~*~Mining and Metals Du Jour~*~

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Gata Dispatches

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DAILY DISPATCHES

U.S., Japan, South Korea hint at currency market intervention to stop dollar's rise
Submitted by admin on Thu, 2024-04-18 08:59 Section: Daily Dispatches
Dollar Rally Stalls After Rare FX Warning from Finance Chiefs

By Amanda Cooper
Reuters
Thursday, April 18, 2024

LONDON -- The dollar fell for a second day today after a rare warning by the finance chiefs of the United States, Japan, and South Korea over the sharp decline in other currencies, which in turn offered the yen some rare respite.

The yen got a modest lift after Japan's top currency diplomat Masato Kanda said finance leaders of the G7 reaffirmed their stance that excessive currency volatility was undesirable.
Strong U.S. economic data and persistent inflation have prompted investors to drastically rethink the chances of the Federal Reserve cutting rates any time soon. Tension in the Middle East has also added to the dollar's safe-haven appeal.

The upshot has been that other currencies, particularly in Asia, have been battered. The yen has been pinned near 34-year lows, prompting several warnings from Japanese authorities as traders fret about possible intervention.

The United States, Japan, and South Korea agreed to "consult closely" on foreign exchange markets in their first three-way finance dialogue on Wednesday, in a nod to the concerns of Tokyo and Seoul over their currencies' recent sharp declines.

"It sends another strong signal to market participants that Japan and South Korea are moving closer to stepping into the FX market, while at the same time officials from Japan and Korea will be hoping that the joint statement with the U.S. helps to strengthen the credibility of verbal intervention as well," said MUFG strategist Lee Hardman. ...

... For the remainder of the report:

https://www.reuters.com/markets/currencies/dollar-takes-breather-investors-ponder-us-rates-outlook-2024-04-18/


Toronto airport gold heist arrests include Air Canada staff as police recover little of the stolen metal

Submitted by admin on Wed, 2024-04-17 17:59 Section: Daily Dispatches
By Andy Takagi and Peter Edwards
Toronto Star
Wednesday, April 17, 2024

Two Air Canada employees and a Toronto jewelry store owner were among the inner group that plotted the theft of nearly $24 million in gold and cash from a storage unit at Pearson International Airport a year ago, police say.

Just $90,000 worth of the stolen gold has been recovered, police said at a press conference today, as they announced six arrests and three outstanding warrants on the one year anniversary of the massive heist.

"This investigation isn't done," Peel Deputy Chief Nick Milinovich said.

It was the largest gold theft in Canadian history and the sixth largest in the world, said police, who called their investigation Project 24K. ...

... For the remainder of the report:

https://www.thestar.com/news/gta/arrests-in-gold-and-cash-heist-at-pearson/article_fdf14418-fca8-11ee-94eb-13142f8dfcca.html

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Here's why gold and silver miners seldom stand up for themselves and their investors

Submitted by admin on Wed, 2024-04-17 12:27 Section: Daily Dispatches
12:43p ET Wednesday, April 17, 2024

Dear Friend of GATA and Gold (and Silver):

In a brilliant essay GATA called to your attention yesterday, Money Metals Exchange CEO Stefan Gleason asked the compelling question: "When will gold and silver miners start believing in their product?"

Gleason wrote: "These businesses quite literally mine real money. But like nearly every other business or individual, they still seem to be stuck in the fiat currency paradigm."
https://www.taracoins.com/

-- and --

https://www.taracoins.com/distributors

Acquire Irish Gold and Silver Trees of Life coins at competitive prices from APMEX here:

https://www.apmex.com/product/287071/2023-1-10-oz-gold-round-tara-tree-of-life

-- and --

https://www.apmex.com/product/287099/2023-1-oz-silver-round-tara-tree-of-life

Most gold and silver miners, Gleason noted, don't even reserve part of their production in their cash balances, preferring instead to sell their production for government currency almost as fast as they get it out of the ground.

