GOLD: $1363.00 UP $5.80

Silver: $17.63 UP 13 cents

Closing access prices:

Gold $1348.50

silver: $17.31

SHANGHAI GOLD FIX: FIRST FIX 10 15 PM EST (2:15 SHANGHAI LOCAL TIME)

SECOND FIX: 2:15 AM EST (6:15 SHANGHAI LOCAL TIME)

SHANGHAI FIRST GOLD FIX: $1371.20 DOLLARS PER OZ

NY PRICE OF GOLD AT EXACT SAME TIME: $1361.60

PREMIUM FIRST FIX: $9.60

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SECOND SHANGHAI GOLD FIX: $1368.90

NY GOLD PRICE AT THE EXACT SAME TIME: $1360.60

Premium of Shanghai 2nd fix/NY:$8.30

SHANGHAI REJECTS NY /LONDON PRICING OF GOLD

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LONDON FIRST GOLD FIX: 5:30 am est $1360.25

NY PRICING AT THE EXACT SAME TIME: $1359.85

LONDON SECOND GOLD FIX 10 AM: $1353.70

NY PRICING AT THE EXACT SAME TIME. $1355.25

For comex gold:

JANUARY/

NUMBER OF NOTICES FILED TODAY FOR JANUARY CONTRACT: 3 NOTICE(S) FOR 300 OZ.

TOTAL NOTICES SO FAR: 695 FOR 69500 OZ (2.1617 TONNES),

For silver:

jANUARY

1 NOTICE(S) FILED TODAY FOR

5,000 OZ/

Total number of notices filed so far this month: 727 for 3,635,000 oz

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Bitcoin: BID $11,132/OFFER $11,232  DOWN $201 (morning)

 Bitcoin: BID   $11,231/OFFER  $11,333 down $100  (CLOSING/4 PM)

end

Let us have a look at the data for today

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In silver, the total open interest ROSE BY A HUGE 5889 contracts from 199,985 RISING TO 205,874 WITH YESTERDAY’S BIG 56 CENT GAIN IN SILVER PRICING.  OBVIOUSLY WE HAD NO COMEX LIQUIDATION. HOWEVER, WE WERE AGAIN NOTIFIED THAT WE HAD ANOTHER HUGE SIZED NUMBER OF COMEX LONGS TRANSFERRING THEIR CONTRACTS TO LONDON THROUGH THE EFP ROUTE:  2865 EFP’S FOR MARCH AND ZERO FOR OTHER MONTHS  AND THUS TOTAL ISSUANCE OF 2865 CONTRACTS. HOWEVER THE MOVEMENT ACROSS TO LONDON IS NOT AS SEVERE AS IN GOLD AS THERE SEEMS TO BE  MAJOR PLAYERS WILLING TO TAKE ON THE BANKS AT THE COMEX. STILL, WITH THE TRANSFER OF 2865 CONTRACTS, WHAT THE CME IS STATING IS THAT THERE IS NO SILVER (OR GOLD) TO BE DELIVERED UPON AT THE COMEX AS THEY MUST EXPORT THEIR OBLIGATION TO LONDON. ALSO KEEP IN MIND THAT THERE CAN BE A DELAY OF 24 HRS IN THE ISSUING OF EFP’S.

ACCUMULATION FOR EFP’S/SILVER/ STARTING FROM FIRST DAY NOTICE/FOR MONTH OF JANUARY:

40,662 CONTRACTS (FOR 18 TRADING DAYS TOTAL 40,662 CONTRACTS OR 203,31 MILLION OZ: AVERAGE PER DAY: 2259 CONTRACTS OR 11.295 MILLION OZ/DAY)

TO GIVE YOU AN IDEA AS TO THE HUGE SUPPLY THIS MONTH IN SILVER:  SO FAR THIS MONTH:  203.31 MILLION PAPER OZ HAVE MORPHED OVER TO LONDON. THIS REPRESENTS AROUND 29.04% OF ANNUAL GLOBAL PRODUCTION

RESULT: A HUGE SIZED GAIN IN OI COMEX WITH THE 56 CENT GAIN IN SILVER PRICE.  WE ALSO HAD A HUGE SIZED EFP ISSUANCE OF 2865 CONTRACTS WHICH EXITED OUT OF THE SILVER COMEX AND TRANSFERRED THEIR OI TO LONDON AS FORWARDS. SPECULATORS CONTINUED THEIR INTEREST IN ATTACKING THE SILVER COMEX FOR PHYSICAL SILVER . FROM THE CME DATA 2865 EFP’S WERE ISSUED FOR TODAY  FOR A DELIVERABLE FORWARD CONTRACT OVER IN LONDON WITH A FIAT BONUS. WE REALLY GAINED 8754 OI CONTRACTS i.e. 2865 open interest contracts headed for London (EFP’s) TOGETHER WITH A INCREASE OF 5889  OI COMEX CONTRACTS. AND ALL OF THIS HAPPENED WITH THE RISE IN PRICE OF SILVER OF 56 CENTS AND A CLOSING PRICE OF $17.50 WITH RESPECT TO YESTERDAY’S TRADING. YET WE STILL HAVE A GOOD AMOUNT OF SILVER STANDING AT THE COMEX.

In ounces AT THE COMEX, the OI is still represented by just OVER 1 BILLION oz i.e. 1.029 BILLION TO BE EXACT or 147% of annual global silver production (ex Russia & ex China).

