Gold ETF's stock trending further down the road to zero.

[Pirocco]

http://www.spdrgoldshares.com/
2011/01/18 41,795,939
2012/01/10 40,603,467
2013/05/03 34,260,271
2013/08/06 29,486,937.62
2014/01/02 25,547,852.70
2015/12/24 20,729,313.48

http://us.ishares.com/product_info/fund/overview/IAU.htm
2012/11/29 11,390,401.627
2013/04/04 9,273,449.210
2013/04/15 6,653,361.502
2015/07/14 5,393,522.88
2015/12/24 4,942,248.68

Both now dumped more than half of what they accumulated earlier.
Using 2012 as a reference, about 26 Moz or 800 tonnes.
They had to sell the gold to some1, and apparently savers demand didn't suffice, central banks needed to step in. Where would the gold price have been without them?

 

[wrcmad]

Both now dumped more than half of what they accumulated earlier.
Using 2012 as a reference, about 26 Moz or 800 tonnes.
They had to sell the gold to some1, and apparently savers demand didn't suffice, central banks needed to step in. Where would the gold price have been without them?

Back to where it started before the ETF bubble... about 10 years ago?
Looks like things are reverting to their mean. Nothing to see here.

 

[Pirocco]

Central bank & other institutions
- positive figure means total net = selling
- negative figure means total net = buying
year / tonnes / average gold price that year
1997 326 $330.98
1998 363 $294.24
1999 477 $278.88
2000 479 $279.11
2001 520 $271.04
2002 547 $309.73
2003 620 $363.38
2004 479 $409.72
2005 663 $444.74
2006 365 $603.46
2007 484 $695.39
2008 235 $871.96
2009 34 $972.35
>>> 5592 tonnes gold sold over the period 1997-2009
2010 -77 $1224.53
2011 -455 $1571.52
2012 -544.1 $1668.98
2013 -625.5 $1411.23
2014 -590.5 $1211.71
>>> 2292.1 tonnes purchased over the period 2010-2014
= 41% sold

ETFs and similar products
1997 0 $330.98
1998 0 $294.24
1999 0 $278.88
2000 0 $279.11
2001 0 $271.04
2002 3 $309.73 $0.030b
2003 39 $363.38 $0.456b
2004 133 $409.72 $1.752b
2005 208 $444.74 $2.974b
2006 260 $603.46 $5.044b
2007 253 $695.39 $5.656b
2008 321 $871.96 $8.999b
2009 617 $972.35 $19.288b
2010 367.7 $1224.53 $11.822b
2011 154.0 $1571.52 $4.951b
2012 279.1 $1668.98 $8.973b
>>> 2634.8 tonnes purchased over the period 2002-2012
2013 -915.9
2014 -183.1
>>> 1099 tonnes sold over the period 2013-2014
= 41.7% sold.

Funny coincidence eh?
ETF's sold 41% of the stock they accumulated.
Central banks purchased back 41.7% of the stock they sold.

 

[bubbleboy]

Using 2012 as a reference, about 26 Moz or 800 tonnes.
They had to sell the gold to some1, and apparently savers demand didn't suffice, central banks needed to step in.

Using the past 35 years as a reference instead of since 2012, over 60,000 Tonnes of gold has been mined,
http://www.numbersleuth.org/worlds-gold/
While central bank reserves have decreased over the past 35 years.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:World_Gold_Reserves.png
Where has all that gold gone? over 60,000 Tonnes of physical taken off the market and has not returned. Using that perspective, since 2012 half of all ETF reserves have also been disappearing from the market place. Where does it all go?

I wouldn't trust today's gold price, which is based on trading 'future gold' contracts, to determine the value of 60,000 Tonnes of physical which has disappeared from the market place over 35 years. What will it take to get that physical gold back into market? The bull run of paper based 'futures gold' from $250 to $1900 didn't seem to get any of that physical back onto market. The fall from $1900 also didn't panic any of the physical stock back onto market.

I'm talking here about the rich people who are holding most of the stock of physical gold, not poor people like us who buy and sell a few ounces or who trade ETF for the price movements.
Obviously trading the paper gold price is like being in the stock market and has no relevance to rich people who hold paintings worth millions and physical gold by the Tonne.

