Quick, someone call Jeff Christian of CPM group…featured contributor to the CME ….to get the truth…

From Sinclair..

“CME Declares Force Majeure at Manhattan Gold Depository
Published November 26, 2012
Dow Jones Newswires

CME Group Inc. (CME) on Monday said that Manfra, Tordella and Brookes Inc., one of the exchange’s gold depositories, will not be able to delivery metal as the lower Manhattan company deals with "operational limitations" almost a month after the arrival of Hurricane Sandy.

MTB, one of five depositories licensed to deliver gold against CME’s benchmark 100-troy ounce gold contract, held 29,276 troy ounces of gold and 33,000 troy ounces of palladium as of Nov. 23, according to data from CME subsidiary Comex.

In a notice to customers on Monday, CME declared force majeure, a contract clause that frees parties from liability due to an event outside of their control, for the facility.

CME said that individuals holding MTB warrants, or certificates for a specific lot of metal stored in the depository, may receive gold delivered from Brinks Co. (BCO) in New York. MTB is responsible for any additional costs incurred by customers receiving metal from Brinks, CME said.

"This shouldn’t have a material impact on the way market participants are doing business," a CME spokesman said. "They’ll still contact MTB if they want to take delivery on contracts," and MTB will arrange for delivery through Brinks.

In a notice posted to its website dated Nov. 12, MTB said the firm "sustained substantial damages" following Hurricane Sandy’s arrival in New York City on Oct. 29, and had curtailed its operations.

The force majeure will remain in effect until further notice from the exchange, the CME said. The delivery period for CME’s December-delivery precious metals futures begins on Friday.

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