FOR THE NEW FRONT JANUARY MONTH/ THEY FILED: 3 NOTICE(S) FOR 300 OZ OF SILVER

In gold, the open interest SURPRISINGLY ROSE  BY A HUMONGOUS 15,531 CONTRACTS UP TO 597,952 WITH THE HUGE SIZED RISE IN PRICE OF GOLD WITH YESTERDAY’S TRADING ($25.00). IN ANOTHER HUGE DEVELOPMENT, WE RECEIVED THE TOTAL NUMBER OF GOLD EFP’S ISSUED FOR THURSDAY AND IT TOTALED A HUMONGOUS SIZED  20,747 CONTRACTS OF WHICH FEBRUARY SAW 15,590 CONTRACTS ISSUED AND  APRIL SAW THE ISSUANCE OF 5157 CONTRACTS.    The new OI for the gold complex rests at 599,121. ALSO REMEMBER THAT THERE CAN BE A DELAY IN THE ISSUANCE OF EFP’S.  THE BANKERS REMOVE LONG POSITIONS OF COMEX GOLD IMMEDIATELY.  THEN THEY ORCHESTRATE THEIR PRIVATE EFP DEAL WITH THE LONGS AND THAT COULD TAKE AN ADDITIONAL 48 HRS SO WE GENERALLY DO NOT GET A MATCH WITH RESPECT TO DEPARTING COMEX LONGS AND NEW EFP LONG TRANSFERS. DEMAND FOR GOLD INTENSIFIES GREATLY AS WE CONTINUE TO WITNESS A HUGE NUMBER OF EFP TRANSFERS TOGETHER WITH THE MASSIVE INCREASE IN GOLD COMEX OI  TOGETHER WITH  THE TOTAL AMOUNT OF GOLD OUNCES STANDING FOR JANUARY COMEX. EVEN THOUGH THE BANKERS ISSUED THESE MONSTROUS EFPS, THE OBLIGATION STILL RESTS WITH THE BANKERS TO SUPPLY METAL BUT IT TRANSFERS THE RISK TO A LONDON BANKER OBLIGATION AND NOT A NEW YORK COMEX OBLIGATION. LONGS RECEIVE A FIAT BONUS TOGETHER WITH A LONG LONDON FORWARD. THUS, BY THESE ACTIONS, THE BANKERS AT THE COMEX HAVE JUST STATED THAT THEY HAVE NO APPRECIABLE METAL!! THIS IS A MASSIVE FRAUD: THEY CANNOT SUPPLY ANY METAL TO OUR COMEX LONGS BUT THEY ARE QUITE WILLING TO SUPPLY MASSIVE NON BACKED GOLD (AND SILVER) PAPER KNOWING THAT THEY HAVE NO METAL TO SATISFY OUR LONGS. LONDON IS NOW SEVERELY BACKWARD IN BOTH GOLD AND SILVER (BIG RISE IN BOTH GOFO AND SIFO) AND WE ARE WITNESSING DELAYS IN ACTUAL DELIVERIES. IN ESSENCE TODAY WE HAVE A HUGE GAIN OF 36.278  CONTRACTS: 15,531 OI CONTRACTS INCREASED AT THE COMEX AND A GOOD SIZED  20,747 OI CONTRACTS WHICH NAVIGATED OVER TO LONDON. EXPECT HUGE NUMBERS OF EFP’S TO BE ISSUED AS WE APPROACH FIRST DAY NOTICE IN THE GOLD FEB COMEX CONTRACT, WEDNESDAY JAN 31.2018

YESTERDAY, WE HAD 12,223 EFP’S ISSUED.

ACCUMULATION OF EFP’S/ GOLD(EXCHANGE FOR PHYSICAL) FOR THE MONTH OF JANUARY STARTING WITH FIRST DAY NOTICE: 185,218 CONTRACTS OR 18.218 MILLION OZ OR 566.65 TONNES (18 TRADING DAYS AND THUS AVERAGING: 10,289 EFP CONTRACTS PER TRADING DAY OR 1,028,900 OZ/DAY)

TO GIVE YOU AN IDEA AS TO THE HUGE SIZE OF THESE EFP TRANSFERS :   SO FAR THIS MONTH IN 17 TRADING DAYS: IN  TONNES: 567 TONNES

TOTAL ANNUAL GOLD PRODUCTION, 2017, THROUGHOUT THE WORLD EX CHINA EX RUSSIA: 2200 TONNES

THUS EFP TRANSFERS REPRESENTS 567/2200 TONNES =  25.77% OF GLOBAL ANNUAL PRODUCTION SO FAR IN JANUARY ALONE.

Result: A SHOCKINGLY STRONG SIZED INCREASE IN OI AT THE COMEX WITH THE HUGE SIZED RISE IN PRICE IN GOLD TRADING ON YESTERDAY ($25.00). WE HAD ANOTHER GIGANTIC SIZED NUMBER OF COMEX LONG TRANSFERRING TO LONDON THROUGH THE EFP ROUTE: 20,747. THERE OBVIOUSLY DOES NOT SEEM TO BE MUCH PHYSICAL GOLD AT THE COMEX AND YET WE ALSO OBSERVED A HUGE DELIVERY MONTH FOR THE MONTH OF DECEMBER. I GUESS IT EXPLAINS THE HUGE ISSUANCE OF EFP’S…THERE IS HARDLY ANY GOLD PRESENT AT THE GOLD COMEX FOR DELIVERY PURPOSES. IF YOU TAKE INTO ACCOUNT THE 20,747 EFP CONTRACTS ISSUED, WE HAD A NET GAIN IN OPEN INTEREST OF 36,278 contracts ON THE TWO EXCHANGES:

20,747 CONTRACTS MOVE TO LONDON AND  15,531 CONTRACTS INCREASED AT THE COMEX. (in tonnes, the GAIN in total oi equates to 116.47 TONNES).

we had: 3 notice(s) filed upon for 300 oz of gold.

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With respect to our two criminal funds, the GLD and the SLV:

GLD

With gold UP $5.80, we had no changes in gold inventory at the GLD/

Inventory rests tonight: 849.32 tonnes.

SLV/ 

A SMALL CHANGES IN SILVER INVENTORY AT THE SLV/ WITH SILVER UP TODAY AND YESTERDAY, THEY COULD ONLY MUSTER A GAIN OF 848,00 OZ AT THE SLV /

INVENTORY RESTS AT 313.896 MILLION OZ/

end

First, here is an outline of what will be discussed tonight:

1. Today, we had the open interest in silver ROSE BY A HUGE 5889 contracts from 199,985 UP TO 205,874 (AND now A LITTLE CLOSER TO THE NEW COMEX RECORD SET ON FRIDAY/APRIL 21/2017 AT 234,787) WITH  THE HUGE RISE  IN PRICE OF SILVER  (56 CENTS WITH RESPECT TO  YESTERDAY’S TRADING).   OUR BANKERS USED THEIR EMERGENCY PROCEDURE TO ISSUE ANOTHER GOOD 2865 PRIVATE EFP’S FOR MARCH (WE DO NOT GET A LOOK AT THESE CONTRACTS AS IT IS PRIVATE BUT THE CFTC DOES AUDIT THEM) AND 0 EFP’S FOR ALL OTHER MONTHS .  EFP’S GIVE OUR COMEX LONGS A FIAT BONUS PLUS A DELIVERABLE PRODUCT OVER IN LONDON. WE HAD ZERO COMEX SILVER COMEX LIQUIDATION. IF WE TAKE THE  OI GAIN AT THE COMEX OF  5889 CONTRACTS TO THE 2865 OI TRANSFERRED TO LONDON THROUGH EFP’S WE OBTAIN A BIG GAIN OF 8754 OPEN INTEREST CONTRACTS.  WE STILL HAVE A GOOD AMOUNT OF SILVER OUNCES THAT ARE STANDING FOR METAL IN JANUARY (SEE BELOW). THE NET GAIN TODAY IN OZ ON THE TWO EXCHANGES: 43.770 MILLION OZ!!!

