What were ddecker's words to me on Friday, something about GOLD being "a dog"...

WHAT a maroon...

Le Metropole members,

Washington - Dow Jones - Sept 26

Fifteen European central banks led by the European Central Bank Sunday pledged to not enter the market as a seller of gold with the exception of sales that have previously been decided...

In a joint statement issued by the central banks, they said "gold will remain an important element of global monetary reserves."..

The gold sales already decided will be achieved through a concerted program of sales over the next five years, said the banks...

Annual sales won't exceed about 400 metric tons and total sales over the period won't exceed 2,000 tonnes..

THE SIGNATORIES TO THE AGREEMENT HAVE ALSO AGREED NOT TO EXPAND THE GOLD LEASINGS AND THE USE OF GOLD FUTURES AND OPTIONS OVER THIS PERIOD...

Switzerland and England are included...

European Central Bank President Wim Duisenberg also said the central banks agreed to the 400 metric ton annual ceiling because it was an amount that wouldn't disturb the market and that he thought the market could absorb such a sale....

"The current situation is characterized by uncertainty an that uncertainty by itself led to a lot of volatility and a downward trend in the gold price." Duisenberg said...

He said central banks want to see stability in the market, but he also said they're "not trying to prop up the gold market."..

Nonetheless, Duisenberg indicated his expectations for a bullish reaction to the announcement: "I think the gold market will interpret the ceiling as being less than they feared...End

At the moment December Comex gold is trading at $275.70 up $5.90 and has traded up to $277.

This explains what I told you in the last Midas du Metropole about the scoop I received that some hedge funds had swiftly left for Switzerland this week to discuss the gold market. They MUST have known this was coming and, as I told you, are very concerned about finding the gold they need for their short positions - either for buy back or borrowing purposes.

More on all this tomorrow in Midas. Stay tuned and be informed. A multi year bull market in gold is ahead of us. There is a lot of money on the table now.

All the best,

Bill Murphy Le Patron http://www.LeMetropoleCafe.com>http://www.LeMetropoleCafe.com

Hot off the wire services:

Top Financial News Sun, 26 Sep 1999, 8:40pm EDT

Duisenberg Says Europe's Central Banks Won't Add to Planned Gold Sales

ByHellmuth Tromm

European Central Banks Pledge to Limit Gold Sales ( Update1 ) ( Adds details throughout. GSEV for a special report on the IMF meetings. )

Washington, Sept. 26 ( Bloomberg ) -- European Central Bank said they will limit the sale of gold in the coming five years, trying to bolster gold prices which have plunged by a third in the past three years.

In a statement issued on behalf of the 11 euro region central banks, plus the Bank of England, the Swiss National Bank and the Swedish Riksbank, European Central Bank President Wim Duisenberg said central banks won't add to their already announced plans for limited gold sales. The banks together account for 50 percent of all official gold reserves, a Bank of England official said.

Duisenberg said already decided gold sales will be achieved through a concerted program over the next five years, and annual sales won't exceed about 400 tons with total sales over the period not exceeding 2,000 tons. He stressed that they agreed gold will remain an important element of global monetary reserves.

Most of the gold sales will be accounted for by U.K. and Swiss sales, with about 300 tons coming from other banks who have decided to sell but haven't yet announced their intentions, Duisenberg said. ``The purpose of this action is to give certainty to the gold market,'' Duisenberg said. Central banks who hold ``a substantial part'' of their reserves in gold are also concerned about ``keeping the value of that gold where it is.''

Fading Lustre

Gold prices have dropped by a third in the past three years as central banks, including those of the U.K. and Switzerland, sold reserves and on traders' concern that other governments would also sell. The precious metal lost its shine as a hedge against inflation, and banks switched to other investments, such as government bonds that offer higher returns.

Duisenberg added that the central banks also agreed not to expand their gold leasings and their use of gold futures and options over the five-year period. The agreement will be reviewed after five years.

The European central banks' announcement comes after an agreement by the International Monetary Fund's policy-making Interim Committee agreed to revalue 14 million ounces of the fund's gold reserves to help finance a $40 billion debt-relief program for some of the world's poorest countries.

The IMF gold, however, will be sold in off-market transactions designed to have minimal impact on gold prices, which have been falling, and to defuse protests from gold- producing countries, some of whom are meant to benefit from debt forgiveness in the Heavily Indebted Poor Countries initiative, or HIPC. HIPC is jointly run by the IMF and World Bank.

IMF, US Gold

IMF gold accounts for 10 percent of official gold reserves while the U.S., which opposes selling its own holdings, holds another 30 percent. ``We have indications that the U.S. is not changing its attitude,'' Duisenberg said, who added that the U.S. was ``involved'' in the European discussions.

The European central bank president also said it was ``pure coincidence''that the European central banks' announcement came shortly after the IMF initiative was agreed. ``The only reason is that we were all together'' for the IMF and World Bank's annual meetings.End

All the best,

Bill Murphy Le Patron http://www.LeMetropoleCafe.com

-- Andy (2000EOD@prodigy.net), September 26, 1999

Answers

SYDNEY, Sept 27 ( Reuters ) - Gold bullion jumped by more than US$5 an ounce in early Monday trading in the Asian/Australian time zone after statements from the European Central Bank.

