Beyond the smoke and mirrors of LBMA data

11:10a ET Friday, August 2, 2013

Dear Friend of GATA and Gold:

Writing for GoreCore, Michael O'Brien today analyzes statistics published this week by the London Bullion Market Association, which note that gold demand soared by 39 percent in the January-June period as the price fell by 21 percent, and finds that gold trading in London rose dramatically too but that actual transfer of metal consituted only about 1 percent of the metal traded.

O'Brien writes with considerable understatement: "The LBMA clearing statistics therefore essentially represent huge daily trading through unallocated accounts, most of which is classified as spot delivery but which is backed by very small physical metal foundations. The clearing statistics, while interesting, need to be made more transparent and granular beyond the headline data. Otherwise they tend to obscure rather than illuminate."

But of course obscuring rather than illuminating is the whole point of the gold market as run by central banks and bullion banks, for what would happen if the world ever figured out that 99 percent of its investment gold was only imaginary and that the current ratio between government currencies and gold was a cosmic fraud?

O'Brien's analysis is headlined "LBMA Data: Beyond The Smoke And Mirrors" and it's posted at GoldCore here:

https://www.goldcore.com/goldcore_blog/london-bullion-market-association...

CHRIS POWELL, Secretary/Treasurer
Gold Anti-Trust Action Committee Inc.