RESULT: A HUGE SIZED INCREASE IN SILVER OI AT THE COMEX DESPITE THE HUGE RISE  OF 56 CENTS IN PRICE (WITH RESPECT TO YESTERDAY’S TRADING). BUT WE ALSO HAD ANOTHER STRONG 2865 EFP’S ISSUED TRANSFERRING COMEX LONGS OVER TO LONDON. TOGETHER WITH THE GOOD  SIZED AMOUNT OF SILVER OUNCES STANDING FOR JANUARY, DEMAND FOR PHYSICAL SILVER INTENSIFIES AS WE WITNESS MAJOR BANK SHORT COVERING ACCOMPANIED BY INCREASES IN GOFO AND SIFO RATES INDICATING SCARCITY.

(report Harvey)

.

2.a) The Shanghai and London gold fix report

(Harvey)

2 b) Gold/silver trading overnight Europe, Goldcore

(Mark O’Byrne/zerohedge

and in NY: Bloomberg

3. ASIAN AFFAIRS

i)Late TUESDAY night/WEDNESDAY morning: Shanghai closed DOWN 11.16 points or 0.31% /Hang Sang CLOSED DOWN 304.24 pts or 0.92% / The Nikkei closed DOWN 271,29 POINTS OR 1.13%/Australia’s all ordinaires CLOSED DOWN 0.07%/Chinese yuan (ONSHORE) closed  WELL UP at 6.3280/Oil UP to 66.10 dollars per barrel for WTI and 71.00 for Brent. Stocks in Europe OPENED ALL GREED .   ONSHORE YUAN CLOSED UP AGAINST THE DOLLAR AT 6.3280. OFFSHORE YUAN CLOSED UP AGAINST  THE ONSHORE YUAN AT 6.3230//ONSHORE YUAN MUCH STRONGER AGAINST THE DOLLAR/OFF SHORE MUCH STRONGER TO THE DOLLAR/. THE DOLLAR (INDEX) IS  MUCH WEAKER AGAINST ALL MAJOR CURRENCIES. CHINA IS SEMI  HAPPY TODAY.(STRONG CURRENCY BUT WEAKER MARKETS )

3a)THAILAND/SOUTH KOREA/NORTH KOREA

i)/South Korea/

b) REPORT ON JAPAN

3 c CHINA

4. EUROPEAN AFFAIRS

i)The ECB keeps rates unchanged and reaffirms its taper.  But in a surprise statement they state that they may increase their QE in size and also in duration…and may continue after September if inflation does not meet their needs.

( zerohedge)

ii)The Euro surge was halted but our dollar bulls were not happy as Draghi was not dovish enough. Draghi states that there will be very few chances for a rate hike this year.

5. RUSSIAN AND MIDDLE EASTERN AFFAIRS

6 .GLOBAL ISSUES

ii)Bellwether stock Caterpillar, a good indicator of global growth soars to all time highs after beating expectations and boosting guidance.  This goes against South Korea’s export collapse, announced this morning

7. OIL ISSUES

8. EMERGING MARKET

9. PHYSICAL MARKETS

ii)As we brought this to your attention yesterday, the Trump team at Davos wants a weaker dollar.  Trump seems to want greater protectionism for the USA economy

( Bloomberg/GATA)

v)In case you missed this yesterday, here is the story that sent the USA dollar into a freefall

( CNBC/GATA)

vi)This will be good for gold and silver as Myanmar (Burma) will now be allowed to import and export gold/silver

( Myanmar Times/GATA)

10. USA stories which will influence the price of gold/silver

iib) what a joke!!  the dollar surges again after Trump says Mnuchin was misinterpreted..twice.

keystone cops at their finest

(courtesy zerohedge)

iii)New home sales crash in December and the likely candidate is the record high prices for them.  New home sales plunged 9.3% lower/month over month

( zerohedge)

iv)SWAMP STORIES

a)Congressional Republicans are feuding with the FBI on political bias. Republicans and Fox news are demanding the release of the 4 page memo, something that the Democrats do not want released.

a good summary of what is going on…

( zerohedge)

b)Late last night, Fox news reports that the Dept. of Justice has reportedly started recovering many of the missing Strzok/Page texts.

( zerohedge)

b i)And the missing FBI text messages have been found

( zerohedge)

c)In the bombshell 4 page “FISA memo” alleging surveillance abuse by the FBI, the Dept of Justice and the Obama administration, it has now been leaked that 3 people have been named;

1. FBI deputy director Andrew McCabe
2. Former FBI director James Comey
3. and Deputy Attorney General Rod Rosenstein

and these guys are inflamed over the leak.

The Democrats are coming out with their memo disputing the facts but it is falling on deaf ears

( zerohedge)

Let us head over to the comex:

The total gold comex open interest SHOCKINGLY ROSE BY A HUGE 15,531 CONTRACTS UP to an OI level of 597,952 WITH THE HUGE RISE IN THE PRICE OF GOLD ($25.00 GAIN WITH RESPECT TO YESTERDAY’S TRADING).   WE HAD SURPRISINGLY NO COMEX GOLD LIQUIDATION. HOWEVER THE CME REPORTS THAT  THE BANKERS ISSUED ANOTHER STRONG COMEX TRANSFER THROUGH THE EFP ROUTE AS THESE LONGS RECEIVED A DELIVERABLE LONDON FORWARD TOGETHER WITH A FIAT BONUS. WE HAD A GOOD SIZED 15,590 EFP’S ISSUED FOR FEBRUARY  AND 5157 EFP’s  FOR APRIL:  TOTAL  20,747 CONTRACTS. THE OBLIGATION STILL RESTS WITH THE BANKERS ON THESE TRANSFERS. ALSO REMEMBER THAT THERE CAN BE A DELAY OF UP TO 48 HRS AFTER LONGS GIVE UP THEIR COMEX CONTRACTS AS THEY ARE NEGOTIATING A PRIVATE EFP CONTRACT WITH THE BANKS… THE COMEX IS NOW AN ABSOLUTE FRAUD!!

ON A NET BASIS IN OPEN INTEREST WE GAINED TODAY: 36,278 OI CONTRACTS IN THAT 20,747 LONGS WERE TRANSFERRED AS FORWARDS TO LONDON AND WE GAINED 15,531 COMEX CONTRACTS. NET GAIN ON THE TWO EXCHANGES: 36,278 contracts OR 3.6278 MILLION OZ  OZ OR 112.83 TONNES

Result: A  SURPRISING AND STRONG  INCREASE IN COMEX OPEN INTEREST DESPITE THE HUGE RISE IN YESTERDAY’S GOLD TRADING ($25.00.) WE HAD NO COMEX GOLD LIQUIDATION.  TOTAL OPEN INTEREST GAIN ON THE TWO EXCHANGES: 36,278 OI CONTRACTS..

We have now entered the active contract month of JANUARY. The open interest for the front month of JANUARY saw it’s open interest FALL by 20 contracts FALLING TO 6.  We had 8 notices served upon yesterday so we LOST 12  contracts or an additional 1200 oz of gold will NOT  stand AT THE COMEX in this non active month of January as these guys joined others in obtaining a London based forward contract.

