The Golden Lightning Rod. Manic Metals Report 02/20/2025

Gold is making headlines again as it aims for $3000 an ounce.  I’ve received numerous calls about gold delivery, with many agreeing on my last year’s prediction that gold would reach $3000 an ounce. In fact, we could hit it today.
There’s a notable price difference between the CME group Comex and London prices, leading to a rush of physical metals from London to the Comex. This trend signifies more confidence in the US economy compared to Europe, partly due to President Trump’s policies. Some think this gold rush is driven by inflation fears, but the US dollar remains strong. Overall, investment is flowing back into the US, evidenced by this gold movement.
This became the talk of the town the entire week after the Wall Street Journal reported on the massive movement of gold over the pond.
The Wall Street Journal reported that President Trump’s threatened tariffs on Europe have thrown precious-metal markets into disarray. Gold prices have been driven to record highs, and a yawning gap has opened in the value of the yellow metal in its two trading hubs, New York and London.  Gold is, for the moment, worth substantially more in Manhattan than in the U.K. capital, sparking the biggest trans-Atlantic movement of physical bars in years. Traders at major banks are racing to yank gold from vaults deep below London’s medieval streets and from Swiss gold refineries and ferry them across the ocean.
The cheapest way to transport such a valuable commodity safely: the cargo hold of commercial planes. Gold futures in New York have risen 11% this year, closing Wednesday at $2,909 a troy ounce, and some analysts project they could soon hit $3,000 a troy ounce for the first time. Many investors view gold as a haven at times of heightened risk. In London, though, prices per troy ounce have been about $20 lower since early December—an unusually deep discount, which traders said reflects potential tariffs at the U.S. border.
A handful of banks with access to huge supplies of gold—including JPMorgan JPM -0.25%decrease; red down pointing triangle and HSBC Holdings HSBA -1.89%decrease; red down pointing triangle—are in pole position to cash in on the disconnect, according to market participants and analysts. According to the Journal.
One of the reasons for the high volume of calls is that I am one of the few commodity brokers who do physical delivery for CME Group  gold. Most commodity brokers use gold in the futures market and do not handle physical delivery, which is a complex process.
When taking delivery of gold, one cannot simply go to the CME depository and request it. There is a formal procedure: typically, a certificate is issued to your account, and setting up delivery requires notifying the depository and hiring a service such as Brinks or Loomis to move the gold. Additionally, the gold must be delivered to a business or a lawyer’s office. It cannot be delivered to a home or a cabin. It should be noted that the mention of a cabin is hypothetical and does not imply that gold is being stored there.  So don’t assume that is where I hid my gold.
But is the gold in Ft. Knox. The AP reports that5 :While flying back to Washington aboard Air Force One on Wednesday night, a reporter asked President Donald Trump whether Elon Musk would pursue budget cuts at the Pentagon. His response might be confusing to anyone who hasn’t spent the last several days monitoring Musk’s account on X. Trump said Musk would be looking at Fort Knox, the legendary depository for American gold reserves in Kentucky. Why? “To make sure the gold is there,” Trump said. Another reporter seemed puzzled. Where would the gold have gone? “If the gold isn’t there, we’re going to be very upset,” Trump said.
Musk, the world’s richest man, who was traveling with the Republican president aboard Air Force One, has spent days posting about this issue. “Who is confirming that gold wasn’t stolen from Fort Knox?” he wrote Monday. “Maybe it’s there, maybe it’s not.”
Kitco News reported that China’s domestic gold market improved in some areas in January with the central bank also purchasing bullion for the third straight month, and while imports lagged and ETF flows turned negative, sentiment suggests gold consumption is on the rise going forward, according to Ray Jia, Research Head, China at the World Gold Council (WGC).Jia noted that gold started 2025 strong, with the LBMA and Shanghai benchmark prices both enjoying their strongest January in years “Gold prices surged during the first month of 2025: the LBMA gold price PM in USD jumped 8% while the SHAUPM in RMB rose 5%,” he wrote. “A strengthening local currency and fewer trading days due to the Chinese New Year (CNY) holiday between 28 January and 4 February led to the relative
Silver remains attractive due to its association with gold, although it has been weaker partly because interest in electric vehicles is declining. Silver offers good value but is currently more suitable for trading. Gold is expected to experience volatility, and a close above $3000 an ounce would be significant. Copper prices have been fluctuating, but we anticipate a continued long-term bull market. In the short term, buy on dips and sell on rallies, focusing on long-term bullish positions during breaks.

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