 

[Pirocco]

Using 2012 as a reference, about 26 Moz or 800 tonnes.
They had to sell the gold to some1, and apparently savers demand didn't suffice, central banks needed to step in.

Using the past 35 years as a reference instead of since 2012, over 60,000 Tonnes of gold has been mined,
http://www.numbersleuth.org/worlds-gold/
While central bank reserves have decreased over the past 35 years.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:World_Gold_Reserves.png
Where has all that gold gone? over 60,000 Tonnes of physical taken off the market and has not returned. Using that perspective, since 2012 half of all ETF reserves have also been disappearing from the market place. Where does it all go?

I wouldn't trust today's gold price, which is based on trading 'future gold' contracts, to determine the value of 60,000 Tonnes of physical which has disappeared from the market place over 35 years. What will it take to get that physical gold back into market? The bull run of paper based 'futures gold' from $250 to $1900 didn't seem to get any of that physical back onto market. The fall from $1900 also didn't panic any of the physical stock back onto market.

I'm talking here about the rich people who are holding most of the stock of physical gold, not poor people like us who buy and sell a few ounces or who trade ETF for the price movements.
Obviously trading the paper gold price is like being in the stock market and has no relevance to rich people who hold paintings worth millions and physical gold by the Tonne.

"Taken off" the market?
For good?
Heh.

Recycling
1997 631
1998 1108
1999 620
2000 619
2001 749
2002 872
2003 985
2004 878
2005 897
2006 1126
2007 956
2008 1217
2009 1672
2010 1653
2011 1611.9
2012 1590.8
2013 1254.6
2014 1175.9
From 1998 to 2014, 19616,2 tonnes "returned to the market".
As scrap!
Then we have hoards of coins, bars, ...
Or were these scrapped?
Possible, but I don't think so. Maybe dealers here know if they scrap gold coins that customers sold back to them?
Where all the gold goes?
Simple: it goes from hand to hand.
It just relocates.
That's not what drives its price.
That is, demand versus supply.

Your "futures gold" didn't drive the price from $250 to $1900.
That's just a fact, because the max seen futures position was 300K x 100 oz = 933 tonnes, while total demand/supply hangs around 4000 tonnes since 1997. For ex, 1999 was 4205, 2005 was 4016 and 2014 was 4278.2 tonnes.
Of course it did have its share in the price trend, but it was quite smaller than other buying/selling's price effect.
http://finviz.com/futures_charts.ashx?t=GC&p=m1 (green trendline)
So that story of "paper" this and that, is just a made-up that some use to put claims like "price explosions when paper schemes break up" etc. Usually these claims are made by people that SELL. They need suckers to buy at any price, but the higher the better ofc, haha.

 

[bubbleboy]

Using 2012 as a reference, about 26 Moz or 800 tonnes.
They had to sell the gold to some1, and apparently savers demand didn't suffice, central banks needed to step in.

Using the past 35 years as a reference instead of since 2012, over 60,000 Tonnes of gold has been mined,
http://www.numbersleuth.org/worlds-gold/
While central bank reserves have decreased over the past 35 years.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:World_Gold_Reserves.png
Where has all that gold gone? over 60,000 Tonnes of physical taken off the market and has not returned. Using that perspective, since 2012 half of all ETF reserves have also been disappearing from the market place. Where does it all go?

I wouldn't trust today's gold price, which is based on trading 'future gold' contracts, to determine the value of 60,000 Tonnes of physical which has disappeared from the market place over 35 years. What will it take to get that physical gold back into market? The bull run of paper based 'futures gold' from $250 to $1900 didn't seem to get any of that physical back onto market. The fall from $1900 also didn't panic any of the physical stock back onto market.

I'm talking here about the rich people who are holding most of the stock of physical gold, not poor people like us who buy and sell a few ounces or who trade ETF for the price movements.
Obviously trading the paper gold price is like being in the stock market and has no relevance to rich people who hold paintings worth millions and physical gold by the Tonne.

"Taken off" the market?
For good?
Heh.

Recycling
1997 631
1998 1108
1999 620
2000 619
2001 749
2002 872
2003 985
2004 878
2005 897
2006 1126
2007 956
2008 1217
2009 1672
2010 1653
2011 1611.9
2012 1590.8
2013 1254.6
2014 1175.9
From 1998 to 2014, 19616,2 tonnes "returned to the market".
As scrap!
Then we have hoards of coins, bars, ...
Or were these scrapped?
Possible, but I don't think so. Maybe dealers here know if they scrap gold coins that customers sold back to them?
Where all the gold goes?
Simple: it goes from hand to hand.
It just relocates.
That's not what drives its price.

