Clive Maund: Gold is probably manipulated but I don't care

5:20p ET Tuesday, February 6, 2007

Dear Friend of GATA and Gold:

Gold market and technical analyst Clive Maund's new commentary asks the musical question: "Gold price manipulation -- Does it matter?" He concludes that the answer is no more important than whether the chewing gum loses its flavor on the bedpost overnight.

But Maund's commentary itself is important for signifying that manipulation of the gold market is increasingly accepted as a given by analysts, if only grudgingly, since, of course, manipulation makes a mockery of analysis and analysts alike. Indeed, technical analysis of a manipulated market is worthless if it takes no account of the manipulation. That is, despite their conscientiousness, people like Maund have been largely wasting their time.

In his new commentary Maund sounds just like another technical analyst, Dennis Gartman of The Gartman Letter, who even just a few days ago was not only expressing indifference to manipulation of the gold market but also was arguing fatuously that suppression of the gold price should be welcomed by gold advocates and investors because it gives them a chance to accumulate more metal at a discount. Of course this opportunity does nothing for those who are already fully invested in gold and shares of gold mining companies and want fair valuation of their investment now. Nor does this opportunity avail those gold investors who will die today or tomorrow or soon after having been long deprived of fair value for their investment. For manipulation of the gold price expropriates ALL gold investors EVERY day.

Maund writes that the gold price suppression scheme is sure to be beaten by the market eventually. Maybe, but eventually really isn't soon enough. And Maund fails to note the purposes of the gold price manipulation outside the gold market -- the deception of investors in stocks, bonds, commodities, real estate, and everything else.

Those who have been exposing the manipulation of the gold market may be glad that Maund is coming around a bit. But it's really not enough if Maund himself is starting to figure things out. There's still a whole world that may not be as complacent about its screwing as Maund is.

In any case, you can find Maund's new commentary at GoldSeek here:

http://news.goldseek.com/CliveMaund/1170780898.php

CHRIS POWELL, Secretary/Treasurer
Gold Anti-Trust Action Committee Inc.

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