metals refiner, Argor-Heraeus, has held discussions to be acquired, and that the likely outcome is an acquisition by a private equity group. This private equity group is believed to be London-based WRM CapInvest, part of Zurich headquartered WRM Capital. Other interested buyers are … Continue Reading

Gold Is Going To Play a Role in a New Monetary System

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• Koos Jansen

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In the Netherlands we have a financial newspaper that prints on pink paper and is named “Het Financieel Dagblad”. Basically it’s the Dutch equivalent of the Financial Times. A few weeks ago I was interviewed by two of their reporters, Joost van Kuppeveld and Lenneke Arts. Today the interview was published as part of a … Continue Reading

Bullion Banks Pass the Parcel On El Salvador's Gold Reserves

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• Ronan Manly
• 1 Comments

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Eighteen months ago I wrote a short synopsis of a gold sales transaction by the central bank of El Salvador wherein it had sold 80% (about 5.5 tonnes) of its official gold reserves. The title of the post was “El Salvador’s gold reserves, the BIS, and the bullion banks“. If you thought, why the focus … Continue Reading

Austrian Central Bank Claims To Have Audited Gold at BOE

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• Koos Jansen

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After years of gradually securing its official gold reserves (unwinding leases) the central bank of Austria claims to have completed the audits of its 224 tonnes of gold stored at the BOE. However, it refuses to publish the audit reports and the gold bar list. What could possibly be so sensitive to hide from public eyes? After the Germans … Continue Reading

BullionStar attends 2016 LBMA Conference in Singapore

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• BullionStar
• 1 Comments

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Introduction This year, the well-known annual conference of the London Bullion Market Association (LBMA) was held in Singapore between Sunday 16 October and Tuesday 18 October at the impressive Shangri-La Hotel. The conference attracts delegates and speakers from across the world of bullion, with representatives from precious metals refiners, mints, bullion banks, brokers, trading and... Continue Reading

The Great Physical Gold Supply & Demand Illusion

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• Koos Jansen

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Gold supply and demand data published by all primary consultancy firms is incomplete and misleading. The data falsely presents gold to be more of a commodity than a currency, having caused deep misconceptions with respect to the metal’s trading characteristics and price formation. Numerous consultancy firms around the world, for example Thomson Reuters GFMS, Metals … Continue Reading

Tracking ETF & BoE Gold Held in London

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• Ronan Manly
• 2 Comments

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Just over a year ago, gold researchers Nick Laird, Bron Suchecki, Koos Jansen and myself took a shot at estimating how much physical gold was accounted for in London within the gold-backed ETFs and under Bank of England custody. The results of that exercise are highlighted in September 2015 articles “How many Good Delivery gold bars are in … Continue Reading

The 'Independent' Chair of the LBMA Board

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• Ronan Manly
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In a recent article titled “Blood Brothers: The Bank of England and the London Bullion Market Association (LBMA)“, I charted the extremely close historical and contemporary relationship between the LBMA and the Bank of England. This article highlighted that: the LBMA was established in 1987 by the Bank of England the original bullion bank founding members … Continue Reading

How Constant Is Gold’s Purchasing Power?

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• Koos Jansen

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An often-perceived analysis in the gold community is that gold is the constant in our global economy. But is this true? Yes and no. Allow me to share my observations. Although gold has an exceptionally constant nature, and we have yet to see another currency that can compete with gold’s constant nature, the reality is, … Continue Reading

Blood Brothers: the Bank of England & the LBMA

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• Ronan Manly
• 1 Comments

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The London Bullion Market Association (LBMA) is a London-based, globally active, trade association for “the promotion and regulation of commerce relating to the London Bullion Market”. The “London Bullion Market” here collectively refers to the London Gold Market and the London Silver Market. The remit of the LBMA has very recently also been extended to … Continue Reading

From Gold Trains to Gold Loans: Italy's Huge Gold Reserves

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• Ronan Manly
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Italy’s gold has had an eventful history. Robbed by the Nazis and taken to Berlin. Loaded on to gold trains and sent to Switzerland. Flown from London to Milan and Rome. Used as super-sized collateral for gold backed loans from West Germany while sitting quietly in a vault in New York. Leveraged as a springboard … Continue Reading

Former SEC Official Eyes London Gold & Silver Fix Lawsuits

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• Ronan Manly
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Written by Allan Flynn, specialist researcher in aspects of gold and silver. Five months have lapsed without decision, since London gold and silver benchmark-rigging class action lawsuits received a cool response in a Manhattan court. Transcripts from April hearings show, in the absence of direct evidence, the claims dissected by a “very skeptical” judge, and criticized … Continue Reading

