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December 03, 2014 By: Clive_Maund Yesterday was an extraordinary day in the Precious Metals markets, with a good chance that it signals the reversal from the brutal 3-year plus bear market that so many have waited so long to see. The day started with gold and silver plunging on the news that the Swiss voted against backing their currency with gold, but later in the day they rallied strongly on heavy turnover to close with giant reversal candlesticks on their charts. Regardless of the reasons for this bizarre behavior, technically this action looks very positive, and this is written with...

As the Dutch central bank looks to repatriate some of its gold reserves back from the New York Federal Reserve, Dennis Gartman, the editor and publisher of The Gartman Letter, has questioned what reputational damage this could cause for the U.S. The Dutch central bank last week confirmed that it was shipping gold from the U.S. to the Netherlands to "spread its gold stock in a more balanced way", adding that it would have a "positive effect on public confidence". It comes after the Germans made a similar move in 2013, indicating that it would transfer 300 tons from New...

SWISS VOTERS overwhelmingly rejected a so-called gold standard referendum. They were right to do so. The wording of the referendum revealed a major obstacle to any return to a genuine gold standard: ignorance of what makes such a system work. The proposition was actually focused on the levels of Switzerland’s gold reserves, not on an actual return to a gold standard. But it was seen as a step in that direction. The purpose of a gold standard is to keep a currency stable in value. Other currencies not on a gold standard may go up or down vis-à-vis the gold-linked...

Myles Udland December 1, 2014 Gold is exploding higher. In afternoon trade on Monday, gold futures were up better than 3.5% in the last 24 hours to around $1,215 an ounce, moving back above $1,200 for the first time in more than a week. The spike in gold reverses a plunge in gold late last week that was continued on Sunday night as the futures market re-opened after voters in Switzerland rejected a measure that would have required the Swiss National Bank to increase its gold holdings from 8% to 20%. Oil, which also got crushed last week, is also...

Tyler Durden 12/01/2014After last night's big flush across commodities, they have rallied notably. Gold is now up over $50 from those lows, with Silver, copper, and even crude bouncing hard (after testing below $64 overnight). The USD is notably weaker, stocks lower, and bond yields testing mid-October flash-crash Bullard lows...(snip)

Myles Udland November 30, 2014 On Sunday night, gold was down more than 4% to as low as $1,143 an ounce after voters in Switzerland on Sunday rejected a measure that would have required the Swiss National Bank to increase its gold reserves from 8% to 20% of its holdings. The vote failed by a margin of 78%-22%. In addition the drop in gold, crude oil prices are resuming their tumble, and the price of other precious metals — silver and platinum — were also down sharply. Silver futures were down 12% early Sunday night and platinum futures were down...

In today’s Swiss gold referendum, roughly 78% voted against expanding central bank gold reserves to 20% of central bank assets from the current 7%, according to Swiss national broadcaster SRF. The vote is a blow to the movement to “Save Our Swiss Gold” that had the hopes of moving Switzerland back toward a gold standard which the country left in 1999.

Swiss voters have overwhelmingly rejected a plan to force the Swiss National Bank to buy thousands of tonnes of gold, giving the SNB breathing space as it attempts to protect the franc against a quantitative easing blitz from the European Central Bank. Switzerland's government said on Sunday afternoon that 77pc of voters in Sunday’s referendum rejected proposals to make the central bank hold 20pc of its assets in the precious metal. This result was a blow to a right-wing Swiss People’s Party, which launched the “Save Our Swiss Gold” campaign in a reactionary backlash against the SNB accumulating hundreds of...

Gold miners’ costs are mostly higher than current spot prices, increasing the likelihood of writedowns next year, according to Nick Holland, chief executive officer of Gold Fields Ltd. Across the industry, costs are about $1,300 an ounce including debt repayments, Holland said by phone from Johannesburg today, citing analysts’ research. Gold dropped 0.1 percent to $1,182 an ounce, bringing the decline since the beginning of 2013 to 29 percent. “The industry by and large is under water,” Holland said. “I would expect further writedowns. Production I think will be curtailed but it will take some time to filter through the...

An interesting way to harden the US dollar and make it less of a fiat currency would be to sell the US oil reserve and use the proceeds to buy gold to store in Ft Knox or elsewhere. For those who know their dollar and oil reserve history--this is 180 reversal of policies set in the 1970's because of a 180 reversal of circumstances. In the 1970's US oil production peaked and went into decline while the US dollar went off the gold standard and went into decline. What's different now? 1.)Fracking has shown that the USA now has 100...

On Sunday, the people of Switzerland will go to the voting booth to decide their nation’s economic future. The “Swiss gold vote,” as it’s being called, would require that the nation put its currency back onto a gold standard, which would require the Swiss central bank to buy large amounts of gold from the global market in order to put their currency on a gold-based standard. The Swiss gold vote will have historic implications whether the citizens of Switzerland vote yes or no this weekend. This referendum is a measure that sets requirements for the Swiss National Bank (SNB) with...

