Italy, Portugal, Spain - They Got Gold, are they Having a Desperation Sale ?

[gunDriller]

I was just thinking about the PIIGS countries and the EU defaults.

Spain, Portugal, & Italy all have weak economies & are in danger of defaulting on their debt.

AND they have gold - a lot.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gold_reserve

Italy 2,451.8 Metric Tons (Metric Ton = 1000 kilograms, AKA "Tonne").

Spain 281.6 Tonnes

Portugal 382.5 Tonnes


Ireland has very little gold - 6 Tonnes.

Greece according to the Official Reserves listing, has no gold.


I'm wondering if Italy, Spain, and/or Portugal are selling some of their gold today and that is causing the surprising price action.

[Sparky]

http://www.zerohedge.com/news/another-record-ecb-margin-call-impairing-gold-again

[gunDriller]

http://www.zerohedge.com/news/dylan-grice-explains-when-sell-gold

a possible correction re Greece - Ziopedia didn't have Greece on their list. But they do have the "Hellenic Republic" - their term for Greece - 111 tons.


ZHedge lists them as having 106 tons.

[gunDriller]

OK now i'm trying to figure out which of these countries has their own gold, and which trusted Uncle Shylock to keep it Nice & Safe for them.


Italy
http://www.google.com/search?q=italy+gold+reserves&ie=utf-8&oe=utf-8&aq=t&rls=org.mozilla:en-US:official&client=firefox-a
NO INFO in the first 10 links, about where they keep their gold.

Spain
Looks like they keep it in Madrid, and Moscow.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Moscow_gold

Portugal
"Managed by Banco de Portugal the Portuguese central bank the Portuguese gold reserves equal 9 percent of the countrys GDP, the highest of any European country. "
http://portuguese-american-journal.com/portugal-holds-the-largest-gold-reserve-in-the-eu-update/

Greece
Whoa, SMART people !
"The gleaming bars in the vaults of the Greek central bank are worth $5.8 billion."
http://www.time.com/time/world/article/0,8599,2080813,00.html
They kept possession of their own gold. Too bad they let themselves get talked into not going Iceland's route. It would be better for their future.

But Greece is a very strategically located country - they're 100 miles due north of IsraHell. I have a hunch the Talmud-worshippers have made it a point to sink their tentacles DEEP into Greece. There sure are a lot of American military bases in Greece.


CONCLUSION

Looks like Spain, Portugal, and Greece all understand the "Hold it, Own it" approach to PM's.

Since they are all up to their ears in debt, I wouldn't be surprised to see some central bank fire sales from them. If it occurs before the market becomes convinced that the Fed is going to OFFICIALLY do QE3 (side-stepping the fact that they're actually on QE8 or something), we may have another "Back up the Truck" opportunity.


BONUS POINTS.

Anybody know where Italy keeps their gold ? They have the most of it of the countries that are deep in debt. It's just hard to find out where they keep it.

It's not like I'm going to STEAL it or something ;)

[mamboni]

I'll bet my left testicle that most of Italy's gold, like that of Germany, is held in custody in NY. I'll bet my right testicle that most or all is gone via leasing. Anyway, at today's COMEX gold spot price, gold sales will put but a small dent in the sovereign debt. Now gold at $10,000: that's a horse of a different color.

[EE_]

Latest Reuters Headlines:
2012/1/3

With the recent delivery via NY, Italy and Germany have confirmed all gold is in the countries vault and has been inventoried.

Italy's Prime Minister Presidente del Consiglio dei Ministri went on record that Italy will continue purchasing gold on the open market to meet an amount needed to back and reinstate the Lira, in the event of a global currency crisis.

Germany is in a similar position said Prime Minister Angela Merkel, "we feel at this time we are able to meet any demand due to a collapse of the Euro, but may continue to purchase more gold later this year through 2013."

http://www.reuters.com/Itallian/gold/reserves

Sorry Mr. mamboni...you lost your nuts. Pay up!
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April Fools!

[Neuro]

(side-stepping the fact that they're actually on QE8 or something)
Damn right gundriller! I think for every time they have done a hidden monetization PM's have been smacked down. Probably we would have gold at $5000 and Silver @ $250, if it hadn't been for Federal Reserve controlled manipulation of the markets. However the manipulation will come back and haunt them at a later stage. Expect an overshoot in the opposite direction. Of course the price suppression has been ongoing for decades, so once they lose the grip of it, Gold and Silver will reach the stratosphere...

[mamboni]

Latest Reuters Headlines:
2012/1/3

With the recent delivery via NY, Italy and Germany have confirmed all gold is in the countries vault and has been inventoried.

Italy's Prime Minister Presidente del Consiglio dei Ministri went on record that Italy will continue purchasing gold on the open market to meet an amount needed to back and reinstate the Lira, in the event of a global currency crisis.

