If the precious metals prices were really being kept low by central banks desiring to control the metric for judging inflation, then Federal Reserve member banks would probably be involved.

There is no proof as to which banks own stock in the Federal Reserve,[1] but one can make an educated guess based on which banks were bailed out in 2008.

JP Morgan Chase is being investigated for manipulating the precious metals market. Via Tom Schoenberg and Liam Vaughan of Bloomberg,

“Their campaign of manipulation and spoofing -- placing orders and then canceling them to trick other market participants -- spanned a decade, prosecutors said.

Although other suspected market cheats have been charged with specific spoofing and manipulation offenses, the Justice Department accused JPMorgan metals traders under the so-called RICO statute -- a criminal racketeering law more commonly applied to mafia cases than global bank probes.”[2]

JP Morgan gave his opinion on money in 1912, the year before the Federal Reserve was created.

“Q. But the basis of banking is credit, is it not?

A. Not always. That is an evidence of banking, but it is not the money itself. Money is gold and nothing else.”[3]

People are mistaking general price inflation for a bull market because the price of gold is suppressed.[4]

Perhaps the author is wrong. Maybe the RICO charges are unrelated to JP Morgan Chase rigging the gold price lower than the 2011 price high of $1,900 to benefit central bank purchases (buy low; sell high) at a time when prices would have been going still higher because central banks have been printing money to buy gold after printing a record amount of money to bailout their friends in the Great Financial Crisis.

Qui Bono?

[1] https://www.federalreserve.gov/aboutthefed/section4.htm Section 4 Federal Reserve Banks, 1. Organization of Reserve Banks: “The Comptroller of the Currency shall thereupon cause to be forwarded to each national bank located in each district, and to such other banks declared to be eligible by the organization committee which may apply therefor, an application blank in form to be approved by the organization committee, which blank shall contain a resolution to be adopted by the board of directors of each bank executing such application, authorizing a subscription to the capital stock of the Federal reserve bank organizing in that district in accordance with the provisions of this Act.”

[2] https://www.bloomberg.com/amp/news/articles/2020-02-05/jpmorgan-s-role-in-metals-spoofing-is-under-u-s-criminal-probe?__twitter_impression=truev

[3] https://www.scribd.com/document/247741026/JPMorgan-Testmony-1912 Testimony of JP Morgan before the Banks and Currency Committee of the House of Representatives appointed for the purpose of investigating an alleged money trust in “Wall Street.” Pg. 48

[4] https://www.hamiltonmobley.com/blog/gold-price-suppression