Freudian Glitch? COMEX Futures Lists Silver at $34,000/oz, Gold at $17,700/oz
Did COMEX futures just reveal a Freudian glitch? Futures data this morning indicated a value of $34,000/oz for silver, and $17,716/oz for gold!
The
misquoted prices reflect a 1:2 price ratio with silver being 2x as
valuable as gold. Was somebody trying to communicate the fact that
future gold to silver value ratio will go from 50:1 to 1:2, with silver
prices rising 100 times faster than gold’s?
SD reader Plebian asks: A ‘glitch’ in futures prices this morning showed charts with gold price quoted at $17,700/oz and silver at $34,000/oz. Questions: 1) Why did glitches occur for both gold and silver, since they’re independent commodities traded on separate symbols? 2) Why was gold off by a factor of 10, but silver by a factor of 1,000?
3) The misquoted prices reflect a 1:2 price ratio with silver being 2x
as valuable as gold. Was somebody trying to communicate the fact that
future gold to silver value ratio will go from 50:1 to 1:2, with silver
prices rising 100 times faster than gold’s?
Thankfully for stackers, physical silver can still be acquired for ~$35/oz, and gold under $1900/oz. One day soon such a COMEX quote might not be a ‘glitch’. Got silver??
I'm probably not the first person, nor will I be the last, to show you that silver demand is probably the key to silver prices exploding. About two thirds of this demand comes from industry. The rest of demand comes from jewelry and recycling. Investment represents a very small portion of the demand for silver.
Industrial Demand
Unlike gold, silver is an industrial commodity. The basic
scientific properties of silver make it a candidate for use in an
ever-growing variety of devices and applications, from computer chips to
solar power generators.Because silver is an industrial commodity, it
is a candidate for an industrial shortage. The world’s industrial
consumers hold little in the way of silver inventories, thanks to
just-in-time inventory and production practices. As we’ve
discussed elsewhere on this site, 70% of silver production comes as a
byproduct to other types of mining, such as copper, lead and zinc. The
mining industry is simply incapable of keeping up with the current
demand for silver.
Given
that we already have a widespread retail silver shortage, a wholesale
shortage is likely as well. When industrial users face delays in silver
shipments they will panic and attempt to build inventories all at once.
This situation unique to silver—it does not apply to gold. In the
current financial crisis, there is a profound and very powerful
advantage to silver being an industrial commodity.
The mainstream has forgotten about silver as a monetary metal. The new
generation, and possibly even you, has only a fleeting association
between silver and value. However, in the face of declining
dollar values, and as the supply/demand characteristics of silver become
more widely understood, more and more people will begin to discover how
you can't go wrong with
silver rounds,silver eagles,or 90% (junk) silver.
As stated before, silver demand is negligible, yet growing, for investment.
Demand for jewelry could easily switch from gold as gold prices move
higher (which is likely, but for other reasons). Industrial demand, no
matter what happens with the dollar, will continue to use more silver
than is being produced.
This will not just take place here in the U.S., but everywhere, and
especially in the BRIC nations. Some say we will see a global slowdown
or transfer of wealth from West to East. This would also drive up
commodity prices as these places demand fuel for growth and therefore
increasing overall silver demand.
The
motivation to manipulate silver prices will not cease under these
circumstances, but the ability to do so will be diminished—most likely
when industry players realize a shortage. It’s likely that they will
hoard all the way into to the hundreds per ounce. In fact, perhaps this is already happening, as evidenced by silver eagle shortages and a general scarcity of physical investment silver. Again, the key is that industrial silver demand is inelastic,
but the world simply does not produce enough silver to keep up. A
shortage will wipe out any remaining ability to manipulate prices by
keeping shorts significantly under water. The inevitable spike in price may very likely cause default in the
silver futures markets,
which will add volatility to the explosion. Today's silver prices will look unbelievably cheap.