Germany is in a similar position said Prime Minister Angela Merkel, "we feel at this time we are able to meet any demand due to a collapse of the Euro, but may continue to purchase more gold later this year through 2013."

http://www.reuters.com/Itallian/gold/reserves

Sorry Mr. mamboni...you lost your nuts. Pay up!
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April Fools!

I don't give my balls without a fight!


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bthNfim8vCA&feature=related

[gunDriller]

classic video. but that guy doesn't look exactly like you, Mamboni. similar hair do though.


i was just listening to a Fin. Sense webcast about capital controls, though it was more of a general discussion with Martin Armstrong about the economy & PM's.

http://www.netcastdaily.com/broadcast/fsn2012-0105-1.mp3

Armstrong has some good facts. Spain & Italy together are supposed to roll over $600 Billion in debt this year, i.e., find new suckers to re-finance their existing debt. Since Spain is in a Depression and Italy is in a recession, I think there's a good chance whoever loans them that $600 Billion will insist on something Real in return.

e.g. the US loans them the money, and asks for gold in return, with which to maintain the "strong dollar policy", a major part of which is PM price manipulation.

Armstrong also talks about de-leveraging vs. inflation. He makes one statement that interrupted my wood-working (i was using the web-cast as wood-working music) ... that gold is going down to the $1225/ $1325 region.

i think he's wrong; i think it won't get any lower than $1480 and that will only be for brief moments.


of course, if the US has screwed Italy on their massive gold holdings, that gives Italy SOME leverage. like, "re-finance our debt this year and we won't tell anybody you don't have our gold".

anyway, as is probably obvious, i am eagerly awaiting any EU central bank gold sales that may result from their GINORMOUS financial problems & de-leveraging.

[mamboni]

classic video. but that guy doesn't look exactly like you, Mamboni. similar hair do though.


i was just listening to a Fin. Sense webcast about capital controls, though it was more of a general discussion with Martin Armstrong about the economy & PM's.

http://www.netcastdaily.com/broadcast/fsn2012-0105-1.mp3

Armstrong has some good facts. Spain & Italy together are supposed to roll over $600 Billion in debt this year, i.e., find new suckers to re-finance their existing debt. Since Spain is in a Depression and Italy is in a recession, I think there's a good chance whoever loans them that $600 Billion will insist on something Real in return.

e.g. the US loans them the money, and asks for gold in return, with which to maintain the "strong dollar policy", a major part of which is PM price manipulation.

Armstrong also talks about de-leveraging vs. inflation. He makes one statement that interrupted my wood-working (i was using the web-cast as wood-working music) ... that gold is going down to the $1225/ $1325 region.

i think he's wrong; i think it won't get any lower than $1480 and that will only be for brief moments.


of course, if the US has screwed Italy on their massive gold holdings, that gives Italy SOME leverage. like, "re-finance our debt this year and we won't tell anybody you don't have our gold".

anyway, as is probably obvious, i am eagerly awaiting any EU central bank gold sales that may result from their GINORMOUS financial problems & de-leveraging.

DO NOT LISTEN TO ARMSTRONG ON GOLD. HE HAS BEEN COMPROMISED.

I am so sick and tired of these experts trying to predict markets and warning about gold corrections. They are morons. There is no way out for the west but to print and print and print until it all goes boom. Interest rates are pegged to zero, GDPs are all going negative in the west, and sovereign debts are exploding higher as deficits rage and all the empty promises of the social welfare state come due. Owning gold here and now has to be the easiest nobrainer investment decision since the days of Weimar Germany, The system is fooked and all things paper will be vaporized. If you try to time this market to finesse an extra 10% capital gains you risk getting slaughtered. It's a fool's errand. Hold your gold (and silver) and be patient and thankful that you have a seat on the lifeboat; 'cause this mother is going down.

[Book]

Hold your gold (and silver) and be patient and thankful that you have a seat on the lifeboat...



http://cdn-www.cracked.com/articleimages/ob/zombieagility/death_by_zombies.jpg
"BUT...BUT...BUT I HAVE GOLD AND SILVER!"

:) On the day the federal Food Stamp benefit ends and the millions and millions of neighbors go looking for something to eat.

http://www.investors.com/image/WEBstmp0126-%5BConverted%5D.gif.cms

[mamboni]

Book:

Zombies eat brains; they dont eat gold and silver, smartass.

Anyway, if the assholes come to my neck of the woods they are going to be up against hostile terrain and overwhelming firepower. Most of my neighbors are Marines and they, unlike the general public, know full well what is going on.

[Book]

http://unamusementpark.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/05/march_20_mob.jpg

There's millions of 'em. Millions.

O0 no 'mo food stamps. no 'mo welfare. no 'mo free shit