Banks increase own gold reserves
Since the gold price is not subject to any regulation and is therefore freely determined by the market, dubious changes in the gold price were not examined more closely for a long time. However, current evaluations point to less clean machinations and seem to offer the explanation why countless major banks have again deliberately replenished their gold deposits in recent months.
Gold price manipulations: Gold fixing artifice
The daily gold price is set in London, and only five major banks are involved in the process known as gold fixing. Since September 12, 1919, market participants have been meeting in London to fix the gold price again every day at 3 p.m. when the U.S. stock exchange opens. Since there is no transparency for outsiders and a very small circle of banks decides on the development of the gold price, there is enough room for potential manipulation of the gold price. There are already reports of confirmed gold price manipulations that are said to have occurred between 2004 and 2013. An even greater suspicion of collusion around the gold price exists in the futures business, i.e., the prediction on the gold price development in the coming weeks and months. Only three major U.S. banks have a significant influence on the futures business, so that here, too, collusion between a few participants would be sufficient for potential manipulation.
Excursus: What does gold manipulation look like?
When you sell shares or certificates, you want to achieve the highest possible price for them. In order to achieve this, you proceed as gently as possible on the market: Your sell order should not cause a decline in prices. So you pay attention to market liquidity - that means you place your order at times of day when as many dollars or euros (depending on the market) are in circulation as possible. You also split your sell order into several transactions.
Genau das Gegenteil war bspw. in der ersten Juliwoche 2015 zu beobachten. Hier wurden innerhalb weniger Stunden 531 Tonnen Gold zu einem Volumen von 18 Mrd. USD gehandelt. Um sicher das besser vorstellen zu können – 531Tonnen Gold entsprechen über 17 Mio. Feinunzen Wiener Philharmoniker à 31,1 Gramm oder 5,3 Mio. Goldbarren à 100 Gramm. Solche Volumina drücken natürlich den Goldpreis. Doch wer steckt dahinter? Es sind genau diese oben erwähnten Banken und Zentralbanken. Denn Gold ist ein natürlicher Feind von unserem Fiatgeld und somit den Banken ein Dorn im Auge. Nur um ein Gefühl dafür zu bekommen: Diese Manipulationen funktionieren nicht nur bei Gold. Sie werden auch bei anderen Edelmetallen, wie bspw. Silber, oder Rohstoffen, Fonds und anderen Anlageklassen durchgeführt.
Growing bank gold deposits cause doubts
Especially major banks in the U.S. show an increased interest in the precious metal over the past months. When investing money in gold, they thus follow exactly a different tactic, as they issue as a customer recommendation for private and business customers. Especially the addressed US banks such as JP Morgan, Citigroup as well as Morgan Stanley have made significant increases in the SPDR Gold Trust in the first quarter of 2014, the holdings here are partly in the mid, double-digit million USD amount. Top investors such as Paulson & Co. have maintained their stake in gold and have an investment in the portfolio of more than one billion USD. These official figures from the U.S. supervisory authority raise doubts among many industry experts as to whether this investment in gold might not be directly related to the influence on price developments, which is decisively influenced by the aforementioned major banks in the futures business.
Influencing the U.S. dollar as a possible objective
The devaluation of gold, which may have been deliberately brought about, has the counter-effect of strengthening the traditional currencies, i.e. the U.S. dollar in this specific situation. It is not infrequently speculated that the U.S. Federal Reserve itself is pushing its own interest in strengthening the value of national money and wanting to keep the price of gold at a low level for this purpose. Despite all the criticism, clearer regulations and greater transparency for the London gold fixing are currently not in sight, which is probably explained by the fact that central banks and major banks profit from the machinations surrounding the gold price itself. Although there is no concrete evidence yet, a sensitive look at the developments in the gold price is nevertheless advisable for anyone who wants to invest in gold in the long term.
Investing money properly in gold - but how?
Gerade in Zeiten in denen Kursmanipulationen, Bankenkrisen und Staatsverschulden unseren Alltag prägen, ist Geld in Gold anlegen sinnvoll. Denn im Falle einer Währungsreform oder gar eines Währungscrashs, ist das Edelmetall als Wertanlage ein sicherer Anker. Wir bei Gold&Co. empfehlen Ihnen gemeinsam mit weiteren Experten, nicht nur deshalb etwa 10 – 20 Prozent des persönlichen Vermögens in Gold anzulegen. Zudem wird dazu geraten, dass Gold privat in einem Safe zu lagern und nicht in einem Bankschließfach, um garantiert und jederzeit Zugriff auf sein eigenes Vermögen zu haben. Mehr zum Thema “Geld richtig in Gold anlegen” finden Sie hier.
Die Klassiker beim Goldinvest sind dabei Dukaten, die Unze Wiener Philharmoniker und Goldbarren. Je nach persönlichem Bedarf erstellen wir für Sie die optimale Anlagestrategie – und das kostenlos! Wenn Sie eine kostenlose Beratung wünschen oder Fragen zu diesem Thema haben, dann kommen Sie einfach in eines unserer Geschäfte. Ein Termin wird nicht benötigt! Wir freuen uns auf Sie!