FEBRUARY saw a LOSS of 44,211 contacts DOWN to 157,533.  March saw a GAIN of 341 contracts UP to 1656.  April saw a GAIN of 46,858 contracts UP to 304,618.

We had 3 notice(s) filed upon today for 300 oz

PRELIMINARY VOLUME TODAY ESTIMATED;  580,409

FINAL NUMBERS CONFIRMED FOR YESTERDAY:  697,516

comex gold volumes are RISING AGAIN

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And now for the wild silver comex results.

Total silver OI ROSE  BY A HUGE 5,889  CONTRACTS FROM 199,985 UP TO 205,874 WITH YESTERDAY’S HUGE 56 CENT GAIN.  WE WERE ALSO INFORMED THAT WE HAD ANOTHER GIGANTIC SIZED 2865 EMERGENCY EFP’S FOR MARCH ISSUED BY OUR BANKERS (AND ZERO FOR ALL OTHER MONTHS)  TO COMEX LONGS WHO RECEIVED A FIAT BONUS PLUS A DELIVERABLE PRODUCT OVER IN LONDON: THE TOTAL EFP’S ISSUED: 2865.   THE SILVER BOYS HAVE STARTED TO MIGRATE TO LONDON FROM THE START OF DELIVERY MONTH AND CONTINUING RIGHT THROUGH UNTIL FIRST DAY NOTICE JUST LIKE WE ARE WITNESSING TODAY. USUALLY WE NOTED THAT CONTRACTION IN OI OCCURRED ONLY DURING THE LAST WEEK OF AN UPCOMING ACTIVE DELIVERY MONTH AS WE HAVE JUST SEEN IN GOLD TODAY. THIS PROCESS HAS JUST BEGUN IN EARNEST IN SILVER STARTING IN SEPTEMBER 2017. HOWEVER, IN GOLD, WE HAVE BEEN WITNESSING THIS FOR THE PAST 2 YEARS. NICK LAIRD WAS KIND ENOUGH TO SUPPLY US THE TOTAL FOR 2017 GOLD EFP’S AND IT WAS 6600 TONNES FOR THE ENTIRE YEAR.  WE HAD  ZERO LONG COMEX SILVER LIQUIDATION AND A HUGE SIZED RISE IN TOTAL SILVER OI. WE ARE ALSO WITNESSING A FAIR AMOUNT OF SILVER OUNCES STANDING FOR COMEX METAL IN THIS NON ACTIVE JANUARY AS WELL AS THAT CONTINUAL MIGRATION OF EFPS OVER TO LONDON. ON A PERCENTAGE BASIS THERE ARE MORE EFP’S ISSUED FOR GOLD THAN SILVER.  ON A NET BASIS WE GAINED 8754 SILVER OPEN INTEREST CONTRACTS:

5889 CONTRACT GAIN AT THE COMEX COMBINING WITH THE ADDITION OF 2865 OI CONTRACTS NAVIGATING OVER TO LONDON.

NET GAIN TWO EXCHANGES: 8754 CONTRACTS

We are now in the poor non active delivery month of January and here the OI LOST 9 contracts FALLING TO 3.  We had 10 notices served upon yesterday, so we GAINED 1 contract or an additional 5,000 oz will stand for delivery  AT THE COMEX  AND QUEUE JUMPING CONTINUES

February saw a LOSS OF 23 OI contracts FALLING TO 146. The March contract GAINED 3317 contracts UP to 142,036.

We had 1 notice(s) filed for NIL 5,000 for the January 2018 contract for silver

For JANUARY:
Today, 0 notice(s) were issued from JPMorgan dealer account and 0 notices were issued from their client or customer account. The total of all issuance by all participants equates to 3 contract(s) of which 0 notices were stopped (received) by j.P. Morgan dealer and 0 notice(s) was (were) stopped/ Received) by j.P.Morgan customer account.

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To calculate the INITIAL total number of gold ounces standing for the JANUARY. contract month, we take the total number of notices filed so far for the month (695) x 100 oz or 69500 oz, to which we add the difference between the open interest for the front month of JAN. (6 contracts) minus the number of notices served upon today (3 x 100 oz per contract) equals 69,800 oz, the number of ounces standing in this active month of JANUARY

Thus the INITIAL standings for gold for the JANUARY contract month:

No of notices served (695 x 100 oz or ounces + {(6)OI for the front month minus the number of notices served upon today (3 x 100 oz which equals 69,800 oz standing in this active delivery month of JANUARY (2.1710 tonnes). THERE IS 17.557 TONNES OF REGISTERED GOLD AVAILABLE FOR DELIVERY SO FAR.

WE LOST 2 CONTRACTS OR AN ADDITIONAL 200 OZ WILL NOT STAND IN THIS NON ACTIVE DELIVERY MONTH OF JANUARY (DATA CORRECTED FROM YESTERDAY)

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ON FIRST DAY NOTICE FOR JANUARY 2017, THE INITIAL GOLD STANDING: 3.904 TONNES STANDING

BY THE END OF THE MONTH: FINAL: 3.555 TONNES STOOD FOR COMEX DELIVERY AS THE REMAINDER HAD TRANSFERRED OVER TO LONDON FORWARDS.

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I have a sneaky feeling that these withdrawals of gold in kilobars are being used in the hypothecating process and are being used in the raiding of gold!
The gold comex is an absolute fraud. The use of kilobars and exact weights makes the data totally absurd and fraudulent! To me, the only thing that makes sense is the fact that “kilobars: are entries of hypothecated gold sent to other jurisdictions so that they will not be short with their underwritten derivatives in that jurisdiction. This would be similar to the rehypothecated gold used by Jon Corzine at MF Global.

IN THE LAST 15 MONTHS 65 NET TONNES HAS LEFT THE COMEX.

end

And now for silver

AND NOW THE DECEMBER DELIVERY MONTH

DECEMBER FINAL standings

we had no inventory movement at the dealer side of things

total inventory movement dealer: nil oz

we had 1 inventory deposits into the customer account

i) CNT  Deposit:  1,199,756.010  oz

total inventory deposits: 1,199,756.010 oz

we had 0 withdrawals from the customer account;

total withdrawals;  nil oz

we had 0 adjustment

total dealer silver:  45.461 million

total dealer + customer silver:  247.148 million oz

The total number of notices filed today for the JANUARY. contract month is represented by 1 contract(s) FOR 5,000 oz. To calculate the number of silver ounces that will stand for delivery in JANUARY., we take the total number of notices filed for the month so far at 727 x 5,000 oz = 3,635,000 oz to which we add the difference between the open interest for the front month of JAN. (3) and the number of notices served upon today (1 x 5000 oz) equals the number of ounces standing.

.

