Ronan Manly

FTX Fiasco Highlights the Ponzi Nature of Modern Banking and the London Gold Market

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• Ronan Manly
• 3 Comments

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The collapse of crypto exchange FTX and sister trading firm Alameda has sent shockwaves through the crypto sector and wider financial markets. Customers wiped out and billions of dollars missing, in a scheme that was run as a fractional reserve scheme.

With Chapter 11 bankruptcy proceedings now in motion, the truth of what exactly happened with FTX, to the extent that it’s... Continue Reading

Gold Establishment Supports Central Bank Secrecy instead of Exposing it

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• Ronan Manly
• 7 Comments

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When the World Gold Council released a report this week claiming central bank gold demand in Q3 was at a record high of 400 tonnes, the data was very odd in that more than three quarters of the claimed demand figure was an ‘estimate’.

This estimate was from Metals Focus and is based on ‘confidential information’ so cannot be verified. Despite this, the mainstream... Continue Reading

COMEX Deliverable Silver far less than imagined as 50% of ‘Eligible’ is not Available

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• Ronan Manly
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With the global demand for physical silver firing on all cylinders, and with silver inventories being rapidly drained out of LBMA and COMEX vaults in London and New York, the silver supply problem is actually bigger than most people realise.

Why? Because at least 50% of COMEX Eligible silver is held as a long term investment, and is not part of Deliverable silver supply. And... Continue Reading

Qatar ramps up its Gold Reserves as FIFA World Cup approaches

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• Ronan Manly
• 1 Comments

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As the world’s media begin to descend on Qatar in advance of this year’s FIFA World Cup, it's interesting to note that the Qatar Central Bank (QCB) has been a major gold buyer for much of 2022.

Having bought gold for five consecutive months between April and August, Qatar’s central bank now holds 77 tonnes of gold, and has increased its gold holdings by sixfold over the... Continue Reading

London Silver Inventories Continue to Plummet as Metal Exits LBMA Vaults

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• Ronan Manly
• 10 Comments

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Global demand for physical silver is causing unprecedented outflows of silver from the LBMA London vaults.

These London vaults have seen a net outflow of 254.5 million ozs (7915 tonnes) over the last 9 months and London silver holdings are now at an all time low of 28,500 tonnes, of which 18,500 tonnes is silver held by ETFs.

With silver demand firing on all cylinders... Continue Reading

Eurasian alliance plans a Moscow World Standard to destroy LBMA’s monopoly in precious metals pricing

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• Ronan Manly
• 14 Comments

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A new precious metals pricing infrastructure may be about to be launched by the Eurasian Economic Union. Led by Russia, this regional alliance is proposing a Moscow World Standard to confront the status quo monopoly of the LBMA.

Masterminded by one of Russia’s leading economists, Sergei Glazyev, this new infrastructure, if it launches, could pull in members from both the... Continue Reading

JP Morgan gold trading boss & former LBMA Board member found guilty by US jury

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• Ronan Manly
• 9 Comments

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The head of JP Morgan’s precious metals trading desk, Michael Nowak, and gold trader Gregg Smith, have been found guilty by a US federal jury of attempted price manipulation, commodities fraud, wire fraud, and spoofing precious metals prices over an 8 year period.

Nowak was also a Board member of the London Bullion Market Association (LBMA) up until his indictment by the... Continue Reading

The new Indian International Bullion Exchange (IIBX) – Price Taker or Price Maker?

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• Ronan Manly
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A new gold exchange called the Indian International Bullion Exchange (IIBX) has just been launched in GIFT City, Gujarat, India.

IIBX offers spot gold contracts backed by vaulted bullion, and trading will allow Indian jewellery companies to import gold via the Exchange.

But will IIBX help India become a gold ‘price setter’, or will one of the world’s largest... Continue Reading

LBMA Silver Inventories fall to a near 6 Year Low below 1 billion ounces

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• Ronan Manly
• 3 Comments

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Physical silver inventories in the LBMA vaults in London have fallen for seven straight months and are now at their lowest levels since December 2016. Additionally, this is the first time since November 2016 that LBMA silver inventories have fallen below 1 billion ozs.

With ETFs in London accounting for nearly 65% of all LBMA silver holdings, and given the deficit in the... Continue Reading

Despite manipulating precious metals prices, JP Morgan is still at the heart of the LBMA, SBMA and COMEX

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• Ronan Manly
• 8 Comments

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The current US trial of a group of former JP Morgan precious metals traders for price manipulation across New York, London and Singapore is but the latest installment in a saga that that has seen JP Morgan pay out US$ 920 million while admitting criminal wrongdoing.