Infographic: India's Gold Market

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• BullionStar
• 3 Comments

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The Indian gold market is one of the world’s largest and most extensive gold markets, with an estimated 23,000 tonnes of private gold held within India’s borders. In India, gold is revered and held as a traditional form of savings and wealth preservation, particularly in the form of gold jewellery. With minimal gold mining production, … Continue Reading

Additional Gold & Silver Coins GST-Free in Singapore

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• BullionStar
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Starting 1 September 2016, the exemption of gold, silver and platinum coins from Goods and Services Tax (GST) in Singapore has been extended. The following coins, all available for ordering at BullionStar.com, are now available for purchase without any GST. The updated IRAS Guide on Exemption of Investment Precious Metals (IPM) can be found here. United … Continue Reading

Chinese Gold Bar Photos – Lost in Translation

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• Ronan Manly
• 11 Comments

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China is now in pole position as regards annual global gold mining output. Much if not all of Chinese domestic gold mining output is refined into standard gold by Shanghai Gold Exchange (SGE) approved refiners and then sold through the SGE. A lot of recycled gold in China also flows through the same refineries. As of … Continue Reading

China’s Rising Gold ETF Market: a Hybrid

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• Koos Jansen

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This post is part of the Chinese Gold Market Essentials series. Click here to go to an overview of all Chinese Gold Market Essentials for a comprehensive understanding of the largest physical gold market globally. This post was updated in 2017. In 2013 we’ve witnessed the inception of the Chinese gold ETF market. At first demand for the gold ETFs was neglectable, as … Continue Reading

IMF Gold Sales: Where 'Transparency' Means 'Secrecy'

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• Ronan Manly
• 2 Comments

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Welcome to the twilight zone of IMF gold sales, where transparency really means secrecy, where on-market is off-market, and where IMF gold sales documents remain indefinitely “classified" and out of public view due to the “sensitivity of the subject matter". Off and On Market Between October 2009 and December 2010, the International Monetary Fund (IMF) claims to … Continue Reading

Chinese Banks' Huge Precious Metals Holdings Explained

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• Koos Jansen

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This post is part of the Chinese Gold Market Essentials series. Click here to go to an overview of all Chinese Gold Market Essentials for a comprehensive understanding of the largest physical gold market globally. This post was updated late 2017. There has been much conjecture since 2014 about the increasing numbers in the “precious metals” category on the balance … Continue Reading

Why the Dutch Central Bank Refuses To Publish Gold Bar List

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• Koos Jansen

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My hunt for the gold bar list of the Dutch official gold reserves started in 2015. On September 26 of that year I visited a conference in Rotterdam, the Netherlands, called Reinvent Money. One of the speakers was Jacob De Haan from the Dutch central bank (DNB) Economics and Research Division – you can watch his presentation by clicking here. … Continue Reading

Is There Any Gold Bullion Stored at the U.S. Mint in Denver?

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• Ronan Manly
• 2 Comments

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Anyone with even a passing interest in US official gold reserves will probably recall that the US Treasury claims to hold its gold (8,133.5 tonnes) over four locations in continental United States, namely at three US Mint facilities in Fort Knox (Kentucky), West Point (upstate New York), Denver (Colorado), and at the New York Fed … Continue Reading

Song Xin: Increase Gold Reserves & Join SDR

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• Koos Jansen

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The Chairman of the China Gold Association and General Manager and Party Committee Secretary of China National Gold Group Corporation, the latter being China’s largest gold mining enterprise, is Song Xin and happens to be one of my favorite commentators in China. This gentleman made waves in July 2014 when he candidly wrote on Sina … Continue Reading

The World’s largest Precious Metals Refineries

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• BullionStar
• 13 Comments

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There are many precious metals refineries throughout the world, some local to their domestic markets, and some international, even global in scale. Many, but by no means all, of these refineries are on the Good Delivery Lists of gold and/or silver. These lists are maintained by the London Bullion Market Association (LBMA) and they identify … Continue Reading

The Power Of The Gold Community

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• Koos Jansen

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Since 2014 I’ve been investigating the alleged audits of the US official gold reserves. Of course my goal is to figure out if these audits are credible, or if they’re invented by the US government to silence the people that think gold has any value and forms the very material basis for a well-functioning monetary system. My … Continue Reading

Spectacular Chinese Gold Demand Denied by Mainstream Media

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• Koos Jansen

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Debunking the Thomson Reuters GFMS Gold Survey 2016 report. New information provides a more detailed perspective on the Chinese domestic gold market. In the Gold Survey 2016 report by GFMS that covers the global gold market for calendar year 2015 Chinese gold consumption was assessed at 867 tonnes. As Chinese wholesale demand, measured by withdrawals … Continue Reading

