No matter what direction or indicator in the financial world one cares to look at these days, they all point to the same thing…far higher commodity prices in general — and precious metal prices in particular, are in our future. The supply/demand fundamentals haven’t changed much in the industrial commodities — and as a main stream media story late in December pointed out, the world’s supply of some of them are at critical levels…copper, zinc and aluminum come to mind. But those three, along with a whole host of others in the industrial metal complex, pale into insignificance when compared to the outrageous supply deficit that already exists in silver — and has existed for a very long time. That situation could soon erupt in gold as well, if the world’s central banks continue to scarf it up in Q4/2022…like the did in Q3. It has now developed into a stealth bank run on gold. And while on the subject of gold, the announcement that Russia has allowed their sovereign wealth fund to now hold double the amount of gold that they were allowed to hold before, should be a clear sign that most of Russia’s domestic gold production will now disappear into it going forward. Silver wasn’t mentioned, but I wish it had been. Returning to silver, the LBMA, COMEX and SLV are not bottomless pits for it, or for gold — and as Ted has correctly pointed out, the actual working silver inventory on the COMEX is most likely down to a few million ounces. One has to suspect that a similar situation exists on the LBMA. This state of affairs cannot continue indefinitely…despite what the Big 8 commercial shorts do or do not do in the short term — and the ‘sea change’ that Ted spoke of a month ago, is most likely a sign that this price management scheme is on its way out the door. Another and more immediate sign were the volume figures in both gold and silver on Friday — and I’m still trying to wrap my head around that almost unbelievable silver number. As a matter of fact, I checked the CME’s website again just now to make sure that I hadn’t missed something. And no, it’s still the same 52,000 net contracts traded. But on the surface — and to an average outsider or amateur investor, everything looks normal. They are completely oblivious to the fact that the silver and gold prices have been actively managed for about the last 50 years or so. It’s like ‘The Matrix’…except in real life. They have no inkling of the seismic shift that’s about to occur, not just in precious metal prices, but of all commodities in general, as last 2+ generations of price management comes to an end — and in the case of the precious metals, an abrupt end. The signs of an rather imminent change are creeping up on us — and although the Big 8 shorts may hold their ground to the bitter end…they will soon discover that the ground has shifted beneath their feet — and only the ‘too big to fail’ bullion banks will get rescued…most likely by the Exchange Stabilization Fund, or the Fed. The rest of the shorts will be allowed to burn in a special place in hell. The only way out of this for all the shorts is if the powers-that-be decided to close the COMEX…an extreme option, I admit — and allow the precious metals to trade freely, without futures or options contracts attached to them. That would be the end of the COMEX, or at least damage it significantly. The LME got away with a version of that when its nickel contract blew up…but its reputation, never very good at the best of times, blew up with it. But the nickel market doesn’t hold a candle to the two monetary metals — and as the end approaches — and it becomes more obvious that it is upon us, one must never underestimate the treachery of those in charge of the financial system in the West. Think draconian. Whenever that day arrives — and there’s no possible way to avoid it at some point, it will be an historic moment for the ages and, as I have been pointing out for almost forever now, it won’t happen in a news vacuum. So, until that day arrives, all we can do is wait some more. Hoping that I have all my bases covered…I’m still “all in” — and will remain that way to whatever end. See you here on Tuesday. Ed |