From Ed Steer:

Both gold and silver prices began rising during Hong Kong and Sydney trading. Things were looking pretty good until a few hours after the London open...when the usual not-for-profit sellers showed up. Both metals bottomed just before lunch in New York, and recovered somewhat...then were held steady as soon as regular trading was over on the Comex. There wasn't huge volume in either metal yesterday, so it was reasonably easy for the boyz to push the price around.

This is the third Monday in a row that both gold and silver rallies have been squashed in London and New York. As John Embry of Sprott Asset Management in Toronto said in his latest article..."In my opinion, anyone who isn't prepared to acknowledge this increasingly apparent reality of market manipulation isn't qualified to comment on the gold price."

Yesterday was first notice day for July delivery in silver. Only a smallish 1,322 contracts were delivered on the Comex. There should be more as the days progress.

As far as Friday open interest goes, the gains in the gold price ran into huge opposition again, with o.i. up another big chunk...10,507 contracts. It's a given that it was the '8 or less' bullion banks going short against all those new long positions. However, silver went the other way, with o.i. down 706 contracts. Quite frankly, I don't know what to make of that.

I read...with some merriment ...a piece in the German paper Der Spiegel on the weekend, that the IMF has informed Federal Reserve chairman Ben Bernanke of plans to do a general examination of the US financial system. Analyst Rob Kirby, in a comment over at Bill Murphy's lemetropolecafe.com yesterday, had this to say about it..."While I will admit this is unprecedented...it's kind of like the Capones investigating the Gambinos for ‘acts of wrongdoing’. This ought to be interesting to watch." Indeed!!!

And I also noted that Fortis, a large bank/insurer in the Netherlands and Belgium, has joined the crowd in predicting a US financial market meltdown within weeks. More and more people can clearly see what the US markets really look like, and are about to head for the exits. Now that the party is over, and everyone's sober, the photo below (thanks CS) bears a striking resemblance to what the US$, equity markets and financial system look like from the other side of the Atlantic Ocean. Pucker up, buttercup!

click to enlarge

If you remember about a week or so ago, there was a story that Vietnam was banning all gold imports. I thought it rather strange at the time, but this story from the The Times out of London fleshes it out pretty well. It's a 'must read' and is entitled "Mark down of Dong, the Vietnamese currency, seen as act of desperation". The article is linked here.

The second article today is by John Embry, chief investment strategist at Sprott Asset Management in Toronto. It's his latest commentary that appeared in Investor's Digest of Canada. It's entitled "Gold will recover stronger and faster than ever". The link is here.

In closing, I note that James Turk over at goldmoney.com is still forecasting a currency crisis this summer. Yesterday's trading was the last day of the month and the quarter. The Dow just would not stay levitated...despite the 'gentle hands' that were at work early Monday a.m. to spin the futures, push up the dollar and push down gold...and it came perilously close to finishing negative at the close. The 'summer doldrums' are upon us...right? Don't count on it.