The Gold Price & Global Flows

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• Koos Jansen

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On a firmly rising gold price the UK is one of the largest net importers of gold in 2016. The gold price went up 25 % from $1,061.5 dollars per troy ounce on January 1 to $1,325.8 on June 31. Over this period the UK net imported 583 tonnes and GLD inventory mushroomed by 308 tonnes. In … Continue Reading

Infographic: China's Gold Market

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• BullionStar
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This Chinese Gold Market infographic guides you through the largest physical gold trading market in the world, China. An impressive 16,000 tonnes of gold are held within China’s borders. Did you know that the Chinese wholesale demand for physical gold was an astounding 2,596 metric tonnes in 2015? This was supplied by China mining more … Continue Reading

Stockpiles: the Key to Gold as a Store of Value & Safe Haven

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• BullionStar
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Much is written in the precious metals world about gold’s characteristics, as well as how the behaviour of the gold price allows gold to play the role of a unique financial asset that retains purchasing power over time, acts as a safe haven asset, diversifies risk, and provides hedging benefits. However, much of the material written … Continue Reading

More Paper Trading Ahead For London Gold & Silver Markets

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• Ronan Manly
• 3 Comments

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Today the London Metal Exchange (LME) and the World Gold Council (WGC) jointly announced (here and here) the launch next year of standardised gold and silver spot and futures contracts which will trade on the LME’s electronic platform LMESelect, will clear on the LME central clearing platform LME Clear, and that will be settled ‘loco London’. Together these … Continue Reading

Australia Confirms Our Analysis On Gold Exports to China

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• Koos Jansen

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Since 2015 I’ve stated the raw data published by the Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS) on gold export to China mainland do not accurately reflect what is imported by China from the land of down under. In my previous post I’ve written Australia’s gold “export to China” should be adjusted by Hong Kong’s gold “import from Australia” as a … Continue Reading

“How Safe is Your Gold?” – Speech by Torgny Persson

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• BullionStar
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The following is the transcript of a presentation made by BullionStar’s CEO Torgny Persson on 14 July 2016 to an audience at the FreedomFest conference in Las Vegas, USA: Liberty is Prevailing Freedom, ladies and gentleman. Freedom is the right to think, speak and act the way that we want. I think I speak for … Continue Reading

GLD Sponsor Dodges Disclosure Details of Sub-Custodian

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• Ronan Manly
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In a July 11 BullionStar article, “SPDR Gold Trust gold bars at the Bank of England vaults”, I highlighted that the SPDR Gold Trust (GLD), in it’s Q1 2016 filing to the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), disclosed that during the January – March 2016 quarter, the GLD custodian HSBC had employed the Bank of England as … Continue Reading

Austrian Mint Sells 41 Tonnes of Gold Coins & Bars in 2015

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• Ronan Manly
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Earlier this year, the director of marketing and sales at the Austrian Mint confirmed to Bloomberg in an interview that the Mint’s combined gold bar and gold coin sales in 2015 had totalled 1.32 million troy ounces, a 45% increase on 2014, while the Mint’s silver sales in 2015 had reached 7.3 million ounces, a … Continue Reading

The Revolving Door at the GLD Gold Trust as Execs Flee

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• Ronan Manly
• 1 Comments

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A remarkable but little noticed development has occurred behind the scenes of the SPDR Gold Trust (GLD) over the last 3 years. This development concerns the very high level of executive staff turnover at World Gold Trust Services, the New York based ‘Sponsor’ of the mammoth gold GLD gold-backed Exchange Traded Fund that is listed … Continue Reading

Wrap-Up of Our Visit to FreedomFest 2016

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• BullionStar
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Saturday July 16 wrapped up BullionStar’s attendance at its first FreedomFest conference and convention in Las Vegas, Nevada. During the event from Wednesday July 13 through to the Saturday afternoon, the BullionStar team interacted with a wide-range of interesting event attendees, discussing topics ranging from the role of precious metals in investors portfolios, to the safety... Continue Reading

Rand Paul at FreedomFest 2016 & BullionStar’s New Game

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• BullionStar
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BullionStar continues its coverage of the FreedomFest conference in Las Vegas which it is attending and exhibiting at. For previous coverage see “BullionStar exhibiting at FreedomFest in Las Vegas" and “How Safe is your Gold?” – BullionStar CEO’s speech at FreedomFest“. Rand Paul’s Speech U.S. Senator Rand Paul, a Republican representative of Kentucky in... Continue Reading

