"In a perfect world, CME would deliver no physical bullion at all."
timber, you are a classic!!
why offer to redeem in gold at all?
if I want to invest in carrot futures, I don't want to be paid in carrots, so I guess in a perverse way what you say makes sense.
but seriously, gold ETFs are just a mechanism for the big end of town to control the price of gold, an absolute necessity if they are to successfully sell all the paper products that make so much money for them. At least we understand the game.....
23.