I tend to agree re the illusion of strength and if I understand...

I tend to agree re the illusion of strength and if I understand this correctly, I can see them using this mechanism (aus reserve i know is already lending bullion) but instead of bullion banks "hoping they can buy it cheaper at a later date" they just smash the price down with futures contracts to buy it back

"Approximately 20% of mined gold is held by central banks worldwide. This gold is held as bullions in reserves, which the bank uses to settle international debt or stimulate the economy through gold lending. The central bank lends gold from their bullion reserves to bullion banks at a rate of approximately 1% to help raise money.

When a central bank lends gold to bullion banks for a specified period, say three months, it receives the cash equivalent of the gold lent to the bullion bank. The central bank lends this money on the market at a lease rate known as the Gold Forward Offered Rates (GOFO), which is published daily by the LBMA. The higher the lease rate, the more incentive a central bank has to lend gold from its reserves. The bullion banks who borrow the gold can sell the gold or lend it to mining companies.

If the bullion bank sells the gold on the spot market, it will receive cash for the transaction. The spot market is where bullion and other commodities are traded at the prevailing market rate. An increase in the supply of gold in the market reduces its price. The bullion bank hopes that by the time it’s scheduled to repurchase the gold from the spot market, the price of bullion will be lower so that the bank can buy it back at a lower price than it had originally sold it. At the end of the loan period, the bank buys back the gold and returns it to the central bank."

do I have that correct? Possible?