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Gold/Mining/Energy : Gold Price Monitor -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: long-gone who wrote (37372)	7/19/1999 10:06:00 PM
From: Superhawk	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 116779

Recently I forwarded a complaint to the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (enforcement1@cftc.gov) about alleged hedging improprieties by Barrick (http://www.gold-eagle.com/gold_digest_99/butler062899.html). I received the following e-mail response today from the Acting Director of CFTC: This is in response to your e-mail. We appreciate your concerns about activity in the gold market and appreciate that you took the time to advise us of those concerns. The Division of Economic Analysis of the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) monitors trading activity in commodity markets in order to detect and prevent market manipulation and other forms of market abuse. Although our surveillance is primarily focused on futures market trading activity, we also are aware of activity in the underlying physical market. The Commodity Exchange Act makes it unlawful to manipulate or attempt to manipulate the market price of any commodity in interstate commerce or for future delivery on or subject to the rules of any contract market. In order to prove a manipulation, it must be shown that a trader intentionally caused the price of a commodity to become artificial, or, in other words, intentionally moved the price of a commodity away from a level reflecting the legitimate forces of supply and demand. The Division is not aware of any evidence to conclude that the gold market's price is being manipulated. We do not agree that leasing activity in the gold market or forward sales by mining companies or by central banks is evidence of manipulation. While these activities may have an effect on gold prices, they are among many factors that affect prices, and there is no reason to believe that they are being engaged in by any individual, entity or conspiring group of individuals and/or entities for the purpose of causing an artificial price. The weakness in gold prices appears to us to be primarily caused by several factors: the large stock of gold in relation to industrial production and consumption, the lack of investor interest in holding gold, and actual and potential sales of gold by central banks. The international gold market recently has declined on the announced sales of large quantities of gold reserves by the Bank of England and possible sales by the International Monetary Fund and the Central Bank of Switzerland. The first auction of 25 tons of gold by the Bank of England was completed on July 6. Thank you for advising us of your concerns. Sincerely, John Mielke Acting Director __________________ Interesting response, don't you think? Well researched, well articulated. The government guys have their stories straight.

To: long-gone who wrote (37372)	7/19/1999 10:58:00 PM
From: Rarebird	Respond to of 116779

TRADE WARS: WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The United States will impose $30 million worth of tariffs on European pork - mostly from France, Germany, Denmark and Italy - to retaliate for the European Union's failure to allow imports of American beef from hormone-treated cows, U.S. trade officials said Monday. British food exports were omitted from the 100 percent duties to be imposed by Washington because of Britain's support for the U.S. position, said Peter Scher, agriculture trade negotiator for the U.S. Trade Representative's office. The $30 million in pork tariffs are part of a planned $116.8 million in retaliatory tariffs for beef sales lost to U.S. cattlemen announced earlier this month. The figure comes on top of some $191.4 million in duties Washington imposed earlier this year against the EU for failing to change its banana import rules. "This is the second time in a row that the EU has failed to honor its WTO obligations," Scher told reporters. "We hope that the EU will see this record as undermining the credibility of the WTO dispute settlement process.... It alone cannot ignore the rules of the world trading system." U.S. trade officials decided to target France, Germany, Denmark and Italy for the bulk of the punishment because the four countries influence the EU policy on beef imports, Scher said. Of the total $116.8 million in duties, France and Germany will each be targeted for about 24 percent, Italy 21 percent and Denmark 15 percent, he said. In addition to the $30 million worth of pork tariffs, other products facing steep duties include truffles, goose liver pate, mustard, chocolates and raspberry jam.