Well I have to agree with you there, ' from hand to hand. It just relocates.' it sure does. In that context, by 'taken off the market' I meant from visible hands to invisible hands. Central Banks, ETF holdings are publicly known amounts which have decreased and gone into whos hands? 35 years of this movement from public to hidden and no one knows whos hands.

That is, demand versus supply.

Your "futures gold" didn't drive the price from $250 to $1900.
That's just a fact, because the max seen futures position was 300K x 100 oz = 933 tonnes, while total demand/supply hangs around 4000 tonnes since 1997. For ex, 1999 was 4205, 2005 was 4016 and 2014 was 4278.2 tonnes.

Of course it did have its share in the price trend, but it was quite smaller than other buying/selling's price effect.
http://finviz.com/futures_charts.ashx?t=GC&p=m1 (green trendline)

I disagree with your estimate of gold futures market size, my 'futures gold' reference was to the entire global paper gold market,
"Internationally, gold is traded primarily via over-the-counter (OTC) transactions with limited amounts trading on the New York Mercantile Exchange (NYMEX) and Tokyo Commodity Exchange (TOCOM). These forward contracts are known as gold futures contracts."
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/London_bullion_market

How many of these contracts to deliver future gold are traded every day?
"The average daily volume of gold and silver cleared at the London Bullion Market Association (LBMA) in November 2008 was 18.3 million ounces (worth $13.9 billion) and 107.6 million ounces (worth $1.1 billion) respectively. This means that an amount equal to the annual gold mine production was cleared at the LBMA every 4.4 days, and to the annual silver production every 6.2 days." - wikipedia

Amounts equal to the yearly mine output traded every 4.4 days as future contracts has been confirmed by the LBMA. GATA thinks it's almost double that amount. That's how the price is determined, future delivery contracts. Hand to hand gold is not connected to the gold price we see every day.

This guy seems to understand that paper price is not at all related to supply and demand in the physical market.
"Physical Gold Fund interviews Director of one of the largest Swiss Refineries.
The physical tightness of flow is reflected in the price "not at all".
As long as the spot market is settled with cash settlement, the physical flows are not determining price.
The gold price has "no correlation to the physical market."
http://www.physicalgoldfund.com/phy...ector-of-one-of-the-largest-swiss-refineries/

So that story of "paper" this and that, is just a made-up that some use to put claims like "price explosions when paper schemes break up" etc. Usually these claims are made by people that SELL. They need suckers to buy at any price, but the higher the better ofc, haha.

Disclaimer: I do have physical gold, purchased at AUD$800 to AUD$1100, I can sell to other 'suckers' for almost AUD$1500 today. But I'm not going to because I don't believe the paper price is valid and will FALL until futures are worthless and no physical is available. Barring some unforeseen personal emergency I'm not selling until there is a global physical market determining the price without a single futures contract being involved. That will be the real price of gold.

 

[Jimmy1986]

"Disclaimer: I do have physical gold, purchased at AUD$800 to AUD$1100, I can sell to other 'suckers' for almost AUD$1500 today. But I'm not going to because I don't believe the paper price is valid and will FALL until futures are worthless and no physical is available. Barring some unforeseen personal emergency I'm not selling until there is a global physical market determining the price without a single futures contract being involved. That will be the real price of gold."


Sounds a lot like FOFOA's "freegold" theory

 

[wrcmad]

Disclaimer: I do have physical gold, purchased at AUD$800 to AUD$1100, I can sell to other 'suckers' for almost AUD$1500 today. But I'm not going to because I don't believe the paper price is valid and will FALL until futures are worthless and no physical is available. Barring some unforeseen personal emergency I'm not selling until there is a global physical market determining the price without a single futures contract being involved. That will be the real price of gold.

Looks like you wont ever be selling then.

 

[Pirocco]

The price is not changed by amount "paper" ounces traded, but simply by the total net position, being all longs minus all shorts. The net remainder. Trading volume is often used by people that want to mislead. But a futures contract, just like anything, can be traded more than once a day. Even hundreds times. And that total net position that I talked about, the trend of it through te years, makes clear that the price effect of "paper gold" was far from what is claimed, and actually a minor price driver.

