Jeff Christian Calls Gold Conspiracies ‘Garbage,’ Sees Price Boost From Mining Cutback
HAI Managing Editor Sumit Roy spoke with Christian this week about price manipulation and the fundamentals of the gold market.
HardAssetsInvestor: Let’s start off by discussing the story that’s been making waves recently, the controversy between you and Andrew Maguire. Could you tell us the back story for those who may not be familiar? Who is Maguire? What is his relevance to the gold and silver market? And what is the controversy about?
Jeff Christian: Andrew Maguire is really just a tool. There are groups like the Gold Anti-Trust Action Committee (GATA) and others, who have formed this cottage industry to try and promote the concept of conspiracies to manipulate gold and silver prices.
I have said, as have others, that (a) there's no evidence of such manipulations in the market; and (b) these conspiracy theories are a giant distraction, which can be a very costly to investors.
You have investors who believe this stuff, and then they say, “OK, well, the silver prices went from $5 to $50. But the conspiracy theorists tell me it’s going to $400. So I should stay long.” And now the price is $22. And they’ve lost a big opportunity to make profits or book profits.