We know that back in early October 2010 [3], when gold closed at a then record high of $1,320, JPM decided to reopen its previously mothballed precious metal vault due to soaring demand for metal vaulting, thus becoming only the fifth official Comex private gold depository in New York in addition to HSBC, Bank of Nova Scotia, Brinks and MTB (and of course the New York Fed).
We also know, courtesy of a Zero Hedge exclusive [4], that the JPM vault - the largest private gold vault in the world - is located at 1 Chase Manhattan Plaza, and is literally adjacent to the vault of the New York Fed 80 feet, and 5 sublevels, below street level.
We know that for a long time the vault held around 2.5 million ounces of eligible (commercial) gold, a number which declined only gradually until very recently.
We know that the total amount of registered (investment) gold has been steady for the past 4 years [5](after peaking in early 2006).
Finally, everyone knows that in the past month gold has experienced a very severe move lower which is still largely unexplained.
What many may not know, is that while registered Comex gold has been flat, the amount of eligible gold in Comex warehouses (the distinction between eligible and registered gold can be found here [6]) in the past several weeks has plunged from nearly 9 million ounces, to just 6.1 million ounces as of today- the lowest since mid-2009.
[7]
What nobody knows, is why virtually the entire move in warehoused eligible gold is driven exclusively by one firm: JPMorgan, whose eligible gold has collapse from just under 2 million ounces as of the end of 2012 to a nearly record low 402,374 ounces as of today [8], a drop of 20% in one day, though slightly higher compared to the recent record low hit on April 5 when JPM warehoused commercial gold touched a post-vault reopening low of just over 4 tons, or 142,700 ounces.
This happened just days ahead of the biggest ever one-day gold slam down in history.
[9]
Some questions we would like answers to:
- What happened to the commercial gold vaulted with JPM, and what was the reason for the historic drawdown?
- Gold, unlike fiat, is not created out of thin air, nor can it be shred or deleted. Where did the gold leaving the JPM warehouse end up (especially since registered JPM and total Comex gold [5]has been relatively flat over the same period)?
- Did any of this gold make its way across the street, and end up at the vault of the building located at 33 Liberty street?
- What happens if and/or when the JPM vault is empty of commercial gold, and JPM receives a delivery notice?
Inquiring minds want to know...