And about futures in general, they will exist as long as speculators buy and sell gold. That's where futures are for, why they were invented: hedging, against speculators. Producers want to be sure of a cost, of an income, and that's why they hedge their orders. To lock their cost.

 

[bubbleboy]

Sounds a lot like FOFOA's "freegold" theory

Looks like you wont ever be selling then.

Then I'll always have my gold, for personal emergencies and handing on to the next generation.

The price is not changed by amount "paper" ounces traded, but simply by the total net position, being all longs minus all shorts. The net remainder. Trading volume is often used by people that want to mislead. But a futures contract, just like anything, can be traded more than once a day. Even hundreds times. And that total net position that I talked about, the trend of it through te years, makes clear that the price effect of "paper gold" was far from what is claimed, and actually a minor price driver.

What drives the price then? because it's not from physical changing hands anywhere in the global market.

And about futures in general, they will exist as long as speculators buy and sell gold. That's where futures are for, why they were invented: hedging, against speculators. Producers want to be sure of a cost, of an income, and that's why they hedge their orders. To lock their cost.

In general that is indeed what futures are for, producers and consumers benefit from a known price for their future product thanks to trading by speculators and investors who get something in return for their efforts. Gold is different, the global stockpile is huge compared to new mining (1.3%/year new gold) and is not consumed (ok 0.1% goes in landfill), it just moves from hand to hand. Gold futures are a detriment to holders of physical (97% of all physical gold is with the holders). When the ETF's collapse along with the paper gold price investors (and all paper instruments), physical holders can only benefit.

 

[Pirocco]

Well I have to agree with you there, ' from hand to hand. It just relocates.' it sure does. In that context, by 'taken off the market' I meant from visible hands to invisible hands. Central Banks, ETF holdings are publicly known amounts which have decreased and gone into whos hands? 35 years of this movement from public to hidden and no one knows whos hands.

"Invisible hands"?
But it's visible.
Just watch gold.org.
Central bank & other institutions
- positive figure means total net = selling
- negative figure means total net = buying
year / tonnes / average gold price that year
1997 326 $330.98
1998 363 $294.24
1999 477 $278.88
2000 479 $279.11
2001 520 $271.04
2002 547 $309.73
2003 620 $363.38
2004 479 $409.72
2005 663 $444.74
2006 365 $603.46
2007 484 $695.39
2008 235 $871.96
2009 34 $972.35
>>> 5592 tonnes gold sold over the period 1997-2009
2010 -77 $1224.53
2011 -455 $1571.52
2012 -544.1 $1668.98
2013 -386.6(2014Q1) > -409.3(2014Q2) > -625.5 (2015Q1) $1411.23
2014 -477.2(2014Q4) > -588.0(2015Q1) > -590.5 (2015Q2) $1211.71
2015 -425.8(Q1-3)
>>> 2290 tonnes gold bought over the period 2010-2014

How does "invisible" fit with "reported"?

I disagree with your estimate of gold futures market size, my 'futures gold' reference was to the entire global paper gold market,
"Internationally, gold is traded primarily via over-the-counter (OTC) transactions with limited amounts trading on the New York Mercantile Exchange (NYMEX) and Tokyo Commodity Exchange (TOCOM). These forward contracts are known as gold futures contracts."
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/London_bullion_market

My 'futures gold" reference was NYMEX, remember?

If these contracts to deliver future gold are traded every day?
"The average daily volume of gold and silver cleared at the London Bullion Market Association (LBMA) in November 2008 was 18.3 million ounces (worth $13.9 billion) and 107.6 million ounces (worth $1.1 billion) respectively. This means that an amount equal to the annual gold mine production was cleared at the LBMA every 4.4 days, and to the annual silver production every 6.2 days." - wikipedia

Amounts equal to the yearly mine output traded every 4.4 days as future contracts has been confirmed by the LBMA. GATA thinks it's almost double that amount. That's how the price is determined, future delivery contracts. Hand to hand gold is not connected to the gold price we see every day.

If you and me toss a ball forth and back 100 times, how many balls did we need?
One.
Same applies to amounts "traded".
A same contract, can change hands 1000 times a day.
It doesn't need X times Y ounces, just 1 time Y ounces.

