Sunday, December 11, 2011

Is A Physical Silver Shortage Spike Imminent?

"That imbalances in the supply and demand of precious metals, particularly silver, could lead to a shortage of physical product in the future should not come as a surprise to many - it is a topic covered extensively here in the past. Nonetheless, as a useful reminder of the big picture in the silver market, Future Money Trends has released another update video, reminding viewers that if traded purely on fundamentals, there is a high likelihood of increases in the price of silver, and other precious metals. As the authors put it, " There simply isn't enough physical silver to deal with the demand of a fiat currency crisis. As the paper silver market pushes prices down, all hell will break loose in the physical market." While that conclusion may or may not be applicable just yet, when coupled with recent revelations of potential double counting of precious metals at the warehouse level (see HSBC-MF Global story), the situation will certainly get only more exacerbated. Furthermore, should silver miners take Eric Sprott's advice to heart and decide to convert some or all of their product into physical, the market will suddenly recall that in addition to liquidity, prices are also determined by something called fundamentals. And fundamentals, especially in combination with a market risk spike, confirm a price jump may be imminent."

at http://www.zerohedge.com/news/physical-silver-shortage-spike-imminent