Superstorm Sandy Floods Gold Vault in Manhattan
By: When Super Storm Sandy flooded lower Manhattan, it also flooded the vaults of at least one gold depository.
Monday, the CME declared force majeure at a precious metals depository in New York, Manfra, Tordella and Brookes ("MTB") effective immediately. This depository is one of five locations listed by the CME for the warehousing of physical gold.
"We moved the inventory after the vaults had flooded," says MTB CEO Raymond Nessim. We had water in the vaults but, "all inventory is intact and in good shape."
MTB has relocated its inventory to a Brink's depository near John F. Kennedy International Airport ("JFK") according to Nessim.
(Read More: The 'Sneaky Bid' in Gold and Silver)
Before the storm, the MTB depository had already been in the process of moving to a midtown location. Currently located at 90 Broad Street, that move is expected to be completed by the first quarter of next year, according to the CEO.
Nessim notes that his vaults flooded by Superstorm Sandy are "very close" to the Federal Reserve Bank of New York and its gold vault. As of 2008 that vault held 216 million troy ounces of gold in 2008 and is "80 feet below street level and 50 feet below sea level," according to the New York Fed's website. However, a spokesperson for the Federal Reserve Bank of New York says that the building was secure, dry and operational throughout the storm.
According to a spokesperson for the CME, Damon Leavell the situation at MTB should not be disruptive to the gold market. "It's going to be business as usual," he says.
—By CNBC's Lori Spechler.
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