Super rich are buying gold by the ton

[AtW]

The Swiss announced in advance they were going to sell 1300 tonnes or so over 5 years

The difference is that the Swiss most likely sold the gold to people who keep cash there in the first place and who most certianly opted to keep gold in the same country, so in effect Swiss Govt got cash for asset that they can take at any time should that become necessary...

[AtW]

Lay your dirty hands of Hounourable MP Brown - Gold right now is worth exactly as much as it did when he sold it, it's just the sterling that lost a lot against gold...

[doodab]

Did they manage to match Gordon's timing and sell it all in one lump at the lowest possible price, and advertise that they intended to sell it off before hand, just to lower the market price that bit more?

The Swiss announced in advance they were going to sell 1300 tonnes or so over 5 years, and they started around the turn of the century, about the same time that Gordon was shifting ours. They got an average price of around $350 an ounce as opposed to Gordon's $275 or so. So in terms of "lost money" when the gold price went up to $1000 an ounce they missed out on about $27bn.

http://www.bis.org/review/r050509b.pdf

http://www.hm-treasury.gov.uk/d/foi_..._1999-2002.pdf

[TimberWolf]

The fact that central banks have all but stopped selling is probably responsible for a fair chunk of the recent appreciation.

What are they going to do with their gold if not hoard it, buy worthless fiat currency?

But it's an interesting point for when they do start selling again, when or if fiat ever regains its value, on the effect it would have on gold prices.

[DimPrawn]

Well apart from the canadians who have sold nearly all of their reserves, and the swiss, who sold about 4-5 times as much as gordon did.

Did they manage to match Gordon's timing and sell it all in one lump at the lowest possible price, and advertise that they intended to sell it off before hand, just to lower the market price that bit more?

[doodab]

Never known any normal person, let alone a chancellor, sell gold without a reason. Assets like Gold are the last minute resort. If a country resorts to selling its Gold it could only mean that they are in deep *tulip*. Our Gordon just decided to sell the country's stock because he felt like it.

Well apart from the canadians who have sold nearly all of their reserves, and the swiss, who sold about 4-5 times as much as gordon did.

The fact that central banks have all but stopped selling is probably responsible for a fair chunk of the recent appreciation.

[DimPrawn]

el gordo aside,

if the uber rich are being advised to have 7 to 10 % of their wealth in au,

then shouldn't the rest of us be doing the same ?

Milan.

Chunky 9Ct Gold Curb Chain 22 inch/12mm: Amazon.co.uk: Jewellery

[meridian]

Wait for Goldman Sachs banker to say the same (that the uber rich are buying gold) and that's the time to sell the lot....

[fullyautomatix]

Never known any normal person, let alone a chancellor, sell gold without a reason. Assets like Gold are the last minute resort. If a country resorts to selling its Gold it could only mean that they are in deep *tulip*. Our Gordon just decided to sell the country's stock because he felt like it.

[milanbenes]

el gordo aside,

if the uber rich are being advised to have 7 to 10 % of their wealth in au,

then shouldn't the rest of us be doing the same ?

Milan.

[CheeseSlice]

Yep, about a fifth, or to look at it another way, Gordon Brown destroyed £6bn of our wealth at a stroke.

Can I say **** here?

Don't be silly, he was merely "diversifying our portfolio"
He is an uber city trader dontcha know

[DimPrawn]

Every time I see numbers like this, I'm reminded of how clueless the previous government was.

What price did they get for our gold 10 years ago? About a fifth of that, wasn't it?

Yep, about a fifth, or to look at it another way, Gordon Brown destroyed £6bn of our wealth at a stroke.

Can I say **** here?

[Doggy Styles]

...gold, which is on course for its tenth consecutive yearly gain and traded at around $1,314.50 an ounce on Monday, near the record level reached last week.

Every time I see numbers like this, I'm reminded of how clueless the previous government was.

What price did they get for our gold 10 years ago? About a fifth of that, wasn't it?

[DimPrawn]

Super-rich buy gold by the ton - Telegraph

The world's wealthiest people have responded to economic worries by buying gold by the bar - and sometimes by the ton - and by moving assets out of the financial system, bankers catering to the very rich told Reuters, the news agency.

Fears of a double-dip downturn have boosted the appetite for physical bullion as well as for mining company shares and exchange-traded funds, UBS executive Josef Stadler told the Reuters Global Private Banking Summit.

"They don't only buy ETFs or futures; they buy physical gold," said Stadler, who runs the Swiss bank's services for clients with assets of at least $50 million to invest.

UBS is recommending top-tier clients hold 7-10 percent of their assets in precious metals like gold, which is on course for its tenth consecutive yearly gain and traded at around $1,314.50 an ounce on Monday, near the record level reached last week.

"We had a clear example of a couple buying over a ton of gold ... and carrying it to another place," Stadler said. At today's prices, that shipment would be worth about $42 million.



It was hard work watching my missus carry those gold bars up the stairs and putting them under the bed I can tell you.

PS Doooomed!