This guy seems to understand that paper price is not at all related to supply and demand in the physical market.
"Physical Gold Fund interviews Director of one of the largest Swiss Refineries.
The physical tightness of flow is reflected in the price "not at all".
As long as the spot market is settled with cash settlement, the physical flows are not determining price.
The gold price has "no correlation to the physical market."
http://www.physicalgoldfund.com/phy...ector-of-one-of-the-largest-swiss-refineries/

You miss the entire point of a futures market: hedging. That's basically ordering X ounces on the cash market, causing an Y price change, and same time ordering another X ounces as futures, causing a combined 2Y price change, a temporal extra 1Y, because they cancel the order. For the obvious reason: they don't wanna end up getting 2X ounces and having to pay the double.

Disclaimer: I do have physical gold, purchased at AUD$800 to AUD$1100, I can sell to other 'suckers' for almost AUD$1500 today. But I'm not going to because I don't believe the paper price is valid and will FALL until futures are worthless and no physical is available. Barring some unforeseen personal emergency I'm not selling until there is a global physical market determining the price without a single futures contract being involved. That will be the real price of gold.

"Paper price", is just a part of the price. Sometimes it sits close to zero (when the total net position sits close to zero), other times it's 300000 x 100 ounces, being a quarter of annual supply/demand.
Nevertheless, good luck with your beliefs.
In your place, I'd hold too. Because I rather wish the losing side in the camp of the governments and their parasiting clubs, not in the camp of other people trying the same as me.

 

[Aengrod]

You miss the entire point of a futures market: hedging.

I'd like to point out one thing:

For the "commodity" like Gold with unique stock to flow ratio characteristics, by definition creation of the futures market will result in suppression of the "price".

Thank you.

 

[wrcmad]

I'd like to point out one thing:

For the "commodity" like Gold with unique stock to flow ratio characteristics, by definition creation of the futures market will result in suppression of the "price".

Please elaborate!

 

[797craig]

just came across this article ....interesting read.
Three Reasons I Tell Everyone to Sell Their Gold ETFs By: Jeff Clark, Senior Precious Metals Analyst


We regret to inform investors that cash withdrawals are not permitted at this time.

This isn't a fictional account. And it's not from the 2008 financial crisis. It happened last week.

Within 11 days after Britain voted to leave the EU, M&G Investments, Aviva Investors, and Standard Life all banned clients from withdrawing funds due to "extraordinary market conditions."

These are not small, obscure funds in the UK. Each manages billions of British pounds. Because of the crisis, however, it quickly became apparent that continued redemptions would crash the fund and force management to sell assets at fire-sale prices. Executives at each fund felt they had no choice.

Bruce couldn't get his own money out.

What does this have to do with bullion-backed funds?

Gold ETFs have the same risks as these funds. And those risks all center around two words

https://goldsilver.com/news/three-r...by-jeff-clark-senior-precious-metals-analyst/

 

[Pirocco]

You miss the entire point of a futures market: hedging.

I'd like to point out one thing:

For the "commodity" like Gold with unique stock to flow ratio characteristics, by definition creation of the futures market will result in suppression of the "price".

Thank you.

This old topic bump made me read this.
Unique stock to flow ratio?
The futures market was created to INCREASE the price.

Imagine a century ago.
Imagine some jewelry maker on the cash market.
He wants 1000 oz gold, to deliver, and pay, over 100 days.
But he's AFRAID.
AFRAID from speculators.
That they would cause a gold demand increase, and price increase by the time he has to pay his 1000 oz.
So, the jewelry maker hunts for a solution to this.
So that he can already NOW be sure of what the 1000 oz gold will cost him.
After some nights beer and hard thinking, he gets an idea.
He orders his 1000 oz, to deliver and pay over 100 days, at the price then (price over 100 days).
AND
He places a SECOND order for 1000 oz, to deliver over 100 days. But with a catch.
He "packages" that order in what gets named a "futures long position" - in this example 10 positions, where he only has to pay (and "maintain") a margin (a fraction).
This SECOND, special order, has an upwards price effect already today. Due to what is named "arbitration".
The incentive for that arbitration is achieved by providing free money as long as the cash price differs from the contracts price.
And thus, the cash price increases, due to a futures component in it.
The next one ordering gold (ex the speculators he's AFRAID of), will thus pay more.
And if those speculators cause a further price increase, the jewelry maker will receive dollars on his futures position account.
Those dollars, origin from the speculators (they paid more remember?), and will form the jewelry makers compensation over 100 days.
The jewelry maker will then have to pay an increased price, BUT he will have accumulated the difference on his futures position account, so that the COST of his 1000 oz gold, will be the same as what he locked in 100 days earlier when he took his futures hedge.