"How Safe is Your Gold?” – Our FreedomFest Presentation

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• BullionStar
• 2 Comments

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The first full day of the FreedomFest conference took place 14 July in Las Vegas, USA, an event at which BullionStar is attending and exhibiting. Conference proceedings took the form of general speaker and panel sessions in a large auditorium in the morning, and multiple breakout sessions of speakers and panel discussions in the afternoon. … Continue Reading

BullionStar Exhibiting at FreedomFest in Las Vegas

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• BullionStar
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This week BullionStar is attending and exhibiting at a unique conference called FreedomFest in Las Vegas, Nevada. FreedomFest is the largest pro-liberty conference in the world and it has taken place annually in Las Vegas since 2002. The event was founded and is still organized by Mark Skousen. This year’s FreedomFest event runs from Wednesday … Continue Reading

SPDR Gold Trust Gold Bars Being Held at the Bank of England

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• Ronan Manly
• 12 Comments

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One of the most notable developments accompanying the gold price rally of 2016 has been the very large additions to the gold bar holdings of the major physically backed gold Exchange Traded Funds (ETFs). This is especially true of the SPDR Gold Trust (ticker GLD). The gold bar holdings of the SPDR Gold Trust peaked at 1353 … Continue Reading

Chinese Gold Demand 973t In H1 2016

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• Koos Jansen

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Chinese wholesale gold demand, as measured by withdrawals from the vaults of the Shanghai Gold Exchange (SGE), reached a sizable 973 metric tonnes in the first half of 2016, down 7 % compared to last year. Although Chinese gold demand year to date at 973 tonnes is slightly down from its record year in 2015 – … Continue Reading

Bullion Coin Sales Boost Mints' Revenues

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• BullionStar
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The world’s major precious metals mints are currently riding high on the back of extremely strong global bullion coin demand and relatively buoyant gold and silver prices. These mints are predominantly run as commercial enterprises. The sheer scale of revenues that the US Mint, Royal Canadian Mint (RCM), Perth Mint and Austrian Mint have been … Continue Reading

Gold & Brexit

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• BullionStar
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In what was an extraordinary day for global financial markets, and a day which will no doubt become legendary and enter folk memory in the UK and elsewhere, the electorate of the United Kingdom voted 51.9 % to 48.1% to leave the European Union. As the first count results began trickling in during the very … Continue Reading

Saving in Gold vs. Investing in Gold

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• BullionStar
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There are differing views on choosing the optimal percentage of gold to hold in an asset portfolio. These different viewpoints depend on how one views gold. Those looking for a return on their money in currency terms perceive gold as an investment which they can sell at a currency price higher than what they bought … Continue Reading

Paper Currencies Are Worthless

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• BullionStar
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16 June 2021 is exactly five years from today. What will the gold price be on 16 June 2021? Currencies are Worthless As the world’s fiat paper currencies have lost 99% or more of their purchasing power over the last 100 years, its critical to understand that fiat paper currencies are not a suitable unit … Continue Reading

Central Bank, Governments and Their Gold Coin Holdings

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• Ronan Manly
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Within the world of central bank and government gold reserves, there is often an assumption that these gold holdings consist entirely of gold bullion bars. While this is true in some cases, it is not the fully story because many central banks and governments, such as the US, France, Italy, Switzerland, the UK and Venezuela, … Continue Reading

An Update On LBMA Refinery Statistics & GFMS

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• Ronan Manly
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Last year I published two posts featuring the 2013 refinery production statistics of the London Bullion Market Association (LBMA) Good Delivery Refiners (gold and silver). The first post, “Moving the goalposts….The LBMA’s shifting stance on gold refinery production statistics“, looked primarily at how, in May 2015, the LBMA had first published a 2013 gold refining output... Continue Reading

Offshore Bullion Storage or 3 Eggs?

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• BullionStar
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What does one hundred trillion dollars buy you? How about a mansion in every country, an airplane at every airport and a private island in every ocean? How about 3 eggs? When Zimbabwe issued its infamous 100 000 000 000 000 dollar bill, it could buy 3 eggs on the day it was issued. A … Continue Reading

Spotlight on LPMCL: London Precious Metals Clearing Limited

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• Ronan Manly
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Within the last 2 months, there have been a series of developments in the London Gold Market, each of which has involved Chinese-controlled banking group ICBC Standard Bank Plc. On 4 April, the London Bullion Market Association (LBMA) announced that ICBC Standard Bank had been reclassified as a LBMA Market Making member for the OTC spot … Continue Reading