Thus the INITIAL standings for silver for the JANUARY contract month: 727(notices served so far)x 5000 oz + OI for front month of JANUARY(3) -number of notices served upon today (1)x 5000 oz equals 3,645,000 oz of silver standing for the JANUARY contract month. This is VERY GOOD for this NONACTIVE delivery month of JANUARY.  WE GAINED 1 CONTRACTS OR AN ADDITIONAL 5,000  OZ WILL  STAND FOR DELIVERY IN THIS NON ACTIVE DELIVERY MONTH OF JANUARY AS QUEUE JUMPING CONTINUES AS WE PROCEED TO MONTH’S END.

ON FIRST DAY NOTICE FOR THE JANUARY 2017 CONTRACT WE HAD 3.790 MILLION OZ STAND.

THE FINAL STANDING: 3,730 MILLION OZ

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I almost fell from my chair:  we received volumes at the comex and they were on time

ESTIMATED VOLUME FOR TODAY: 107,890

CONFIRMED VOLUME FOR YESTERDAY:  132,365 CONTRACTS

YESTERDAY’S CONFIRMED VOLUME OF 132,265 CONTRACTS EQUATES TO  662 MILLION OZ OR 94.5% OF ANNUAL GLOBAL PRODUCTION OF SILVER

COMMODITY LAW SUGGESTS THAT OPEN INTEREST SHOULD NOT BE MORE THAN 3% OF ANNUAL GLOBAL PRODUCTION. THE CROOKS ARE SUPPLYING MASSIVE PAPER TRYING TO KEEP SILVER IN CHECK.

The record level of silver open interest is 234,787 contracts set on April 21./2017 with the price at that day at $18.42
The previous record was 224,540 contracts with the price at that time of $20.44

end

NPV for Sprott 

1. Sprott silver fund (PSLV): NAV RISES TO -2.18% (Jan 26/2018)
2. Sprott gold fund (PHYS): premium to NAV RISES TO -0.38% to NAV (Jan 24/2018 )
Note: Sprott silver trust back into NEGATIVE territory at -2.18%-/Sprott physical gold trust is back into NEGATIVE/ territory at -0.38%/Central fund of Canada’s is still in jail but being rescued by Sprott.
Sprott WINS hostile 3.1 billion bid to take over Central Fund of Canada

(courtesy Sprott/GATA)

3.SPROTT CEF.A FUND (FORMERLY CENTRAL FUND OF CANADA): NAV FALLS TO 3.64%: NAV 14.12/TRADING 13.60//DISCOUNT 3.64%

END

And now the Gold inventory at the GLD/

jan 25/no changes in gold inventory at the GLD/inventory rests at 849.32 tonnes

Jan 24/A HUGE DEPOSIT OF 2.65 TONNES OF GOLD INTO GLD/INVENTORY RESTS AT 849.32 TONNES

Jan 23/NO CHANGE IN GOLD INVENTORY DESPITE GOLD’S RISE/INVENTORY RESTS AT 846.67 TONNES

Jan 22/a huge deposit of 5.71 tonnes of gold despite a drop in price/inventory rests at 846.67 tonnes. In 3 trading days, the GLD has added 17.71 tonnes/the bankers are now in trouble!!

Jan 19/no change in gold inventory at the GLD/Inventory rests at 840.76 tonnes

Jan 18/SHOCKINGLY A HUGE DEPOSIT OF 11.80 TONNES WITH GOLD DOWN ALMOST $12.00/INVENTORY RESTS AT 840.76

Jan 17/no changes in gold inventory at the GLD/inventory rests at 828.96 tonnes

Jan 16/NO CHANGES IN GOLD INVENTORY AT THE GLD/INVENTORY RESTS AT 828.96 TONNES

Jan 12/no changes in inventory at the GLD despite the rise in gold price/inventory rests at 828.96 tonnes

Jan 11/ANOTHER IDENTICAL WITHDRAWAL OF 2.95 TONNES FROM THE GLD INVENTORY/INVENTORY RESTS AT 828.96 TONNES

Jan 10/with gold up today, a strange withdrawal of 2.95 tonnes/inventory rests at 831.91 tonnes

Jan 9/no changes in gold inventory at the GLD/Inventory rests at 834.88 tonnes

Jan 8/with gold falling by a tiny $1.40 and this being after 12 consecutive gains, today they announce another 1.44 tonnes of gold withdrawal from the GLD/

Jan 5/NO CHANGE IN GOLD INVENTORY AT THE GLD/INVENTORY RESTS AT 836.32 TONNES

Jan 4/2018/no change in gold inventory at the GLD/Inventory rests at 836.32 tonnes

Jan 3/a huge withdrawal of 1.18 tonnes of gold from the GLD/Inventory rests at 836.32 tonnes

Jan 2/2018/no changes in gold inventory at the GLD/inventory rests at 837.50 tonnes

Dec 29/NO CHANGES IN GOLD INVENTORY AT THE GLD/INVENTORY RESTS AT 837.50 TONNES

Dec 28/NO CHANGES IN GOLD INVENTORY AT THE GLD/INVENTORY RESTS AT 837.50 TONNES

Dec 27/NO CHANGES IN GOLD INVENTORY AT THE GLD/ INVENTORY RESTS AT 837.50 TONNES

Dec 26/no change in gold inventory at the GLD

Dec 22/ A DEPOSIT OF 1.48 TONNES OF GOLD INTO GLD INVENTORY/INVENTORY RESTS AT 837.50 TONNES

Dec 21′ NO CHANGE IN GOLD INVENTORY AT THE GLD/INVENTORY RESTS AT 836.02 TONNES

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
Jan 25/2018/ Inventory rests tonight at 849.32 tonnes

*IN LAST 315 TRADING DAYS: 91.83 NET TONNES HAVE BEEN REMOVED FROM THE GLD
*LAST 249 TRADING DAYS: A NET 65.48 TONNES HAVE NOW BEEN ADDED INTO GLD INVENTORY.

end

Now the SLV Inventory

Jan 25/with silver up today and yesterday, the SLV could only muster a gain of 848,000 oz

jan 24/NO CHANGE IN SILVER INVENTORY DESPITE THE GOOD ADVANCE IN PRICE/INVENTORY RESTS AT 313.048 MILLION OZ/

Jan 23/ANOTHER HUGE WITHDRAWAL OF 1.131 MILLION OZ OF SILVER DESPITE THE TINY LOSS/THE CROOKS ARE USING THE INVENTORY TO RAID ON SILVER.