So, the futures market causes a price INCREASE. Only when the total net position (sum of all longs and all shorts, one for the supply side, inverted one for the demand side) is zero, the price will be the cash market price.

 

[Pirocco]

About my topic, the trend didn't go to zero.

http://www.spdrgoldshares.com/
2011/01/18 41,795,939
2012/01/10 40,603,467
2013/05/03 34,260,271
2013/08/06 29,486,937.62
2014/01/02 25,547,852.70
2015/12/24 20,729,313.48
2016/07/22 30,965,980.58

http://us.ishares.com/product_info/fund ew/IAU.htm
2012/11/29 11,390,401.627
2013/04/04 9,273,449.210
2013/04/15 6,653,361.502
2015/07/14 5,393,522.88
2015/12/24 4,942,248.68
2016/07/22 6,993,941.46

The reversal was the first new figures adjustment after my topic creation here (1 month later), for both these biggest gold ETF's.
I must have waken them up.
In meantime, they've increased back up to 2013 levels.

 

[Pirocco]

just came across this article ....interesting read.
Three Reasons I Tell Everyone to Sell Their Gold ETFs By: Jeff Clark, Senior Precious Metals Analyst


We regret to inform investors that cash withdrawals are not permitted at this time.

This isn't a fictional account. And it's not from the 2008 financial crisis. It happened last week.

Within 11 days after Britain voted to leave the EU, M&G Investments, Aviva Investors, and Standard Life all banned clients from withdrawing funds due to "extraordinary market conditions."

These are not small, obscure funds in the UK. Each manages billions of British pounds. Because of the crisis, however, it quickly became apparent that continued redemptions would crash the fund and force management to sell assets at fire-sale prices. Executives at each fund felt they had no choice.

Bruce couldn't get his own money out.

What does this have to do with bullion-backed funds?

Gold ETFs have the same risks as these funds. And those risks all center around two words

https://goldsilver.com/news/three-r...by-jeff-clark-senior-precious-metals-analyst/

I tried to find some backup for this story, but so far negative.
Is there any official source (ex, ETF site) for this?
I've seen several such stories pass the last 5 years, and apparently they were false / isolated / had no followup global consequence.
So one should be cautious about what is true about them.
For example, one of the listed funds:

"Within 11 days after Britain voted to leave the EU, M&G Investments, Aviva Investors, and Standard Life all banned clients from withdrawing funds due to "extraordinary market conditions.""

This is on the website of M&G Investments:

The list of press releases (funny, you have to click a yes)

Press releases

The information in this section of the site is intended for journalists and media professionals only.

This section of the website is for the sole use of journalists and media professionals. It should not be relied on by private investors or advisers and the information should not be construed as a financial promotion under the Financial Conduct Authority's (FCA) Conduct of Business rules.

By clicking yes you are confirming that you are a member of the media and wish to continue into this part of the website.

By clicking no you will be redirected to the home page.

Then you see this:
http://www.mandg.com/en/corporate/media-centre/press-releases-media/
And I picked out this:
http://www.mandg.com/-/media/Press Releases/MandG-Statement-on-the-result-of-the-EU-referendum.pdf
I read there:

After months of uncertainty, we now know that the British people have voted to leave the European Union.
Until this decision takes effect probably not for two years and quite possibly longer - the
current laws and regulations on the management of investments and the distribution of funds will
continue to apply.
We have done a great deal of planning for this outcome and our operational preparations for the UK's eventual departure from the EU are well -advanced.
Work on extending our existing range of funds domiciled in Ireland has been underway for the past year and this is our preferred option to
minimise disruption for our European customers. We will also step up our engagement with policymakers in London and Brussels to ensure as much continuity as possible for all investors.

