i think this is an example of not interrupting your opponent while he is making a mistake. the russians (and chinese and arab countries) have large forex reserves that they could convert to gold at any time. but to do so all at once would drive the gold price much higher very quickly. instead the russians are steadily accumulating gold at the current bargain prices.

your chart shows that the russian government was been extremely price sensitive, stepping up their buying in july when the gold price was driven down, and accumulating ever since. i would guess the chinese have been quietly buying gold as well, and we just heard that the saudis purchased $3.5 billion worth of gold.

what we are seeing is an enormous transfer of wealth from west to east. i think the european central bankers have finally figured this out, and they are no longer selling to any great extent. now it appears the us fed is the last remaining seller (or more accurately, covert leaser) of gold, as shown by the appearance of us coin melt in dubai. in the end i believe this was politically motivated by the bush administration which wants to hold things together until january. once they can make it out of washington, obama will be left to deal with trillion dollar deficits, and $800 gold will only be a memory.