JAN 22.2018/with silver down by 5 cents/ the crooks at the SLV liquidate 1.321 million oz of silver/inventory rests at 314.179 million oz/

Jan 19/ no changes in silver inventory at the SLV/inventory rests at 315.500 million oz/

jan 18/A WITHDRAWAL OF 848,000 OZ OF SILVER FROM THE SLV/INVENTORY RESTS AT 315.500 MILLION OZ/

Jan 17/no changes in silver inventory at the SLV/inventory rests at 316.348 million oz/

Jan 16/NO CHANGES IN SILVER INVENTORY AT THE SLV/INVENTORY RESTS AT 316.348  MILLION OZ

Jan 12/no changes in silver inventory at the SLV/inventory rests at 316.348 million oz/

Jan 11/NO CHANGE IN SILVER INVENTORY AT THE SLV/INVENTORY RESTS AT 316.348 MILLION OZ/

Jan 10/with silver up again, we had a huge withdrawal of 1.227 million oz from the SLV/inventory rests at 316.348 million oz

Jan 9/a withdrawal of 848,000 oz from the SLV/Inventory rests at 317.575 million oz/

jan 8/no change in silver inventory at the SLV/Inventory rests at 318.423 million oz/

Jan 5/DESPITE NO CHANGE IN SILVER PRICING, WE HAD A HUGE WITHDRAWAL OF 2.026 MILLION OZ/INVENTORY RESTS AT 318.423 MILLION OZ.

Jan 4.2018/a slight withdrawal of 180,000 oz and this would be to pay for fees/inventory rests at 320.449 million oz/

Jan 3/NO CHANGE IN SILVER INVENTORY AT THE SLV/INVENTORY RESTS AT 320.629 MILLION OZ.

Jan 2/WITH SILVER UP DRAMATICALLY THESE PAST 4 TRADING DAYS, THE FOLLOWING MAKES NO SENSE: WE HAD A WITHDRAWAL OF 2.83 MILLION OZ FROM THE SLV

INVENTORY RESTS AT 320.629 MILLION OZ/

Dec 29/no changes in silver inventory at the SLV/inventory rests at 323.459 million oz/

Dec 28/DESPITE THE RISE IN SILVER AGAIN BY 13 CENTS, WE LOST ANOTHER 1,251,000 OZ OF SILVER FROM THE SILVER.

Dec 27/WITH SILVER UP AGAIN BY 17 CENTS, WE LOST ANOTHER 802,000 OZ OF SILVER INVENTORY/WHAT CROOKS/INVENTORY RESTS AT 324.780 MILLION OZ/

Dec 26/no change in silver inventory at the SLV./Inventory rests at 325.582

Dec 21/NO CHANGE IN SILVER INVENTORY AT THE SLV/INVENTORY RESTS AT 326.227 MILLION OZ/

.

Jan 25/2017:

Inventory 313.896 million oz

end

6 Month MM GOFO
Indicative gold forward offer rate for a 6 month duration

+ 1.81%
12 Month MM GOFO
+ 2.13%

Major gold/silver trading /commentaries for THURSDAY

GOLDCORE/BLOG/MARK O’BYRNE.

GOLD/SILVER

Is This The Greatest Stock Market Bubble In History? Goldnomics Podcast

25, January

END

for those that missed Andrew Maguire’s email to myself and Bill Murphy of GATA

I am repeating it.  It is huge!!

Have I got another bombshell for you! This is a heads up .

I have been keeping my head down for some months now working as an advisory board member and strategic advisor for the Allocated Bullion Exchange. https://abx.com/. After 6 years of building out independent fully allocated trading hubs, we are now ready to launch our fully 100% gold and silver backed crypto currency.

While other gold backed solutions such as Eric’s are very helpful, this currency differs in every respect. This is an entire gold/silver backed ecosystem that already has the power of adoption by the Indonesian post office system which transacts $9.6 Billion in cross border migrant worker fees, as well as adoption by the largest 100Million member Islamic Financial group . Attached is the press release from 1 minute ago also linked here….https://abx.com/2018/01/23/ptpos-abx/

There is much more. Every hedge fund we have discussed this with under NDA’s has committed ALL their physical holdings into this currency. The beauty of this is that bullion does not have to move out of the holder’s direct control and remains 100% allocated in their name, it simply draws a yield. This will also draw in large, institutional money to buy gold vs. treasuries etc as the yield is far greater.

The whitepaper will be released in the next 24 hours and will detail how this currency is able to do this with Zero risk.

The currency will have billions of dollars of liquidity day one. Each once transacted is 100% backed by gold and silver and the bottom up demand cannot be fought by the cartel or officials. Every aspect of our currency meets all the KYC requirements and cannot be stopped. This enormous fresh bullion demand flowing in from Asian post offices alone let alone how much of the $800 billion unbacked, volatile crypto currency market will want to convert to a currency that has an intrinsic value and also returns them a yield. This gold and silver bullion buying is going to be conducted through our very liquid ABX vaulting network and will backwash into the LBMA forcing the offer to sell to rise.

This is going to accelerate the inevitable gold silver market reset in a highly leveraged ‘at the margin’ market.

Bill, you will remember March 23rd 2010 well. That bombshell caused the industry a lot of pain along with industry apologist J. Christian, and we know how officials closed ranks thereafter.

After my lawyers and I walked out of the DOJ building in 2011 having just presented 88 clear examples of LIBOR style collusion and market rigging in the gold and silver markets, and the words still ringing in my ears, ” but what about the economic consequences of this”, I knew we had to attack this cartel from a different angle. To find an intelligent way of breaking the paper markets with one objective in mind, to assist in the rollout of a cartel bomb, it is now ready!

We will be launching it this week. This is not just a 100% gold and silver backed currency already adopted by the largest Islamic financial group with 100Million members, (yet to be announced), this is a gold and silver backed currency with a yield that will be enrich everybody.

I will get you the whitepaper as soon as we release it, in the meantime, if it’s of any help or if you feel it contributes anything to le-metropole, please feel free to publish my subscriber commentary dealing with EFP’s etc. Please find a copy of my subscriber commentary from Sunday attached.

The full public announcement will be within the next 24 hours.

This is it guys, we’re going to take down the paper marker at last!!

Best
Andrew

ABX-PT-POS-PR.pdf
Commentary 21st January 2018.pdf

end

The gold backed cryptocurrency planned by the Perth mint is supposedly used to entice investors back to metals

(courtesy  Landgrafft/ABC/Sydney)

Gold-backed cryptocurrency planned by Perth Mint to entice investors back to metals

END

As we brought this to your attention yesterday, the Trump team at Davos wants a weaker dollar.  Trump seems to want greater protectionism for the USA economy

(courtesy Bloomberg/GATA)

Trump team at Davos backs weaker dollar, sharpens trade war talk

Craig Hemke discusses the strength in major commodities especially oil and copper.  He questions whether the bullion banks will ever let silver out of their shackles

(courtesy Craig Hemke/GATA)

(courtesy CNBC/GATA)

END

In case you missed this yesterday, here is the story that sent the USA dollar into a freefall

(courtesy CNBC/GATA)

Mnuchin comment surprises markets, turns dollar decline into ‘one-way bet’

END

This will be good for gold and silver as Myanmar (Burma) will now be allowed to import and export gold/silver

(courtesy Myanmar Times/GATA)

Myanmar legalizes gold imports and exports

Toronto’s Financial Post:

Only two bidders for Scotiabank’s precious metals business.  Both are crooked.

