I think its odd that news comes out without yet having US congressional approval which must occur before any sale takes place. I also think its odd that no specific amount of gold to be sold was reported, yet they did mention the entire bullion holdings of IMF. Is the IMF going to sell every ounce of gold? I dont think so, and in previous discussions on that topic, they always suggested they would sell a chunk of it to raise cash. So why are they releasing this statement now, with so little disclosure on what they plan to do?

Is there another hedge fund that is breaking down, similar to LTCM a few years ago, and the situation is so critical that the only remedy is to break off some of the last big gold holdings to fill the void? Is this yet another obvious ploy to 'talk' gold lower at a time when it has the potential to breakout past the $1000 per ounce barrier? We do not have to look back very far, when the UK sold off their gold reserves and did so in a way that almost guaranteed that they would recoup the lowest value for the gold, and in doing so succeeded in driving the spot gold price down.

I think the crisis affecting South African gold production may be very serious indeed, if the IMF card is to be played for once and for all. The Cartel is running out of aces to play.

Think about this quote: "The IMF is rich, if it wants to be." Just when the hell was the mandate of the IMF to become rich? The IMF appears to be yet another political slush fund to be employed as a blunt weapon whenever the status quo is threatened. Let them sell their gold and reap the whirlwind after realising a short term gain for their agenda. It worked out so well for the UK... not.

cheers!

mike