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Politics : Dutch Central Bank Sale Announcement Imminent? -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: Gary H who wrote (18464)	5/31/2003 4:37:40 PM
From: sea_urchin	Respond to of 81980

Gary > My best understanding of gold, is that it is the only stable currency we have I think you know my opinion that gold is no longer a currency but a commodity much like the other precious metals, platinum and silver. In fact, only about 10% of the annual bullion sales of around 2000 tonnes are sold for direct investment purposes eg coins, bars. The rest goes into jewelry. Of course there was a time when gold was not only a currency but was the "backing" for all currencies. However, and as we know, gold is no longer an official currency and the central banks have been selling their gold stores for many years and will continue to do so in the future. The reason they haven't been selling more is because of the Washington Agreement which limits European CB sales. This agreement is for 5 years from 1999 and will be reviewed then. gold.org Thus, when you say that gold is a stable currency I don't know what you mean. From a price point of view it has been anything but stable and, in fact, has been in a bear market from 1980 ($850) to 2001 ($255). Whether this 21 year bear has been broken is still a matter of opinion. bigcharts.marketwatch.com As you see on this chart, the present "little bull" run has not exceeded the previous top at $400. It may yet happen but my view is that it will not do so in the foreseeable future.