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

To: lorne who wrote (4173)	12/12/1997 3:36:00 AM
From: Alex	Respond to of 116866

Hi Lorne. My own feeling is that this comes as no surprise. In general, CB's have to degrade gold in the eyes of the public lest they flee to it in times of crisis (like now). Should people turn to gold it would be perceived as a failure by CB's to manage their Goldilocks economy. It's no accident that gold tanks at the first sign of crisis these days. But gold has the one thing that no other currency has ever had - intrinsic value, and in the end, manipulation will not change this. The other thing that came to mind, was this section from the Pomboy speech over on the World Gold Council site............... Recent Comments on Central Bank Gold Activity <Picture> German Finance Minister, Theo Waigel "Germany will not sell one ounce of gold." Jean Pierre Patat, French Central Bank "Several central banks which had sold gold from their reserves now feel there is no longer an advantage to selling more bullion as any advantage was outweighed by the loss on remaining reserves from reducing the gold price." "It seems the market is more influenced by psychological phenomena than central bank gold sales." "Concern that European central banks will sell large portions of their gold reserves are 'devoid of substance'". Japanese Prime Minister, Hashimoto "Exchange rate instability might encourage Japan to sell some of its US Treasury securities holdings and buy gold." Shunjiro Karasawa, Member of Japan's Lower House of Parliament "Japan's gold holdings are far too low compared with other major countries." Masaaki Nakayama, Member of ruling Democratic Party "Excessive dependence on the U.S. dollar and sharply smaller gold reserves are my growing concern." ÿ Alan Greenspan, Chairman, Federal Reserve "The extraordinary decline of the price of gold is in small part the result of central bank sales." ÿ German Polls show that: Germans believe that property or precious metaIs will represent better investments than cash savings following EMU. ÿ Swiss polls show that: A referendum to reduce gold reserves would be defeated. ÿÿ <Picture> Other factors which could have an important effect on gold are the future of the EMU and a decline in the U.S. stock market. Effects of the EMU on Gold <Picture> 1. Widely accepted that the Euro will be a soft currency. - Unlikely that European central banks will want to soften it further by selling gold. - Bundesbank wants a stronger Euro. 2. German people will not accept a weak Euro. It can be strengthened with greater gold reserves. 3. Investment firms can arrange the purchase of any gold Europeans may want to sell in an orderly manner. i.e. Purchase a call option on any gold central banks want to mobilize. 4. Asian central banks will have fewer alternatives for investment of their $600 billion of reserves.ÿÿ <Picture> Even if the EMU happens, it is generally accepted that the Euro will be a soft currency. It is therefore unlikely that the Bundesbank will allow it to be even weaker by selling gold. Actually, we might be surprised to see an overweighting of gold as the least onerous method of strengthening the Euro. The EMU appears to be an unpleasant brew, concocted by the Eurocrats and administered to a, so far, inattentive public. The French want a shorter work week and a higher minimum wage. The Italians refuse to reform their pension system where a large percentage of the country is considered disabled and eligible for a pension. Finally, when and if EMU happens, there will be few alternatives for Asian central banks to invest their reserves. Gold will have to be considered for a more prominent role.

To: lorne who wrote (4173)	12/12/1997 10:27:00 PM
From: lorne	Respond to of 116866

South African reserve bank,--they at least mention gold. Statement issued by the South African Reserve Bank on the Gold and Foreign Exchange Reserves of the Bank as at 30 November 1997 ------------------------------------------------------------------------ 1 December 1997 ------------------------------------------------------------------------ The Bank's provisional gross gold and foreign exchange reserves amounted to R26,5 billion as at 30 November 1997, compared to R27,3 billion as at 31 October 1997. The utilisation of foreign credit lines at the end of November 1997 amounted to R9,9 billion. Any possible changes to these preliminary figures will be reflected in the Bank's monthly Statement of Assets and Liabilities to be published on Friday, 5ÿDecemberÿ1997.