Here is another article suggesting China, Russia, South Korea and Japan may be complicit in the price suppression. This from Goldseek.com tonight:

Lee Quaintance and Paul Brodsky: For gold market rigging, look east too

By: Chris Powell, Secretary/Treasurer, GATA

-- Posted Wednesday, 12 December 2012 | Share this article | Source: GoldSeek.com

Dear Friend of GATA and Gold:

In their latest market letter, Lee Quaintance and Paul Brodsky of QB Asset Management in New York add credence to speculation that the gold price could not have been so restrained lately without the assistance of China and Russia and maybe even Japan and South Korea, all eager to hedge their dollar exposure with gold but unable to get it in size without a long period of price suppression.

Quaintance and Brodsky write:

"According to most died-in-the-wool hard-money advocates there is a 'gold cartel' that suppresses the gold price. They tend to argue that U.S. banks continually short gold (and silver) futures nakedly, clipping significant yield each quarter without sufficient metal in stock to deliver to futures buyers if exercised.

"They further argue that these banks do not fear regulatory reprisal, and in fact that their actions are blessed by the powers that be because runaway gold prices would signal to the world that there is something wrong with the currencies gold competes with, notably U.S. dollars. Thus, as the argument goes, banks have the means, motive, and implicit sovereign go-ahead to suppress the gold price.

"Mmmm, maybe. We certainly agree that gold should fundamentally be priced much higher than where it is and that the way gold futures seem to be reliably stepped-on before Treasury auctions and Fed meetings is a bit snarky. But as for the progenitors of the crime? It might be better to look east.

"Conspiracy theorists should consider foreign dollar reserve holders that would like to take delivery of as much physical gold (and silver?) as possible in a very short time, and do so at cheap prices. It would be simple to do: Fund offshore hedge funds that continually short gold futures through U.S. bank accounts, thereby keeping the spot price and London fixings down. Physical gold could then be delivered to sovereign accounts directly from mines and through exports at the suppressed prices."

In any case, it's worth remembering, as GATA has reported, Russia and China long have known all about the Western central bank end of the gold price suppression scheme, and well might have devised a course of action in regard to it:

http://www.gata.org/node/11723

http://www.gata.org/node/10380

http://www.gata.org/node/10416

And if somehow Russia and China have not devised such a course of action, they too may want to read the latest QB Asset Management letter, which is titled "It's Time" and which Quaintance and Brodsky graciously have allowed GATA to post in PDF format here:

http://www.gata.org/files/QBAMCO-Its-Time-12-2012.pdf

CHRIS POWELL, Secretary/Treasurer

Gold Anti-Trust Action Committee Inc.