Busy traders said the price jump followed a statement from 15 European central banks on Sunday that gold would remain an important element of global monetary reserves. The banks also had decided gold sales would not exceed 400 tons in any of the next five years.

Spot bullion was at US$273.00/274.00 at 10:30 a.m. ( 0030 GMT ) , the highest since May this year.

Spot bullion was last quoted at $268.50/269.00 in New York on Friday.

By 10:50 a.m. ( 0050 GMT ) , the gold price had risen further to $275.00/276.50.

Australian traders said buying was solid around $275 an ounce and that prices had jumped right from the start of trade.

They said the European Central Bank statement was the main factor behind the price surge.

``This is a very important development,'' said Keith Goode, gold analyst for Bell Securities Ltd.

``We should see gold go to at least US$285 ( per ounce ) ,'' Goode said.

-- Andy (2000EOD@prodigy.net), September 26, 1999.

I bought american eagles several months ago for $270.00. now it says they are at $287.00. whenever i check on the current price of gold, spot gold is usually about $10.00 less than the american eagles. what is the difference between spot gold and american eagles, and why the difference in prices?

-- dory (crtwheel@eburg.com), September 26, 1999.

Dory - eagles usually have a slight premium, maybe 11 bucks over the spot price - to cover marketing etc. etc.

-- Andy (2000EOD@prodigy.net), September 26, 1999.

Andy ---- Thanks for your constant undates on Gold. Well appreciated. For some weeks now I've been trying to locate a web site that dealt specifically with gold. The Author was an absolute gold bug. He did a daily market update, and gold reveiw. I thought his name was Kaplan but search engines locate nothing for me. If you know the URL of this site will you please post. P>S> my computer crashed and I lost all my bookmarks.

-- thinkIcan (thinkIcan@make.it), September 27, 1999.

$280 AND RISING...

-- Y2KGardener (gardens@bigisland.net), September 27, 1999.

(5 minutes later...)

$281.40, up $12.65

-- Y2KGardener (gardens@bigisland.net), September 27, 1999.

...15 minutes later...

$284.25, up $15.50

-- Holy Sh!t (gardens@bigisland.net), September 27, 1999.

gold is and will always be, what everybody wants

-- Braulio Busquiazo (Braulio@Juno.com), September 27, 1999.

Thinkican,

www.sharefin.com

look at gold sites

Jon Kaplan - Goldmining Outlook

-- Andy (2000EOD@prodigy.net), September 27, 1999.

Like I said

IT'S GOING TO THE MOON :)

-- Andy (2000EOD@prodigy.net), September 27, 1999.

And WHAT a surprise... this just announced... the Brits and Europeans are SHAFTING Clintoon and japan

http://www.ft.com/hippocampus/q181bca.htm Labour leaders unite over euro entry By Robert Peston, Political Editor, in Bournemouth

Ministers and senior Labour members united yesterday in their determination to secure British entry into the euro within two or three years.

-- Andy (2000EOD@prodigy.net), September 27, 1999.

Gold Posts Biggest Gain in Decade as European Central Banks to Limit Sales By Vaughan Scully

Gold Prices Soar as European Central Banks Act to Limit Sales

Sydney, Sept. 27 (Bloomberg) -- Gold prices posted their largest gain in more than a decade after a group of European central banks said they will limit sales from their official reserves to 400 metric tons annually for the next five years.

Gold for immediate delivery jumped as much as US$17.75 an ounce, or 6.6 percent, the largest one-day rise in at least 15 years, to US$286.50, its highest price since May 7. The move outpaced the 3.4 percent gain for gold following the stock market crash in October, 1987. ``As far as the market is concerned, it's very positive,'' said Chris Hunt, manager of bullion services for Bank of Western Australia in Perth. Concern that new sales could emerge, driving gold prices down further, ``is now removed,'' he said.

A group of 11 central banks around Europe, as well as the Bank of England, the Swiss National Bank and the Swedish Riksbank, who together hold for about half the world gold reserves, pledged to limit their sales to those that already have been announced. Gold sales by central banks, particularly from England and Switzerland, helped push gold prices to a 20-year low of US$251.95 an ounce in August.

The surge today comes after a one-week rally that pushed gold prices up US$13.75 an ounce, or 5.4 percent, after a sale of 25 metric tons by the Bank of England drew unexpectedly strong demand and above market prices.

With central bank sales now under control, the balance of supply and demand appears much more favorable to higher gold prices, Hunt said. ``The market can reasonably absorb'' the 400 tons of gold to be divested from official reserves, Hunt said. ``There's a probably seven to 10 percent drop in production because of the low prices. Add to that exploration is at five, six or seven-year lows, and it leaves a handsome gap for the sales to fill.''

Central banks have sold between 80 metric tons and 600 tons a year for the past decade, Hunt said, so the future rate of sales is ``nothing unusual.''

-- Andy (2000EOD@prodigy.net), September 27, 1999.

Its Steven Jon Kaplans site:

http://www.goldminingoutlook.com/

dave

-- dave (wootendave@hotmail.com), September 27, 1999.