Good question. A fascinating question too.
If you want to learn all about the belief that the price of gold is manipulated, head over to Gata.org.
Read other commentators and they’ll dismiss the idea out of hand, and say that the price of gold goes up and down according to market forces.
Which group is right?
For myself, I have no doubt that various companies and organizations do indeed try to control the price of gold. How effective they are in their efforts, I have no idea. This also happens with stocks, bonds, commodities and anything else that is traded.
What I don’t do is jump up and down and cry “Conspiracy!”, every time the price of gold falls.
It is that knee-jerk reaction that undermines the credibility of Gata.org and other groups which hold similar beliefs.
Gold prices are influenced by a marvellously complex variety of factors, from the mundane, like the value of the U.S. dollar, to the exotic, like peaks in Indian gold buying prior to wedding season.
When groups cried conspiracy at every downward movement of the price of gold, it isn’t surprising that people dismiss them as nutjobs.
This is a shame, because it would be very interesting to be given a more sober and objective insight into who does try to manipulate the price of gold, how they do it, and how much success they achieve.