US probes banks over precious metals price rigging: report

The United States is probing major banks over possible manipulation of precious metals markets, the Wall Street Journal said Monday.

The investigation centers on prices for gold, silver, platinum and palladium.

It is being carried out by the Justice Department with help from Commodity Futures Trading Commission, which regulates raw materials and derivatives, the newspaper said, quoting sources close to the case.

The banks probed by the US government over possible manipulation of precious metals markets include HSBC, Bank of Nova Scotia, Barclays, Credit Suisse, Deutsche Bank, Goldman Sachs, J.P. Morgan, Societe Generale, Standard Bank and UBS ©Frank Rumpenhorst (DPA/AFP/File)

The banks targeted are HSBC, Bank of Nova Scotia, Barclays, Credit Suisse, Deutsche Bank, Goldman Sachs, J.P. Morgan, Societe Generale, Standard Bank and UBS.

The probes are at the preliminary stage, but HSBC, in releasing yearly results Monday, noted requests from the Justice Department and the CFTC over the precious metals probe, the Journal said.

It is not the first time the role of banks in determining the price of precious metals has been questioned, but the probes carried out so far, mainly in Europe, led nowhere, the paper said.