Sorry, the charts didn't make it on the post. I am not sure how that works. As always only time will tell.

www.24hgold.com/english/news-gold-silver...butor=Mark+O%27Byrne

Central Banks Favour Gold as IMF Warns of “Collapse of Euro” and …
by Mark O'Byrne - Goldcore

Gold’s London AM fix this morning was USD 1,646.50, EUR 1,258.41, and GBP 1,030.80 per ounce. Friday's AM fix was USD 1,652.00, EUR 1,255.51 and GBP 1,035.54 per ounce.

Silver is trading at $31.61/oz, €24.16/oz and £19.78/oz. Platinum is trading at $1,577.25/oz, palladium at $656.90/oz and rhodium at $1,350/oz.

Gold fell $1.50 or 0.09% in New York and closed relatively unchanged at $1,650.20/oz yesterday. Gold traded sideways prior to gradually creeping up in late Asian trading. It then gave up those gains in European trading and is nearly unchanged from yesterday’s close in New York.

Gold remained relatively unchanged from yesterday as Spain’s debt auction eased some worries about the eurozone debt crisis. Although this is another temporary respite as the euro may remain under pressure ahead of Madrid’s long term debt sale later this week.

Investors appear more focused on Europe even though US industrial output numbers and housing starts were low. A surprise jump in German business sentiment lifted riskier assets including equities.

India’s central bank is further debasing the Indian rupee which will lead to further safe haven demand for gold, and is still the world’s largest buyer of gold.

India has had its first rate cut in 3 years and was cut by a higher than expected 50 basis points to 8%.

This comes despite inflation being higher in March compared to last month surging to 9.47%.

The recent tax increase on gold was a futile attempt to curtail gold demand – as Indian policy makers realised accelerating inflation would lead to further gold demand.

Wedding season is at its peak in India now and Akshaya Tritiya, a large gold buying festival, happens later this month. There are forecasts of a 25% increase in demand during the Hindu festival next week after demand was curtailed during the gold jewellers strike (see Other News below).

Deepening negative real interest rates in India and the risk of an inflation spiral will see Indian demand remain robust and it may even accelerate if inflation deepens - contrary to suggestions that Indian gold demand will fall precipitously.

IMF: Risk of Collapse of Euro and “Full Blown Panic in Financial Markets”

The Eurozone could break up and trigger a “full-blown panic in financial markets and depositor flight” and a global economic slump to rival the Great Depression, the IMF warned yesterday.

In its World Economic Outlook report, the International Monetary Fund said the collapse of the crisis-torn single currency could not be ruled out.

It warned that a disorderly exit of one member country would have untold knock-on effects.

"The potential consequences of a disorderly default and exit by a euro area member are unpredictable... If such an event occurs, it is possible that other euro area economies perceived to have similar risk characteristics would come under severe pressure as well, with full-blown panic in financial markets and depositor flight from several banking systems," said the report.

"Under these circumstances, a break-up of the euro area could not be ruled out."

“This could cause major political shocks that could aggravate economic stress to levels well above those after the Lehman collapse," said the report.

Risk Averse Central Banks Favour Gold Over Euro

The risks outlined by the IMF are real and are being taken seriously by central banks who are becoming more favourable towards diversifying foreign exchange reserves into gold.

Central bank reserve managers responsible for trillions of dollars of investments are shunning euro assets and questioning the currency’s haven status because of the region’s sovereign debt crisis, research has found, according to the FT.

Among the most conservative of investors, central bankers have tended to keep much of their fx reserves in high quality euro and dollar denominated assets, such as government bonds.

However, a survey of reserve managers at 54 central banks responsible for portfolios worth $6 trillion, almost half the world’s total, signals that the sovereign debt crisis has sparked a reversal of that trend.

More than three-quarters said the sovereign debt crisis has had a profound impact on their reserve management strategy, with their central banks pulling back from eurozone counterparties and reconsidering attitudes toward the single currency.

Signifying the mood of caution among the world’s central bankers, 71% of those polled said gold was a more attractive investment than it had been at the start of last year. Central banks made their largest purchases of gold in more than four decades last year and have continued to buy the precious metal in the early months of 2012.

Central bank demand is set to continue and may accelerate as the global debt crisis deepens in the coming months.

For breaking news and commentary on financial markets and gold, follow us on Twitter.

A very good summary of current parameters Debsyl. In particular I wanted to make note of one line:

"Signifying the mood of caution among the world’s central bankers, 71% of those polled said gold was a more attractive investment than it had been at the start of last year."

Are you listening Seb? Forget about the phony PRICES. The paper-printers themselves are saying that the fundamentals for gold are continuing to improve - and these are the people who are CREATING those fundamentals.

All we need to do is THREE things:

1) Remain calm.
2) Remain patient.
3) Keep buying silver and gold.

www.bloomberg.com/news/2012-04-24/mexico...-imf-data-shows.html


Mexico added 16.8 metric tons of gold valued at about $906.4 million to its reserves in March as nations including Turkey, Russia and Kazakhstan increased their holdings of the metal, International Monetary Fund data show.