Tyler Durden11/29/2014 A week ago, when we reported that in a stunning move, the "Dutch Central Bank Secretly Withdrew 122 Tons Of Gold From The New York Fed", and when looking at the NY Fed's monthly reports of gold deposits by foreign entities, we observed that "we can see that while the 5 tons outflow in 2013 was most likely Germany, the recent surge in gold repatriation from Liberty 33 was the Netherlands. That said, only 77.5 tons of NY deposits gold has been officially repatriated through September, which means the October update, when it comes out, will be a...

On-again, off-again plans for the world's largest gold and copper mine could be back on again, after a federal judge in Alaska issued a preliminary injunction blocking the Environmental Protection Agency from its ongoing efforts to bury the project. Pebble Partnership, the Canadian company behind the project, which would take place near Anchorage, claims the regulatory agency has conspired illegally with opponents of the mine to devise scientific and environmental justifications for blocking it. Salmon fishermen in Washington state and Alaska, Native American groups and environmental organizations have opposed the massive project for several years, and had appeared to have...

For most of my career in international investing, I had always placed a great deal of faith in Switzerland's financial markets. In recent years, however, as the Swiss government has sought to hitch its wagon to the flailing euro currency and kowtow increasingly to U.S.-based financial requirements, this faith has been shaken. But this week (November 30th) a referendum in Switzerland on whether its central bank will be required to hold at least 20% of its reserves in gold, will offer ordinary Swiss citizens a rare opportunity to reclaim their country's strong economic heritage. It's a vote that few outside...

Canadian scientists probing the metal content of coins exchanged thousands of years ago in Mediterranean Europe have discovered a new way to map ancient trade patterns, to retrace economic ups and downs at the dawn of Western Civilization and even to shed new light on the collapse of the Roman Empire. Researchers at McMaster University in Hamilton have launched a research project in which nuclear radiation is used to identify changes in metal content among ancient Greek and Roman coins held in a world-class collection amassed at the university since the 1940s... A joint project between the university's classics department...

I found it very suspect that our King plus a huge trade delegation visited Japan a day before Bank of Japan Governor Haruhiko Kuroda announced the new extreme surprise round of stimulus. Gold Repatriation Stunner: Dutch Central Bank Secretly Withdrew 122 Tons Of Gold From The New York Fed http://www.zerohedge.com/news/2014-11-21/gold-repatriation-stunner-dutch-central-bank-secretly-withdrew-122-tons-gold-new-yor Need Tips on Sticking to your Trade Plan? Global Consequences The impact of the Dutch gold repatriation can be huge. First of all, because it underlines more and more countries are getting nervous about their gold reserves stored in the US. Venezuela repatriated most of its reserves from abroad in...

Nov 20, 2014Guy Christopher Guy Christopher writes: A lot of folks took advantage of recently falling gold and silver prices to beef up their precious metals holdings. Those adding to their portfolios understood the old adage of buying low and selling high. Unfortunately, others wait until dollar values of gold and silver have zoomed before deciding to convert their paper money. Still, most make buying decisions for their own good reasons. They either have the confidence of their convictions, or they have good questions still unanswered. One of the frequent questions we get at Money Metals Exchange is a good...

Calling a secretive government operation to strangle politically out-of-favor businesses “more dangerous” than the IRS targeting scandal, a congressman with a background in banking is preparing to introduce legislation to kill the Obama administration initiative. “I believe this activity is probably more dangerous and more disastrous than that of the IRS scandal because this is running people out of business for no reason and it’s harming livelihoods, incomes [and] families,” Rep. Blaine Luetkemeyer, R-Mo., said today in an interview with The Daily Signal. Luetkemeyer, a member of the House Financial Services Committee, was comparing the Department of Justice’s Operation Choke...

We reported of a strange incident that took place just after the Ukraine presidential coup, namely that .... "in a mysterious operation under the cover of night, Ukraine's gold reserves were promptly loaded onboard an unmarked plane, which subsequently took the gold to the US." "at 2:00 am, a transport plane took off took off from Boryspil airport. According to Boryspil staff, prior to the plane's appearance, four trucks and two cargo minibuses arrived at the airport all with their license plates missing. Fifteen people .... stepped out, some armed with machine guns. These people loaded the plane with more...

ALEPPO, Syria, Nov. 13 (UPI) -- Here's what every caliphate apparently needs: its own money, so Islamic State leaders plan to mint their own gold, silver and copper coins. The decision aims to remove Muslims from the "tyrant's financial system" and a global monetary operation "based on satanic usury," said a statement by the Islamic State's Beit al Mal, or treasury, and posted on websites used by jihadist movements. The exchange rate of the new currency — which will consist of seven coins — and where it can be found will be spelled out in a future statement. Unlike many...