However, that has not stopped the LBMA, SBMA and the COMEX from not only continuing to allow JP Morgan to operate... Continue Reading

Peter Hambro – BIS, central banks are rigging gold market using bullion banks’ paper gold

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• Ronan Manly
• 10 Comments

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In a new article for British news and current affairs site Reaction, legendary gold sector executive Peter Hambro pulls no punches in claiming that the BIS and central banks are rigging the gold price.

They are doing so, says Hambro, to hide the perception of inflation, and are implementing the smashing of the physical gold price using the limitless ‘paper gold’... Continue Reading

Russia lines up its State Fund of Precious Metals for Military Mobilization

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• Ronan Manly
• 2 Comments

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As conflicts intensify between Russia and the West, gold continues to be at the forefront of geo-politics.

As Russia prepares its State Fund of Precious Metals to be able to rapidly trade gold in the event of a military mobilization, the EU is talking of a new round of Russian sanctions that will target gold.

New Russian laws may soon also classify the size of... Continue Reading

Czech Republic to join Visegrád Group allies in Central European Gold Rush

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• Ronan Manly
• 6 Comments

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The incoming governor of the Czech central bank plans to increase the Czech Republic’s monetary gold reserves massively from 11 tonnes to over 100 tonnes. That's a 10-fold increase.

This follows huge gold buying over the last few years from the Polish and Hungarian central banks. What’s the connection? All 3 countries are members of the Visegrád Group, a tight economic and... Continue Reading

Inside the Gold Vault of the Portuguese Central Bank

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• Ronan Manly
• 5 Comments

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For the first time ever the central Bank of Portugal has allowed reporters to take photos of the gold bars in its vault in Carregado, just outside Lisbon. And the photos are impressive enough.

Apart from the 172 tonnes of gold claimed to be in this vault, the Portuguese claim to hold even more gold at the Bank of England. The trouble is, all of the Portuguese gold in London is... Continue Reading

Lack of audits undermine Lebanon’s claim to be Middle East gold heavyweight

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• Ronan Manly
• 2 Comments

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While Lebanon’s central bank claims to hold the region’s second largest monetary gold reserves, the truth is far murkier. In 2019, external auditors were prevented from even viewing the gold that is supposedly stored in the Bank’s vaults in Beirut.

In addition, a large part of Lebanon’s gold is believed to have been long ago entrusted to the vaults of the New York... Continue Reading

Kremlin confirms intention to Back Ruble with Gold and Commodities

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• Ronan Manly
• 6 Comments

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Nikolay Patrushev, a powerful Kremlin player, has now confirmed that Moscow is actively working to back the Russian ruble with gold and commodities, and so create a currency with intrinsic value outside the orbit of the US dollar.

Western sanctions, says Patrushev, are also accelerating Russia’s plans to embrace Asian, African and Latin American markets via groupings such as... Continue Reading

Where is the Russian Federation’s Gold Stored?

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• Ronan Manly
• 2 Comments

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With weaponised sanctions targeting Russia’s foreign exchange reserves, the monetary gold reserves of the Bank of Russia have now taken on increased importance.

But where are these vast Russian gold reserves stored, a hoard which the Russian central bank claims to be 2299 tonnes? The popular belief is that ‘two thirds’ of this gold is stored in a vault in Moscow, and... Continue Reading

China and Russia in Close Cooperation aiming for Win-Win in Gold Markets

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• Ronan Manly
• 2 Comments

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Laying potential foundations for a Chinese - Russian cooperative system utilizing gold, the Shanghai Gold Exchange (SGE) and Russia’s National Financial Association are now actively collaborating to develop the Chinese and Russian gold markets.

Central to the cooperation on the Russian side is the National Financial Association’s precious metals market committee, which... Continue Reading

Spotlight on Gold and Silver Mining Share Indexes – Part 1

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• Ronan Manly
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While old timers may be familiar with the XAU and HUI indexes, do you know about the gold and silver mining stock indexes underlying GDX and GDXJ, or the gold and silver indexes from providers such as Solactive and MVIS?

With renewed interest in commodities and hard assets, now is a good time to brush up on how to get exposure to the precious metals mining sector. This is part... Continue Reading

Russian Ruble relaunched linked to Gold and Commodities – RT.com Q and A

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• Ronan Manly
• 24 Comments

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Russia’s move to link the ruble to gold and link commodity payments to the ruble is a paradigm shift which the western media has not yet really grasped.

