Bank of England

Global stocks backed off from all time highs, and S&P futures are unchanged ahead of the much anticipated US CPI report, which is expected to break a streak of five consecutive misses, while eyeing disappointing overnight Chinese economic data which missed across the board. European stocks and Asian markets were also modestly in the red, with the relentless global rally to new daily record highs taking a breather amid some concerns China's economy is rolling over, which weighed on commodities including base metals, which in turned dragged down mining stocks.

When one strips away the lies about central banks' "inflation and employment" mandates and focuses on what they really do - which is to keep asset prices artificially supported and volatility suppressed - the motive behind virtually every central bank act becomes readily apparent: preserve (and increase, if possible) confidence in the market and economy, while saying anything and everything that helps achieve this, or in other words, lie but don't get caught.

This week for the first time - in the name of "transparency" - the London Bullion Market Association unveiled that as at 31 March, 2017 there were 7,449 tonnes of gold, or 596,000 gold bars, valued at $298 billion sotred in the vaults around London as well as $19 billion in silver. Only the gold hoard at Fort Knox and among Indian households said to account for more than the LBMA's inventory, which clears just over $18 billion in gold daily.

Submitted by Ronan Manly, BullionStar.com

The London Bullion Market Association (LBMA) has just released a first update on the quantity of physical gold and silver holdings stored in the ‘LBMA’ London vaulting network. The LBMA press release explaining the move, dated 31 July, can be read here.

E-mini futures are fractionally lower this morning (0.08%) after Apple's surge helped the DJIA climb above 22,000 for the first time on Wednesday; Global shares declined for the first time in 4 days pressured by tech stocks: Asian shares fell, while Europe pared opening losses to trade unchanged.