I wrote a lengthy post...and I'm gutted as I push the wrong button and my post disappeared.
Not going to write it all again...so...I'll keep this post short (bit of humour:))
Snaps and others... don't confuse actions of market dynamics with actions of manipulation...
If you do believe that, then you believe that every single transaction within a market place is a type of manipulation...
Acts of Manipulation can be picked up when that market dynamics became warped and fail to operate efficiently..Chartists and others can pick this up easily by looking at associated systems surrounding that markets environment Those associated systems have a high correlation coefficient (0.85+) but when the market is being manipulated these systems disassociate...Has the gold Market's associated systems been disassociated recently?? no-one has commented on this being so..and I can't find any..so I say again "I can't imagine manipulation is involved...just typical market behaviour at work"
Did you know that for every ounce of gold produced it is traded 300 times before the end user gets it.
Did you know that for every barrel of oil produced it is traded 80 times before the end users gets it.
A product going through many hands before reaching the end user is natural market dynamics and in some cases that market's system is protected by law e.g paying $42 for a video movie and the movie maker only gets $0.99 of that $42...That piece of video passing through many hands like oil?..price manipulation by the middlemen? ..no, its the Video market system in normal action...Can us plebs circumvent that market dynamics and buy from the video source for $0.99?.. no its probably illegal..
Similar market dynamics applies at the supermarket with produce....and any other retailer or any entity...Years ago we consumers couldn't buy from the wholesaler..
Oil and all the marketable instruments within the Oil Market...nothing wrong here either as there are buyers and sellers...as long as the product being bought matches up with the product sold there is no manipulation...
Big buyers "manipulate" their market?.. ..they do effect the market as their behaviour is large enough to shift the price equilibrium balance with supply/demand within the Market dynamics and they would be silly not to use their power to gain maximum effect to their advantage...but this is not manipulation as it isn't destructively warping or circumventing that market systems dynamics...In theory the efficient market system caters for all sizes of its participants..
When is it manipulation?..Hunt Brothers cornering the silver market was manipulation as it upset that market's system dynamics and the Authorities has to "intervene" (I personally call this manipulation too) to fix it..
Buffett tried it in the silver market in late 1990's, sent a lot of silver investors to the wall but unlike Hunt but got away with it as it didn't upset the market systems dynamics..got the nick name as a Master manipulator and developed a good nose to sniff out manipulated markets..
Always the big boys fault???...no... mass investor fear (everyone wants out) behaviour causing capitulation, unintentionally manipulates that market...and guess who's watching closely when this happens ..Yep Buffett...
So where is Buffett?...he's not around sniffing the gold market and never has.