GATA long has seen this phenomenon in a slightly different light, lamenting that few gold and silver mining companies acknowledge and agitate against government's constant if largely surreptitious market intervention to suppress monetary metals prices, intervention that supports government currencies against competition, intervention extensively documented by GATA here:

https://www.gata.org/node/20925

-- and here:

https://www.gata.org/taxonomy/term/21

But GATA understands this negligence of the monetary metals mining industry.

That is, the miners are too scared of their governments and their banks to acknowledge that they are competing with them in the money business.

Government can shut down a mine quickly on many pretexts -- environmental regulations, royalty rights, sovereignty claims, and such. And most mines are so expensive to build and operate that they require financing from the biggest banks, most of which are the partners of government in market rigging.

So the World Gold Council, an international trade association, should be running interference for the miners in the war waged by government against them. But the council itself seems to be an accomplice of government and big banks, operating as if its main purpose is to make sure there never is a world gold council.

As a result little GATA has been stuck doing the work the World Gold Council should be doing, exposing the government policies and operations that aim to prevent the monetary metals from being fairly valued, to prevent the miners from making money, and to prevent the world from enjoying free and transparent markets and limited and accountable government.

The World Gold Council has an annual budget of many millions of dollars, drawn from dues paid by its approximately 32 member mining companies:

https://www.gold.org/about-us/our-members

In contrast, GATA's annual budget is small and irregular. But who has accomplished more for the cause?

If you think it's GATA, please consider helping us --

https://www.gata.org/node/16

-- and consider urging any mining company in which you have invested to help us as well

CHRIS POWELL, Secretary/Treasurer
Gold Anti-Trust Action Committee Inc.
[e-mail]

* * *


Ambrose Evans-Pritchard: Gold is sniffing out monetary and geopolitical dystopia

Submitted by admin on Tue, 2024-04-16 20:10 Section: Daily Dispatches
By Ambrose Evans-Pritchard
The Telegraph, London
Tuesday, April 16, 2024

A powerful force is stalking the world's gold market. It is operating in the shadows.

None of the normal footprints are visible on the London bullion market or the Chicago Mercantile. Retail goldbugs have not been buyers: ETF gold funds have been shrinking since December. The crowd is piling into the Bitcoin scam instead.

Yet gold has smashed through a four-year barrier around $2,000 an ounce, rising in parabolic fashion since mid-February, and hitting an all-time high of $2,431 on April 11. Is somebody preparing for an escalation of the shadow Third World War?

In a practice unique to First Majestic, the company offers a portion of its silver production for sale to the public. Bars, ingots, coins, and medallions are available for purchase online at the company's bullion store at some of lowest premiums available.

In Q1 2024 First Majestic will also commence bullion production from its 100%-owned and operated minting facility, First Mint LLC, to manufacture its own exceptional silver bullion products catering to the growing demand for physical silver.

"It is not a Western institution behind this. It is a massive player with very deep pockets. I have never seen this kind of buying before," said Ross Norman, a veteran gold trader and now chief executive of Metals Daily.

Gold has been ratcheting up fresh records against the headwinds of a strong dollar, a 70-point jump in 10-year U.S. Treasury yields, and hawkish talk from the Federal Reserve. This mix would normally spell trouble for gold.

Whoever it is -- or they are -- seems insensitive to cost. Central banks do not behave like this. "They buy on the London benchmark and they don't chase the price," said Mr. Norman. This rally is happening off books in the OTC market. ...

... For the remainder of the commentary:

https://www.telegraph.co.uk/business/2024/04/16/gold-price-surge-china-warchest-geopolitical-dystopia/

* * *


Vietnam to probe gold traders for possible manipulation as prices soar

Submitted by admin on Tue, 2024-04-16 15:39 Section: Daily Dispatches
From Reuters
Tuesday, April 16, 2024

HANOI, Vietnam -- Vietnam's parliament has asked the government to investigate gold trading firms for possible market manipulation amid soaring domestic prices, state media reported today.