No doubt future liabilities will play a big part in the offer

(courtesy Toronto’s Financial Post)

Goldman, Citi final bidders for Scotiabank’s metals business: sources

Most of ScotiaMocatta’s business is in precious metals and it’s one of five banks that clear bullion in London’s US$5 trillion a year gold market

---

3. ASIAN AFFAIRS

i)Late TUESDAY night/WEDNESDAY morning: Shanghai closed DOWN 11.16 points or 0.31% /Hang Sang CLOSED DOWN 304.24 pts or 0.92% / The Nikkei closed DOWN 271,29 POINTS OR 1.13%/Australia’s all ordinaires CLOSED DOWN 0.07%/Chinese yuan (ONSHORE) closed  WELL UP at 6.3280/Oil UP to 66.10 dollars per barrel for WTI and 71.00 for Brent. Stocks in Europe OPENED ALL GREED .   ONSHORE YUAN CLOSED UP AGAINST THE DOLLAR AT 6.3280. OFFSHORE YUAN CLOSED UP AGAINST  THE ONSHORE YUAN AT 6.3230//ONSHORE YUAN MUCH STRONGER AGAINST THE DOLLAR/OFF SHORE MUCH STRONGER TO THE DOLLAR/. THE DOLLAR (INDEX) IS  MUCH WEAKER AGAINST ALL MAJOR CURRENCIES. CHINA IS SEMI  HAPPY TODAY.(STRONG CURRENCY BUT WEAKER MARKETS )

3 a NORTH KOREA/USA

/SOUTH KOREA

Wow!! this is a surprise.  The South Korean economy unexpectedly contracts with a huge crash in exports..the most in 33 years.  The South Korean economy is considered a canary for the global economy

(courtesy zerohedge)

 

3 b JAPAN AFFAIRS

c) REPORT ON CHINA

The dollar continues on its nosedive after China threatens the USA with appropriate measures after the USA initiated tariffs on washing machines and on solar panels.

(courtesy zerohedge)

4. EUROPEAN AFFAIRS

The ECB keeps rates unchanged and reaffirms its taper.  But in a surprise statement they state that they may increase their QE in size and also in duration…and may continue after September if inflation does not meet their needs.

(courtesy zerohedge)

ECB Keeps Rates Unchanged, Reaffirms Taper But May Increase QE In “Size And/Or Duration”

As expected, the ECB announced that there is no change to any of its three main rates, which will remain “at their present levels for an extended period of time, and well past the horizon of the net asset purchases.”

• Main refinancing rate unchanged at 0.00%
• Deposit facility rate unchanged at -0.40%
• Marginal lending rate unchanged at 0.25%

Of note, the ECB confirmed that QE will be tapered at the “new monthly pace of €30 billion” which is intended to run until the end of September 2018, or beyond. But perhaps most importantly, the ECB Governing Council said that it “stands ready to increase the asset purchase programme (APP) in terms of size and/or duration“ if “financial conditions become inconsistent with further progress towards a sustained adjustment in the path of inflation.” Some had suggested that this phrase could be struck out from the mon pol statement as the ECB seeks to nudge forward guidance. It did not.

Full statement below:

At today’s meeting the Governing Council of the ECB decided that the interest rate on the main refinancing operations and the interest rates on the marginal lending facility and the deposit facility will remain unchanged at 0.00%, 0.25% and -0.40% respectively. The Governing Council expects the key ECB interest rates to remain at their present levels for an extended period of time, and well past the horizon of the net asset purchases.

Regarding non-standard monetary policy measures, the Governing Council confirms that the net asset purchases, at the new monthly pace of €30 billion, are intended to run until the end of September 2018, or beyond, if necessary, and in any case until the Governing Council sees a sustained adjustment in the path of inflation consistent with its inflation aim. If the outlook becomes less favourable, or if financial conditions become inconsistent with further progress towards a sustained adjustment in the path of inflation, the Governing Council stands ready to increase the asset purchase programme (APP) in terms of size and/or duration. The Eurosystem will reinvest the principal payments from maturing securities purchased under the APP for an extended period of time after the end of its net asset purchases, and in any case for as long as necessary. This will contribute both to favourable liquidity conditions and to an appropriate monetary policy stance.

The President of the ECB will comment on the considerations underlying these decisions at a press conference starting at 14:30 CET today.

There has been virtually no reaction in the market after the announcement, with the EURUSD unchanged and 10Y yield dipping 1bp to 0.58%.

And now we wait for the press conference, where Draghi will have a more difficult time keeping everyone happy.

 END

The Euro surge was halted but our dollar bulls were not happy as Draghi was not dovish enough. Draghi states that there will be very few chances for a rate hike this year.

(courtesy zerohedge)

Euro Surge Halted After Draghi Sees “Very Few Chances Of Rate Hike This Year”

Update: Euro is weakening back from its spike higher following dovish comments from Mario Draghi that he sees “very few chance of a rate hike this year.”

Draghi also responded to a question from a reporter trying to pin him down on his jawboning the FX rate where he explained that Euro gains were “due to someone else’s comments” and not his.

*  *  *

So far, no good. Mario Draghi has disappointed Dollar bulls as his comments have not offered a “dovish enough” view on the Euro. While he mentioned FX volatility, his comments are very similar to his statement in September and EURUSD is rising.

We continue to expect interest rates to remain at their present levels for an extended period of time, and well past the horizon of our net asset purchases.

Net asset purchases, at the new monthly pace of €30 billion, are intended to run until the end of September 2018, or beyond, if necessary.

If outlook becomes less favourable or if financial conditions become inconsistent with progress towards sustained adjustment in path of inflation, we stand ready to increase the asset purchase programme in size and/or duration.

Incoming information confirms a robust pace of economic expansion, which accelerated more than expected in the second half of 2017.

The strong cyclical momentum and the ongoing reduction of economic slack strengthen our confidence that inflation will converge towards our inflation aim of below, but close to, 2%. Domestic price pressures remain muted overall and have yet to show convincing signs of a sustained upward trend.

Recent volatility in the exchange rate represents a source of uncertainty which requires monitoring with regard to its possible implications for the medium-term outlook for price stability.

As Bloomberg headlines:

• *DRAGHI SAYS DOWNSIDE RISKS RELATE TO GLOBAL FACTORS, FX MARKETS
• *DRAGHI: STRONG MOMENTUM COULD LEAD TO POSITIVE GROWTH SURPRISES

The reaction was a further bid for Euros…testing up towards 1.2500…

This is a new 3-year high for the Euro… and a new cycle low for the USD Index…

German Bund yields are also spiking on Draghi’s comments…

Draghi notably added that “The ECB cannot declare victory yet.”

end

In a stunning development Draghi slams the comments of Mnuchin and Ross i.e. jawbonning the USA dollar southbound.

