Not having physical gold is just silly. A year ago I also had some gold and I sold it with a nice profit. It's quite nice to own some gold. Too bad you can't visit it

Interesting article.

He writes "The premium over spot on new gold eagles was $63.95. At large online retailers the premium was $71."

Did a quick google & it seems the premium for gold eagles has been in the range 4% to 8% for several years; exact premium depends on the supplier & the quantity purchased - so the current premium quoted does not seem to be outside this range?

He does raise the interesting question of whether paper gold is worth less than the real stuff; there have been questions for years about whether the market for paper gold can hold up due to the fact there is far more paper around in the world than real metal. I mean if many people wanted to change their paper for an equivalent piece of metal then there would be a big problem

The price would rise until demand was met.

I do knew a trader at GS whose desk owned 110% of an underpriced issue, a very profitable day!

On supply and demand I would like to add this:
Although your comment is true, I think one should add it is not fresh supply from mines that is influencing price. Since just about all gold that has been mined exists somewhere then it follows the ‘supply’ that effects price discovery is more the willingness (or need) of gold owners to make their stashes available to the market.
But even this is not the full picture because it is (unfortunately) not only physical gold that has its impact of the price discovery mechanism, but also paper gold in its various forms constitutes an even larger quantity of ‘gold’ than the physical stuff, i.e. that makes a ‘clunck’ or a ‘clink’ depending on size when you put it down on the desk.

Quote "Swiss Cabinet's office says today the SVP has gathered enough signatures to force a referendum on banning the central bank from selling any gold reserves.
They said that the initiative known as "Save Our Swiss Gold" had gained more than the required 100,000 signatures to force a vote among Swiss citizens within the next few years.
It would require the Swiss National Bank to keep at least 20 percent of its assets in gold.
As of the start of 2013, just over 10 percent of the central bank's nearly 500 billion Swiss francs ($537 billion) in assets were gold."

So it would force the SNB to buy about $50Bn in gold; plus to keep buying gold if the SNB keeps buying euros (to keep the 20% straight).
Good for gold bugs

Seems that premiums are rising due to enormous buying of the metal in Asia.
They claim highest buying rates since 30 years.

Yep I saw that 2 days ago. .. prices going back up .

Known as a suckers rally!

Just been looking at Gold, it's had massive sell off's many times over the last 100 years, 1915-20, 1941, 1947, 1951-66, 1974-76 1981, 1983-85, 1987-2000 and 2008.

Of course the Bulls will tell you this time it's different, they always do!

Fat man: whats your problem with people buying gold? Unless I have misread.

They are going to loose a lot of money, not a problem for me

Thanks for that nugget of info Ill take my chances. I made a hefty profit buying and selling gold already and the dip has been perfect.

What worries me about gold is the buzz on the street, every taxi driver is buying the dip! Also the petition to the government not to sell any more gold, to me these are signs are the end is near & it will end in tears.

I think you are right here, that is "the end is near & it will end in tears". But I suspect not in the way you mean it.
There are reports of bullion banks having depleted gold stocks and difficulty meeting the demand to deliver. One bank in Holland now will only settle in fiat.
There was a rumour of the LBMA nearly defaulting. It is known that COMEX is being drained of its physical gold.
This last item is very critical since it's the COMEX that is the gold price discovery mechanism. But that obviously only works if they occasionally settle some future contracts in physical.
Once the COMEX cannot supply it loses its function as the gold price discovery mechanism and it will be replaced by the price that physical suppliers can get for it.
Then, by gum, it will be off to the races !!!

I'm not sure I've seen any credible sources about a shortage of gold except possibly in the numismatic market.

But I've seen a lot of gold ramping and tin foil hat proclamations from the usual suspects...

I'm sure that is to a large degree true. I would not deny it.
But the cause of the conspiracy theories etc. is the undue secrecy coupled with devious statements and lying by govts. and big banks. Logic also dictates that if a whistle-blower in the know does leek information he must also do so secretively to protect his position.
On the balance I don't think one side is any better than the other.
Our job is from the midst of this babble of information and misinformation to make head or tails of it.

Comex


...and JP Morgen




If true, those graphs mean there's something going on behind the scenes.

People are stuffing gold under the mattress! They don't trust banks after Cyprus.

Please let me invent a fable which is not related to reality.

The price of gold has risen so people want to sell their "paper gold" & realise their profit.

So the fund that sold the paper gold goes into their cellar & fetches a few bars & sells them to pay off their investors.

But
There are statistics around that there is far more paper gold around than real gold.

So there must be funds that do not have gold in their cellar.

So where do these funds find the extra money from gold price inflation to pay their investors?

1. Claim on their insurance (hedges or whatever) if they have this cover.
2. Do a Ponzi scheme & pay old investors from new investors
3. go bankrupt

In this situation there are paper gold funds (& insurers & hedgers) who are interested in driving down the gold price. So they come up with a scheme to do this.

But now a lot of people think gold is suddenly cheaper & so they start buying!

According to the law of supply & demand the gold price should rise?

Anyway end of fable.

In the real world;
On both Monday & Tuesday there were huge amounts of gold traded, on both days over 21 Million ounces.
There is a big reduction in the volume of gold shorts.

The only banks I trust are the ones in parks you can sit on.
And in my youth after a few drinks I've even fallen off them.