The price for gold bars in the Southeast Asian country has risen around 15% this year and hit a record high 85 million dong ($3,401.36) per tael on Friday.

A tael is equivalent to 37.5 grams or 1.21 troy ounces, and domestic prices for a tael are approximately $1,000 more than current global prices.

"The National Assembly Standing Committee requested the government to direct relevant agencies to focus on inspecting and examining gold trading enterprises to clarify if there are market manipulation acts," state-run Vietnam News Agency reported.

Vietnam's central bank has said it would increase supplies of gold bars by resuming auctions suspended more than a decade ago, as part of its effort to stabilise the market. ...

... For the remainder of the report:

https://www.reuters.com/legal/litigation/vietnam-probe-gold-traders-possible-manipulation-prices-soar-2024-04-16/

* * *


Stefan Gleason: When will gold and silver miners start believing in their product?

Submitted by admin on Tue, 2024-04-16 13:08 Section: Daily Dispatches
By Stefan Gleason, CEO
Money Metals Exchange, Eagle, Idaho
Tuesday, April 16, 2024

Miners spend billions of dollars every year pulling precious metals out of the ground. They toil mightily for years on end to produce these stores of value -- but then they turn right around and sell all their gold and silver immediately in exchange for fiat currencies.

If you stop to really think about it, this may seem strange.

hese businesses quite literally mine real money. But like nearly every other business or individual, they still seem to be stuck in the fiat currency paradigm.

It takes tremendous risk, capital, and time to find a resource, develop a mining project, and dig up and process the metals. It is extremely difficult to produce gold and silver at a profit. ...

... For the remainder of the commentary:

https://www.moneymetals.com/news/2024/04/16/when-will-gold-and-silver-miners-start-believing-in-their-product-003126

* * *

Gold banking accounts shine in South Korea as price of precious metal soars

Submitted by admin on Tue, 2024-04-16 10:35 Section: Daily Dispatches
By Yi Whan-woo
Korea Times, Seoul, South Korea
Tuesday, April 16, 2024

A growing number of bank clients are investing in gold using a deposit account that allows them to buy and sell the precious metal, whose price is surging due to heightened geopolitical risks and an increasing preference for safe haven assets.

The country's four major commercial banks -- KB, Shinhan, Hana, and Woori -- collectively reported on Monday a total of 255,887 accounts in which depositors entrust cash to the banks that purchase an equivalent value of gold on their behalf following consultation.

Account holders have the option to possess the actual gold they have invested in or to wait for market prices to appreciate, enabling them to withdraw a greater cash amount than their initial investment.

The number of so-called "gold banking accounts" increased steadily as the war in Ukraine drags on and financial market uncertainties increase due to the Israel-Hamas military conflict. ...

... For the remainder of the report:

https://www.koreatimes.co.kr/www/biz/2024/04/602_372799.html


China unloads more U.S. Treasury bills as odds of Fed rate cuts grow slim
Submitted by admin on Thu, 2024-04-18 10:29 Section: Daily Dispatches
By Kandy Wong
South China Morning Post, Hong Kong
Thursday, April 18, 2024

Worries over security and a further delay to expected interest rate cuts by the Federal Reserve have depleted Beijing's appetite for U.S. Treasury bills, and its position as the second-largest foreign holder of the financial instruments could be taken by the U.K. in coming months, analysts warned.

The world's second-largest economy offloaded US$22.7 billion of the bills in February, with its total holdings adding up to U.S. $775 billion as of the end of that month, according to figures released by the U.S. Treasury Department on Wednesday. ...

... For the remainder of the report:

https://www.scmp.com/economy/china-economy/article/3259463/china-unloads-more-us-treasury-bills-odds-fed-rate-cuts-grow-slim
...

All Dispatches
https://www.gata.org/