(courtesy zerohedge)

In Stunning Development, Draghi Slams US Dollar Jawboning

Blink and you missed what was the most “remarkable development” in today ECB press conference.

Toward the end of Draghi’s Q&A, the head of the ECB took a direct swipe at recent US dollar jawboning, accusing Mnuchin, Ross, and essentially the entire Trump administration of verbally manipulating the USD, for not “complying” with the “agreed terms” which have led to euro gains due to comments from “someone else.”

• DRAGHI: SOMEONE ELSE’S FX TALK DOESN’T COMPLY WITH AGREED TERMS
• DRAGHI: EURO GAINED ALSO DUE TO COMMENTS FROM `SOMEONE ELSE

One wonders what “agreed terms” of currency manipulation Draghi was referring to, but in any event reading between the lines of Draghi’s traditional passive-aggressive moapery emerges an unprecedented attack by one former Goldman banker – Draghi – on another former Goldman banker – Mnuchin.

Or, as Citi said, it is “fairly remarkable for a central banker of Draghi’s standing to speak out like this to criticize another bloc’s foreign exchange policies or practices.”

What Draghi is essentially stating is that the recent surge in EUR is not down to fundamentals but down to the excessive dollar selling that has emerged since US officials indicated that they were supportive of a lower dollar, for trade reasons.

We hinted at this jokingly last night when we tweeted that “Mnuchin may be more effective than QE1.”

zerohedge@zerohedge

Mnuchin may be more effective than QE1

However, a bigger point brought up is what this renewed currency warfare could mean for the Federal Reserve in 2018, when a lower dollar will boost inflation even more than expected, forcing the FOMC to be more hawkish, and hike even faster, resulting in a risk asset crash.

Or, as we summarized it:

zerohedge@zerohedge

Today one former Goldman banker, Draghi, declared FX war on another former Goldman banker, Mnuchin.

Things may be getting exciting once again.

 end

Swiss Franc surges after the SNB signals that intervention will be needed.

Euro/CHF:1.1655   and USA/CHF: .9331..The swiss franc is very strong against all currencies

(courtesy zerohedge)

Swissy Surges After SNB Signals “Intervention” Needed

The Swiss Franc is surging this morning against the dollar and euro following comments by the SNB President on FX intervention. Notably Jordan’s comments come as EURCHF nears its pre-peg-break “carnage” levels.

Swiss National Bank President Thomas Jordan says interventions needed for adequate monetary conditions, according to interview with CNBC… and that sparked a plunge in EURCHF (Swiss strength)…

So what next for the Euro and the Franc?

How long before China does the same?

5. RUSSIAN AND MIDDLE EASTERN AFFAIRS

Turkey/USA

Turkey disagrees with Trump’s version of a phone call between him and Erdogan.  You can take that the USA release is the accurate one.

(courtesy zerohedge)

Turkey Accuses White House Of Lying In Trump-Erdogan Readout

In a readout released yesterday by the White House covering a phone conversation between the US and Turkish leaders, President Trump reportedly urged Turkey’s President Erdogan to de-escalate the country’s military incursions in northern Syria, following a Turkish offensive there to rid the area of Kurdish fighters.

There was just one problem: in a statement released overnight, the Turkish presidency said the White House had lied about much of the content in its readout.

“The readout issued by the White House does not accurately reflect the content of President Erdogan’s phone call with President Trump.”

“Trump did not share any ‘concerns [about] escalating violence’ with regard to the ongoing military operation in Afrin. The two leaders’ discussion of Operation Olive Branch was limited to an exchange of views,” an official told Al Jazeera.

The White House readout of the phone call said that Trump “relayed concerns that escalating violence in Afrin risked undercutting their “shared goals in Syria” and that  “He urged Turkey to de-escalate, limit its military actions, and avoid civilian casualties and increases to displaced persons and refugees.”

Trump also warned Erdogan against bringing US and Turkish forces into conflict, according to the White House. Washington has about 2,000 ground troops in Syria.

The White House statement said: “President Trump also expressed concern about destructive and false rhetoric coming from Turkey, and about United States citizens and local employees detained under the prolonged state of emergency in Turkey.” However, the Turkish official denied there was any mention of the state of emergency or the phrase “destructive and false rhetoric coming from Turkey”.

“[Trump] mentioned that open criticism of the United States raised concerns in Washington,” according to the source.

In response, Erdogan stressed that a number of US policies, including Washington’s military support to the Syrian Kurdish fighters and “its harbouring” of Fethullah Gulen – a self-exiled Turkish Muslim scholar – caused “outrage” among the Turkish people, the source said.

There was no mention of the state of emergency in Turkey, according to the Turkish response.

Regarding the release of US citizens imprisoned in Turkey, Erdogan told Trump that there was rule of law in his country and highlighted that the independent judiciary would reach its verdict following the completion of relevant indictments.

Erdogan also said that the US-backed Syrian Kurdish forces must withdraw to the east of the Euphrates River in Syria and pledged the protection of Manbij city by the Turkish-backed Free Syrian Army against future threats by the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL, also known as ISIS) armed group.

The US and Turkey – NATO allies – have diverging interests in Syria, with Washington focused on defeating the ISIL and Ankara eager to prevent Syria’s Kurds from gaining autonomy and increasing Kurdish unrest on its soil. In the past year, Turkey has drifted increasingly farther away from NATO and right into Russia’s zone of influence as the battle for influence over this key Asian gateway nation continues.

6 .GLOBAL ISSUES

SWEDEN

Malmo is becoming a war zone

(courtesy zerohedge)

7. OIL ISSUES

8. EMERGING MARKET

 end

And now your more important USA stories which will influence the price of gold/silver

TRADING IN GRAPH FORM FOR THE DAY

Trading/early this morning

the dollar is crashing again

(courtesy zerohedge)

And so is bond prices falling as yields spike higher: to 2.67% and that send stocks plunging. The 10 yr yield is the benchmark cost for money.

(courtesy zerohedge)

end

(courtesy zerohedge)

what a joke!!  the dollar surges again after Trump says Mnuchin was misinterpreted..twice.

keystone cops at their finest

(courtesy zerohedge)

New home sales crash in December and the likely candidate is the record high prices for them.  New home sales plunged 9.3% lower/month over month

(courtesy zerohedge)

Congressional Republicans are feuding with the FBI on political bias. Republicans and Fox news are demanding the release of the 4 page memo, something that the Democrats do not want released.

a good summary of what is going on…

(courtesy zerohedge)

end

I will  see you FRIDAY night

HARVEY