by Alasdair MacLeod
Gold Money
By early morning trade in the European time zone today, gold and silver were hardly changed on the week, with gold unchanged at $1729, and silver up 10 cents at $17.49. Trading in both metals was generally quiet, according to recorded volumes on Comex. We are now approaching the mid-year point, where bullion banks will want to record the lowest prices for gold and silver to enhance the values of their shorts for accounting purposes.
Gold’s holding pattern has now been in place since mid-April when the price closed at $1730. Since then, a record amount of gold — some 162 tonnes — have been delivered. What appears to be happening is the Swaps have been badly caught and are trying to wind down their short positions without disrupting the price by pushing it upwards. Their net position is the subject of our next chart.