Mexico raised its reserves to 122.6 tons last month when gold averaged $1,676.67 an ounce, data on the IMF’s website showed. Turkey added 11.5 tons, Kazakhstan 4.3 tons, Ukraine 1.2 tons, Tajikistan 0.4 ton, and Belarus 0.1 ton, according to the IMF. The data shows Russia boosted gold reserves by about 16.5 tons after its central bank said on April 20 they were higher. The Czech Republic reduced bullion reserves by 0.1 ton.

Central banks are expanding reserves after the metal climbed the past 11 years and holdings in exchange-traded products are about 0.7 percent below last month’s all-time high. The banks added 439.7 tons last year, the most in almost five decades, and may buy a similar amount in 2012, the London-based World Gold Council estimates. Gold reached a record $1,921.15 in September.

“We expect that the recent trend of the official sector being a net buyer will continue in the medium and long term,” said Bayram Dincer, an analyst at LGT Capital Management in Pfaeffikon, Switzerland. “Gold will continue to be a preferred central bank reserve asset. It is currency protection and stabilization.”

Gold for immediate delivery traded at $1,637.50 by 8:27 a.m. in London for a 4.7 percent gain this year. The Standard & Poor’s GSCI gauge of 24 commodities climbed 4.6 percent and MSCI All-Country World Index of equities rose 7.5 percent. Treasuries rose 0.2 percent, a Bank of America Corp. index shows.
Turkish Reserves

Turkey’s central bank increased the proportion of required reserves that commercial banks can deposit in gold last year. The changes have increased the amount of bullion the country, which owns 209.6 tons, declares in its official reserves. Russia cut its holding in February for the first time in five years. It’s reserves are at about 895.7 tons, the IMF data show.

Gold accounts for about 3.9 percent of Mexico’s total reserves and 9.7 percent of Russia’s, according to the World Gold Council. That compares with more than 70 percent for the U.S. and Germany, the biggest bullion holders, the data show.

Thanks Rroush!

The queston which "inquiring minds" want answered (i.e. the BBC crowd) is whether THIS TIME Mexico actually BOUGHT some "gold" or just more banker PAPER...???




P.S. What IS significant here is that the propaganda machine tried to make a BIG DEAL out of the news a few weeks back that the Russian government had sold 1% of its gold (or somewhere around there).

And now (as I predicted then) we see Russia back BUYING.

Well I'm listening, but headlines like that obviously make no difference. What gold wants is a QE announcement and it is obviously not going to get one. Therefore the price of gold is not going to go up. As I said before I believe that despite all the well reasoned arguments in the world gold is going to languish.

It doesn't seem to matter how much gold the Chinese, Mexicans, Indians or Martians buy it is stuck. Almost everyday there is some headline about how so and so or such and such is stockpiling gold. All I can say is, so what?

Seb1 wrote:
Well I'm listening, but headlines like that obviously make no difference. What gold wants is a QE announcement and it is obviously not going to get one. Therefore the price of gold is not going to go up. As I said before I believe that despite all the well reasoned arguments in the world gold is going to languish.

It doesn't seem to matter how much gold the Chinese, Mexicans, Indians or Martians buy it is stuck. Almost everyday there is some headline about how so and so or such and such is stockpiling gold. All I can say is, so what?

Seb if the "physical" market RULED the market for EITHER gold or silver then there would have been no way for the banksters to have even SLOWED DOWN the descent of gold and silver once they began their original advance in 2000 - and (ironically) we would have ALREADY had at least one bubble in the gold and silver market.

The reality is that the paper market rules the physical market, but since the banksters (foolishly) squandered most of their bullion and they are now LEVERAGED to an insane degree that control has ceased to be anything close to absolute.

They can ONLY control the market as long as they are in virtually COMPLETE control of the "news" (i.e. their propaganda). However, again there are limits on control. They could NOT pretend that there was not a U.S. "recession" (i.e. the beginning of its Greater Depression).

They (obviously) could not hide the crash. And now I see them straining to maintain the current fiction with not only MORE lies, but much more ABSURD lies. They would not even be ATTEMPTING to peddle such ridiculous nonsense if they were not ALREADY teetering on total collapse.

Understand that even a couple of years ago there was a LOT of subtlety (and even some plausibility) in their lies. Is it "plausible" to pretend that the U.S. (THE great energy-glutton in the world) has been able to generate three years of "economic growth" while it's energy use has PLUMMETED?

This is a housing-and-consumption based economy. It's retail sector is reporting mall vacancies at record levels, while the housing sector remains mired in a depression already many times worse than the Great Depression. I am just as shocked with what the government is TRYING to peddle as I am that any of it is still believed.

So you can choose to bet that the sheep will continue to remain asleep and content - while their house continues to burn - OR you can bet that even these sleepy sheep are going to wake up SOON.

My firm belief is that it is only a matter of weeks, MAYBE a couple of months until the smell of BURNING WOOL gets the attention of the sheep...