JP Morgan Gobbles A Minimum Of Over 31 Tons (Possibly Up To 186 Tons!) Of Physical Gold!

 

Back in August 2015, I noted that Goldman Sachs and HSBC had taken delivery of a huge tonnage of physical gold, probably purchased near the lows. Physical bars of gold are, by definition, a very long term investment in the yellow metal. At the time, the two banks were telling clients and others not to buy gold, even as they were loading up on it, themselves.

Let’s fast forward…

Starting in December 2015, JP Morgan began buying tremendous quantities of physical gold, as opposed to paper/electronic gold futures, forwards, ETF certificates etc. From December 1, 2015 to December 29, 2016, the big bank purchased and took physical delivery of over 31 metric tonnes worth of bars of the yellow metal for its house account at COMEX alone.

In other words, it now has a physical gold pile which, at minimum, is worth over $1.1 billion at $1,140 per troy ounce, and it is an asset of the corporate bank. By May, 2016, unlike the actions of GS and HSBC in buying while advising clients to sell, analysts at JP Morgan were beginning to encourage customers to buy gold also.

Let me repeat that the enormous purchase of 31+ tonnes of traceable physical gold occurred at New York’s COMEX exchange. The so-called “OTC” gold market in London is five times larger than the gold market in New York City, and if they were buying at COMEX, they were probably buying in London also. The problem with London is that the “LBMA” is not a formal exchange with disclosure rules and regulatory oversight. It is simply an informal collection of banks who operate by agreeing to a common set of rules of engagement. Transactions are secret.

We will never know how much physical gold has been purchased in London by JP Morgan, HSBC, Goldman Sachs or anyone else. However, if JPM’s purchases happen to be synchronized to market size, with New York’s COMEX, they will have purchased another 155 metric tons, for a total of 186 tonnes of gold. Either way, JPM is now in the realm of a sovereign sized gold holding. Most countries hold less than 31 tonnes of gold. Only a handful own more than 186 tonnes.