By playing both sides of the equation, i.e. linking the ruble to gold and then linking energy payments to the ruble, the Bank of Russia and the Kremlin are fundamentally altering the entire working assumptions of the global... Continue Reading

Russian Palladium and Platinum – Too Important to Sanction

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• Ronan Manly
• 3 Comments

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In a clear case of double standards, the management committee of the London Platinum and Palladium Market (LPPM), which is controlled by a group of bullion banks and refiners, has chosen not to suspend Russian refineries Krastsvetmet and Prioksky from the LPPM Good Delivery Lists for palladium and platinum.

This is despite the LPPM's sister organisation, the LBMA, having moved... Continue Reading

US tees up “Stop Russian Gold Act”, triggering LBMA and COMEX to eject Russian refiners

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• Ronan Manly
• 4 Comments

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On 7 March, in a coordinated fashion, the London Bullion Market Association (LBMA) and COMEX both simultaneous suspended all Russian gold refiners at exactly the same time as a Bill was introduced into the US Senate targeting the central bank of Russia’s gold reserves.

In essence, a war has now been declared by the West against Russian gold. These moves will have far reaching... Continue Reading

LBMA’s Fear of Stoking the Russian Bear – From ETF Concerns to Monetary Mayhem

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• Ronan Manly
• 3 Comments

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Despite evidence that the LBMA accredited Russian refineries are in breach of UK-US-EU sanctions and the LBMA’s own rules, the LBMA is stalling in taking any action.

Is this due to the massive number of Russian refinery gold and silver bars held by the world’s largest precious metals ETFs in London, or is the LBMA terrified of unleashing a Russian flight to gold for world... Continue Reading

LBMA a deer in headlights as Western Sanctions show up Russian Gold Refiners

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• Ronan Manly
• 5 Comments

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As a raft of new sanctions from the US, EU and UK come out targeting Russia's financial system and banks, the LBMA has quietly removed the fact that Russian banks VTB and Bank Otkritie are LBMA members.

At the same time, the LBMA has said nothing about the large group of Russian refiners on the current LBMA Good Delivery Lists for gold and silver.

With the Western... Continue Reading

Bloomberg hit piece on UAE gold triggers strong response from DMCC’s Bin Sulayem

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• Ronan Manly
• 8 Comments

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In the continuing international gold power play between Dubai / UAE on one hand and the establishment / London gold markets on the other, the latest installment sees a hit piece by Bloomberg against Dubai, with an equally strong response from DMCC’s chairman Ahmed Bin Sulayem.

While the battle arena this time is smuggled gold from Africa, the axis of Western government - big... Continue Reading

Emirates takes on LBMA with launch of UAE Good Delivery Standard for gold

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• Ronan Manly
• 7 Comments

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In a bid to boost its gold trading hub, the United Arab Emirates has taken the proactive step of launching an Emirates Good Delivery Standard for gold.

This initiative, while also deflecting criticism from the London-Swiss gold establishment, also puts UAE and Dubai into direct competition with the LBMA.

But will the “the consistent and unsubstantiated attacks”... Continue Reading

Coordinated Jawboning from Central Banks, but “You Can’t Taper a Ponzi”

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• Ronan Manly
• 7 Comments

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This week sees an unusual alignment of central bank meetings, with the ‘Big Gun’ central banks of the US Fed, ECB, Bank of England and Bank of Japan all holding internal meeting to discuss interest rate moves and the tapering of asset buying programs.

But since central banks have painted themselves into corners with unprecedented asset purchases and historically low... Continue Reading

Irish central bank raises gold reserves by 33%, worried by inflation

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• Ronan Manly
• 4 Comments

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The Central Bank of Ireland has quietly purchased 2 tonnes of gold, boosting its gold holdings by 33%.

While in absolute terms, this may not seem like a lot, the fact that it’s a Eurozone Western economy doing the gold buying is notable.

And with the Irish central bank governor now warning that the inflation coming down the pipe may be ‘something different’, the... Continue Reading

In low key move, Singapore’s central bank adds 26 tonnes to its gold reserves

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• Ronan Manly
• 4 Comments

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Almost under the radar, Singapore’s central bank, the Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS) has boosted it’s gold reserves by 20% via the purchase of more than 26 tonnes of gold.

While these MAS gold buying transactions are said to have occurred during May and June this year, the transactions are only now coming to light.

This is a major move by one of the... Continue Reading

Bullion Banksters pay $50 million to Get Out of Jail Free

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• Ronan Manly
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In yet another example of the Money Power that controls the City of London and Wall Street, the powerful bullion banks of the London Gold Fixing (Barclays, HSBC, The Bank of Nova Scotia, and SocGen) have now all succeeded in paying their way out of a gold price manipulation class action suit that has been running since 2014.

