Lassonde Likes The Gold Price With Central Banks Rigging The Market

Dear Friend of GATA and Gold:

Oh, for a journalist who would put a few serious questions to Franco-Nevada Chairman Pierre Lassonde, former chairman of the World Gold Council, when he says, as he told Daniela Cambone of Kitco News this week, that "gold is well-priced" and "where it should be."

Does Lassonde mean that gold is doing as well as it could against the daily gold derivatives trading by central banks?

After all, what is the Bank for International Settlements doing with those 600 or so tonnes' worth of gold derivatives issued on behalf of its member central banks?

http://www.gata.org/node/18041

Does Lassonde mean that the manipulative trading in gold recently admitted by three investment banks --

http://www.gata.org/node/18004

-- has done no particular harm to gold investors?

Is Lassonde certain that the 15-percent discount given by CME Group, operator of the major U.S. futures exchanges, to governments and central banks for their surreptitious trading of gold futures --

http://www.gata.org/node/17976

-- is part of an entirely innocent enterprise?

Or by asserting that gold is "where it should be" does Lassonde mean that he approves of the surreptitious rigging of the gold market by central banks?

Four years ago, when he was still a member of the World Gold Council's Board of Directors, Lassonde told Cambone that central banks "spend no time whatsoever thinking about gold":

http://www.gata.org/node/13683

Simultaneously the gold council was advertising a seminar for central bankers about trading, clearing, and vaulting gold and accounting for gold reserves:

http://www.gata.org/node/13851

In his interview with Kitco News this week Lassonde added that he doesn't think gold is going anywhere this year. If gold does go anywhere, it sure won't be with any help from this supposed leader of the gold industry. He well may be the favorite gold mining executive of central bankers.

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

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