The Gold Anti-Trust Committee was formed in 1998 to “expose, oppose, and litigate against” suppression of the free gold market by many central banks. GATA accuses several central Western banks of using various tactics to manipulate the market for the purpose of suppressing the price of gold to cover up the fact that the amount of gold held by these banks has been vastly overstated—essentially banks are selling gold that does not exist. Manipulating free markets is illegal, but governments have been secretly involved in the gold market since the 1960s. The organization has received a generous amount of criticism regarding its accusations, which many deride as conspiracy theories. Despite all this, they have been steadily compiling evidence against these institutions.

Gold Manipulation
To put it simply, the central banks lease their gold to bullion banks at low interest rates. The bullion bank takes this gold, sells it in the market, and keeps the profit. Selling leased gold deceives the market, making it operate as if gold is plentiful. It is why gold prices can decrease even though less gold is being mined each year.

It’s Happened Before
In the 1960’s fifteen banks in the United States and Europe agreed to pool their gold reserves to keep the gold price stable at $35 an ounce. By coordinating their sales they were able to balance out the prices of gold in their respective markets over a six year period. One of the main faults of the Bretton Woods system was that it only functioned effectively if the free market price of gold stayed at $35, otherwise nations would buy gold at $35 an ounce (as set by Bretton Woods) and sell for a higher price on the free market to boost their economies.

Is It Happening Again?
In a free market, gold and interest rates move in opposite directions. One clear signal of market manipulation is interest rates and gold moving in the same direction. Beginning in the 90s gold and interest rates declined together. Low interest rates are good for spurring economic growth, so governments and their associated financial institutions have a vested interest in keeping them low, but to do so requires them to illegally manipulate the gold market. For anyone looking into buying gold as an investment, it’s important to know what’s happening in the market. The Gold Anti-Trust Action Committee has dedicated over ten years to researching the matter to build a case against many government agencies and institutions to restore the free gold market.

Buy Safely with ITM Trading
All the evidence indicates that GATAs accusation is correct. The issues raised by the organization support ITM’s gold investment advice that physical ownership is the safest way to add this commodity to your portfolio. It is unclear to what degree gold has been oversold, and being able to actually hold your gold in your hands is by far the most reliable way to protect yourself from buying nonexistent gold.

The good news for investors is that all the suppression schemes of the past two decades have been able to accomplish is a delay in rising gold prices. They have not been able to prevent them from increasing. So despite all the illegal market manipulations, gold continues to trend upwards.