So, there is little to find to support that "We regret to inform investors that cash withdrawals are not permitted at this time."
If I Google the sentence quoted, then I see nothing else than goldsilver.com (a bullion seller) and thejanssenreport.net
On the latter, in Googles cache I see as first news item on the right "Three Reasons I Tell Everyone to Sell Their Gold ETFs By: Jeff Clark, Senior Precious Metals ... July 21, 2016"
But when I look on the site itself (like it is now, the article isn't there anymore).
And I see another article "Gold Could Hit $5,000 or Even $10,000 in a Few Years".

I find that:

"Bruce Lamar [name changed] was stunned when he read the one-sentence reply from his fund. His daughter was starting college, and he needed to withdraw currency from a real estate fund he'd invested .... blabla"

... hard to believe.
And nowhere else it is supported / confirmed by other people, alike that "Bruce Lamar [name changed]" would have been the only one trying to withdraw from the fund since the referendum.
It's a single story, published by a vested interest.
It talks, looks and walks like a scam.

Edit: in another topic here, section markets, a bloomberg article is linked: http://www.bloomberg.com/news/artic...s-suspends-trading-in-property-portfolio-fund
And using the 3 names: https://www.theguardian.com/busines...ing-in-its-property-fund-brexit-standard-life

The suspensions came on another day of drama on the financial markets, 11 days after the vote to leave the EU wrong-footed investors and sparked political turmoil. Developments included:

It's an article of 5 juli, 19 days ago.
That drama apparently didn't proceed, lotsa cash back in financial markets, upto new decade+ recordheights. Ex http://finviz.com/futures_charts.ashx?t=ES&p=m1

 

[Ipv6Ready]

As to the question where has all the gold gone, wouldn't it be logical that it has gone to developing nations citizens.

For example how many of the 1,400,000,000 Chinese and 1,000,000,000 Indians can now afford more gold jewellery compared to thirty years ago.

On average few rings, a necklace or two, a bracelet and two or three earrings, is not beyond the impossible anymore.

A combined 100,000,000 people owning half an ounce each is serious number stored in an unaccounted way.

It hasn't disappeared, and many will come back to the refiners if gold gets seriously expensive.

Remember all those gold buying stalls in Australia that popped up during the last crash, I can't see why that wouldn't happen in China and India encouraging people to sell "unused" gold for cash, if hard times hit them.

 

[Pirocco]

As to the question where has all the gold gone, wouldn't it be logical that it has gone to developing nations citizens.

For example how many of the 1,400,000,000 Chinese and 1,000,000,000 Indians can now afford more gold jewellery compared to thirty years ago.

On average few rings, a necklace or two, a bracelet and two or three earrings, is not beyond the impossible anymore.

A combined 100,000,000 people owning half an ounce each is serious number stored in an unaccounted way.

It hasn't disappeared, and many will come back to the refiners if gold gets seriously expensive.

Remember all those gold buying stalls in Australia that popped up during the last crash, I can't see why that wouldn't happen in China and India encouraging people to sell "unused" gold for cash, if hard times hit them.

The real question is, what will it be in the future, with TODAY as reference?
The worlds population growth, will it continue like in that 30 years?
There are quite some more Indians than you seem to think.

In 1900 the world population was 1.5b
In 1950 it was 2.5b
In 2000 it was 6.1b
Now it's 7.4b
Growth = 293%

In 1900 China was 0.4b
In 1950 it was 0.58b
In 2000 it was 1.27b
Now it's 1.38b
Growth = 145%

In 1900 India was 0.238b
In 1950 it was 0.36b
In 2000 it was 1.29b
Now it's 1.33b
Growth = 359%

Despite the many claims about China's wooha population growth, the figures show that India's population grew over double China's rate.
Will this population growth rate and its acceleration continu?

And, gold gets added too.
Since 1900, 5.9 billion people were added to worlds population.
Since 1900, 150000 tonnes gold were added to worlds gold stock (mining).
So for every new folk since 1900 there is 25 gram new gold.
And nearly all gold stays, its recycling rate is very high.
So if population growth / rate would drop, more gold per capita.

And in the end, it's just gold. People buy alot different things to store value.

About "I can't see why that wouldn't happen in China and India encouraging people to sell "unused" gold for cash, if hard times hit them.", well if hard times hit an entire population, thus a macro economical story, it's usually the cash that gets swapped to whatever, just not only gold.