London Bullion Market Association have released a 10 page report called “Annual Metal Winners 2004“.
The best visions of the future often start by looking at the past.
Last year held rewards for both the bulls and bears and also for those in the middle. The 2004 average for gold hovered near $410 at years-end approached, a level none in last year’s Forecast had chosen.
Read the report by clicking here.
LBMA – The Competent Authority for the world Bullion Market
The LBMA is an international trade association, representing the London market for gold and silver bullion which has a global client base. This includes the majority of the gold-holding central banks, private sector investors, mining companies, producers, refiners and fabricators. The on-going work of the Association covers a number of areas, among them refining standards, trading documentation and the development of good trading practices.
The maintenance of the Good Delivery List, including the accreditation of new refiners and the regular retesting of listed refiners, is the most important core activity of the LBMA. The LBMA Brochure provides further information about the LBMA.
The LBMA comprises and represents the key players and their clients in the bullion market, which is centred in London but which has an international footprint. It is not an Exchange like the LME on which contracts for base metals are traded.
The current membership of the LBMA includes more than 140 companies including refiners, fabricators, traders as well as those providing storage and secure carrier services. We represent these members, and through our maintenance of and publication of the Good Delivery List, set the benchmark for gold and silver metal bars across the world.
Origins of the LBMA
The LBMA was established in 1987 by the Bank of England, which at this time was the bullion market’s regulator. The LBMA took over the roles previously carried out by two separate organisations, the London Gold Market and Silver Market, whose origins date back to the mid-nineteenth century.
The on-going work of the Association covers setting and monitoring refining standards, creating trading documentation and fostering the development of good trading practices. The LBMA’s main role is the maintenance and publication of the Good Delivery Lists for gold and silver, which are universally acknowledged as the de facto standard of quality assured and assayed bullion. The LBMA Brochure provides further information about the work of the LBMA.
Since its inception in 2000, the LBMA’s annual Precious Metals Conference has been the premier professional forum for the world’s precious metals market. Following the conference in Singapore on 16-18 October, 2016, the next in the series of conferences will take place in Barcelona on 15-17 October, 2017.
The LBMA also produce other publications, most significantly the Alchemist, the LBMA’s quarterly journal, which contains articles of general interest to all participants in, and observer’s of the bullion market. It is available free of charge from the LBMA Executive.
The LBMA Good Delivery List is widely recognised as representing the de facto standard for the quality of gold and silver bars.
Good Delivery List
In the refining industry, accreditation on the LBMA Good Delivery List is widely recognised as the benchmark standard for the quality of gold and silver bars, due to the stringent criteria that an applicant must satisfy. In 2004 the LBMA introduced a system of regular proactive monitoring of refiners on the List, an important initiative which further enhanced its reputation and those refiners it listed. The List is used by many precious metals exchanges around the world to define in whole, or in part, the refiners whose gold and silver bars are accepted in their own markets.
The Chocolate Coins photo credit: wwarby via Visual hunt / CC BY
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