"For thousands of years gold has been, in times of war and crisis, the ultimate store of value and medium of exchange. Gold is virtually indestructible, anonymous, mobile and almost universally acceptable.
In times of crisis and uncertainty the presence of a sizeable gold holding boosts confidence of creditors, not least because gold is the highest quality asset: unlike foreign currencies, it is not a claim on a debtor (bank or government) and therefore does not have the same risk of default in times of crisis."
Staff Report, Bank of England, 1988
The Jobs Report came in weakly, but not enough to deter the Fed which is staunchly in favor of breaking the ribbon on the first rate increase since they instituted an alphabet soup of programs culminating in QE and ZIRP to rescue the financial system and the very wealthy. That must have been their motive, because that is about the only thing that they have accomplished.
The precious metals are being manipulated by a pool. I am not entirely sure who all of the participants may be, but a few of them are hard to miss.
But no matter. These things have happened before. And we know what they look like, and what happens to them over time.
And this instance will be no different. It will enrich some and cause significant damage to many, with the few giving their actions little thought, much less any shame. Such are the works of the selfish and the self-important. It is a phenomenon as old as Babylon and as evil as sin.
Have a pleasant weekend.
