Sunday, April 26, 2015

Strange Goings on in the Silver Market

In the email this morning was a link to a story that the banking giant JP Morgan Chase Bank is accumulating the biggest pile of silver in history.  How big? 
Since early 2012, JP Morgan’s stockpile has grown from less than 5 million ounces of physical silver to more than 55 million ounces of physical silver.
Over the course of seven business days in early April alone, they bought an average of over 1 million ounces per day:
Here’s a breakdown of the Comex’s most recent silver deliveries to JP Morgan:

April 7th: 1,110,000 ounces
April 8th: 1,280,000 ounces
April 9th:  893,037 ounces
April 10th: 1,200,224 ounces
April 14th: 1,073,000 ounces
April 15th: 1,191,275 ounces
April 16th: 1,183,777.295 ounces 
People talk about the breakeven price to mine silver and it obviously varies with the mine.  It's probably the key thing in the profitability of these mining operations.  When the cost at that mine goes above the spot silver price for too long, they will literally park the heavy equipment and send people elsewhere. 

It sure looks like someone at the big bank thinks silver is pretty smart investment.  Go read, and follow some links, too.    

Standard disclaimers apply: I'm just some dood with a blog on the vast Sargasso sea of the net.  YMMV.  Under penalty of law, do not remove mattress tag.  Professional drivers on closed course.  No animals were harmed during the writing of this blog (although one white cat was annoyed that I wasn't paying more attention to him).

6 comments:

  1. I keep adding a few ounces when I can afford it. Premiums are a little high but I'm trying to keep up with the ATB 5oz series, otherwise I'm buying 90% junk silver.

    A lot of my collection was bought in the mid 20s, and I've continued to buy all the way down... When you can find a roll of dimes for $65-70 on a regular basis, it's silly not to.

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  2. I've been following this; one thing missing is what they've done with gold. Any idea how much of that they've added? (Silver may be more attractive because of its industrial uses.)

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  3. I have a theory I developed as a young kid in the early 50's. My parents married in 1933 and the great depression was a big deal to their extended family. So disscussions about the great depression were common in my house growing up. My theory is simple: The system will work/collapse in such a way to cause the maximum harm and to extract the maximum wealth from the most people. Not in some great conspiracy (although that is/was possible) but as a simple result of human nature. Here is the point; if you buy silver and gold as a hedge and down the road the banks, the rich and powerful and the government deem it necessary your silver and gold will be "taken" from you. You may be paid some "fair" value for your silver like $5 an ounce but it will be taken and if you don't give it up you will get caught trying to convert it to mney or assets and you will be imprisoned or fined. It will happen and by the time it does you will no longer be suprised to see it happen because thngs will have deterioated so far.

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  4. "
    It sure looks like someone at the big bank thinks silver is pretty smart investment."

    Or maybe this is a way to manipulate the market?

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  5. My local coin shop won't budge off $80 for a roll of dimes, so I haven't bought from them in a while.
    Do you know how much of Morgan's silver is in hand in their vaults? I wonder how much of it is actually in their control? The articles say it is in COMEX warehouses and don't specify which warehouse - they control some, but not others.

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  6. Anon 1249, If they're trying to manipulate the market, I'd have to say they seem rather ineffective at it. Buying it shouldn't suppress the price; it's demand against the supply at prices that some silver miners simply can't produce at.

    It really looks more like they see silver priced at what figures to be a good bargain and they're taking advantage of it.

    I don't have any more info on what they hold and how much is paper. This report specified physical silver, so I assume it's just that; bars or other bullion in their vaults.

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