In essence, these banks have each bought a ‘Get Out... Continue Reading

Amid ongoing hyperinflation, gold shines as money in Venezuela

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• Ronan Manly
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With inflation rates surging across the world and with talk of hyperinflation, it’s useful to look at one country whose currency has collapsed and which is in the midst of hyperinflation. That country is Venezuela.

And when the Venezuelan population loses trust in it’s fiat currency and the populace needs to find monetary alternatives, one of the alternatives that... Continue Reading

Swiss pressure against UAE gold imports causes sharp rebuttal from Dubai

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• Ronan Manly
• 3 Comments

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As the United Arab Emirates (UAE) prepares to launch an Emirates Good Delivery Standard for gold, the Swiss government has issued a letter to Swiss gold refineries calling on them to get strict on UAE gold imports.

Could these developments be purely coincidental, or are there more political games afoot? Who could be pulling the strings of the Swiss government? And how did... Continue Reading

Poland accelerates gold buying: Plans to purchase 100 tonnes during 2022

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• Ronan Manly
• 1 Comments

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From an indication in early 2021 that Poland's central bank (NBP) would buy another 100 tonnes of gold over the next few years, the NBP now plans to buy 100 tonnes within 2022.

This gold buying strategy is being led by NBP president Adam Glapiński, a central bank head who understands gold, and who also frequently appears in the Polish media to explain why gold is the ultimate... Continue Reading

Indian Central Bank Accumulating Large Quantities of Gold almost under the Radar

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• Ronan Manly
• 3 Comments

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India's central bank, the Reserve Bank of India (RBI), is now one of the world's largest gold buying, having stealthily accumulated 166 tonnes of gold since early 2018.

In total, the RBI now holds 724 tonnes of gold, with just under 300 tonnes stored in a secretive gold vault in Nagpur, India, and the rest held mainly at the Bank of England in London.

With China and... Continue Reading

Central Bank Digital Currencies – A Future of Surveillance and Control

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• Ronan Manly
• 7 Comments

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Central Bank Digital Currencies (CBDCs) are an ominous development that will soon be launched by central banks across the world.

Billed as a public interest technology innovation, the real aim of CBDCs is to provide central banks and governments with enhanced forms of surveillance and control.

CBDCs are the antithesis to monetary freedom, so it is critical to... Continue Reading

Can Corporate Treasurers Afford to Ignore Palantir’s Gambit on Gold?

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• Ronan Manly
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Palantir Technologies, the US analytical software company that counts the US Intelligence and spy agencies as some of it’s largest clients, recently purchased nearly 1 tonne of gold to hedge against possible ‘black swan events’.

The purchased gold, in the form of nearly three hundred 100-ounce gold bars, is stored in a vault in the north-east of the US, probably in a... Continue Reading

Afghanistan’s gold at the New York Fed: 1,731 old bars held since 1939

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• Ronan Manly
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Nearly 22 tonnes of Afghan central bank gold stored with the New York Fed has just been frozen by the US Treasury.

This Afghan gold consists of a total of 1731 old “non-Good Delivery’ gold bars, which have been in the New York Fed vault since 1939.

This is also not the first time this Afghan gold has been blocked, as it was also frozen between 1999 and 2001. Continue Reading

British Requests for $3 billion in US Treasury Gold – The Trigger that Closed the Gold Window

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• Ronan Manly
• 3 Comments

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While a lot will be written about the 50th anniversary of the US Government famously suspending the convertibility of US dollars into gold on 15 August 1971, there is far less, if any, coverage about what exactly triggered it and why the timing had to be 15 August.

Bringing together never before seen material, this article blows a lid on the British and the Bank of England... Continue Reading

Gold Price Smash in Paper – But Physical Demand on Fire

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• Ronan Manly
• 13 Comments

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As COMEX gold trading opened for the week on Sunday 8 August, while New York, London, Singapore and Tokyo were all closed, huge volumes of selling hit the market to take down the gold price.

Who were the sellers and who did they represent, and does this intervention have central bank involvement?

While a price smash in the paper gold and silver markets may fool Wall... Continue Reading

Brazil’s Central Bank refuses to answer any questions about its Gold Reserves

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• Ronan Manly
• 7 Comments

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After buying 53.5 tonnes of gold over May and June, Brazil is now the third largest central bank gold buyer so far this year, and currently claims to hold 121 tonnes of the yellow metal.

However, following a series of questions being put to the Banco Central do Brasil (BCB) about this gold and where it is stored, the BCB has refused to answer every single question, citing... Continue Reading

The Saga Continues: Venezuela’s 31 tonnes of seized gold at the Bank of England

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• Ronan Manly
• 3 Comments

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The legal fight over 31 tonnes of gold owned by Venezuela’s central bank (BCV) and stored at the Bank of England continues, and this month made it all to way to the Supreme Court in London.

At stake is who has the authority to withdraw the BCV gold, and who is the recognised president of Venezuela, Maduro or the US and UK backed Guaidó.

The ramifications of the... Continue Reading

Has Macron’s call for new IMF Gold Sales been slapped down?

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• Ronan Manly
• 9 Comments

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Recently, France’s president, Emmanuel Macron, called for renewed IMF gold sales under the pretext of helping to finance African economies. In May and again in June, Macron and his advisers tried to ‘put the IMF gold sales idea on the table’.

But who benefits from such sales? Who wants to get their hands on the IMF gold? Is it a bullion bank bailout or a redistribution... Continue Reading

Thai central bank leads pack, buying 90 tonnes of gold over April and May

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• Ronan Manly
• 3 Comments

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With an addition to 90 tonnes of gold to its gold reserves over April and May, the Thai central bank, Bank of Thailand, has now leapt into pole position as the world’s largest central bank gold buyer so far in 2021.

Surprisingly, this gold accumulation by Thailand has gone largest unnoticed in the media, with little or no comment. Not helping matters has been the Bank of... Continue Reading

In Ongoing Saga, Dubai Stands its Ground with the LBMA

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• Ronan Manly
• 7 Comments

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Following LBMA threats against the Dubai gold market last November, the DMCC executive chairman had the courage to point out the hypocrisy of the LBMA’s position.

While this criticism of the LBMA has continued into 2021, now Dubai & the UAE are also fighting back with proactive gold market initiatives that could see UAE become an even bigger competitor to London. Continue Reading

Central banks operating in stealth at the heart of the London Gold Market

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• Ronan Manly
• 4 Comments

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Central bank gold operations lie at the heart of the London Gold Market under the watchful eye of the Bank of England, but you would be forgiven for not knowing this, because they don’t want you to know.

Never in the history of financial markets has there been a trading venue that has been more opaque, more secretive, and more impenetrable than the London Gold Market. Continue Reading

Russia lines up new Gold Buying through its Sovereign Wealth Fund

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• Ronan Manly
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With the imminent arrival of the massive Russian sovereign wealth fund, the National Wealth Fund, as a new gold buyer in addition to the firepower of Russia's central bank, it now looks like Russia is upping the stakes in it's grand game of geo-political and monetary chess. Indeed a game of 4D chess that uses golden pieces. Continue Reading

LBMA misleads Silver Market with False Claims about Record Silver Stocks

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• Ronan Manly
• 5 Comments

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It has just come to light that the LBMA silver holdings in London vaults have been overstated by 3300 tonnes since they were reported in early April. Is this incompetence, or a case of blatant deception?

Since London silver vault holdings are an international gauge into the availability of silver supply for the investor and industrial markets, a full investigation of the LBMA... Continue Reading

LBMA acknowledges “Buying Frenzy” in Silver Market and silver shortage Fears

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• Ronan Manly
• 4 Comments

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A new report on investment silver from the LBMA is surprising in that it acknowledges the Silver Squeeze movement as having made a profound impact on silver ETF and bar and coin demand, and also startlingly admits that there were real concerns in February that London would run out of silver if ETF demand remained at an elevated level. Continue Reading

Hungarian central bank boosts its gold reserves by 3000% in less than 3 years

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• Ronan Manly
• 5 Comments

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Following a 10 fold increase in its gold reserves in 2018 from 3.1 tonnes to 31.5 tonnes, the Hungarian central bank has done it again, this time tripling the 31.5 tonnes to 94.5 tonnes with a recent gold buying transaction. That’s a 3000% increase since October 2018.

The motivation, say the Hungarians, is to counter the growing risks to the global system of unlimited debt,... Continue Reading

Scotia Sells its COMEX NY Vault, in Slow Motion Exit from Gold and Silver Markets

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• Ronan Manly
• 5 Comments

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As the multi-year saga of the ScotiaBank withdrawal from the precious metals markets continues, the latest installment finds Scotia selling its COMEX New York vault to MTB / MKS PAMP. This deal includes a transfer of all the gold and silver in the NY Scotia vault to the care of MTB.

Despite this deal, Scotia is still very much involved in precious metals, especially in London,... Continue Reading