As many of you know I'm deep into silver and have been for yonks, before even Q started. Even after getting cleaned out in a home invasion I've managed to get back to over 600oz again in just a few months. I'm a lot less well off on paper as a result, but this has been my hedge for over a decade now.
For reference, I've been buying from a mail order supplier called BullionByPost, which has been using LBMA accredited suppliers like PAMP, Umicore, Metalor, Scotsdale, Asahi, national mints, etc. This is a Hatton Garden company, so they are as close to the wider bullion trade as you can get.
I wanted to share some rather interesting news to me on this front, all anecdotal and personal. Lately, supplies for me to actually purchase anything under a kilo are drying up fast. There is only one supplier since January that has any 1oz bars available, which is shocking as it used to be 7 or 8. This time last year only PAMP was showing stock alert issues, now only Argor-Heracus has any 1oz bars, and at 2x the spot price for buying silver. I've gone to buying coins for these sizes as it is ten quid cheaper, but still ten bucks over spot.
As of the past few weeks, even kilo bar supply of silver is drying up. Used to be 4+ suppliers, now I think its only either Metalor or Umicore supplying it. Same for all other sizes, its all down to one or two suppliers for each size (varying which ones supply them, but it's pretty consistent in counts of available purchasing).
I've only seen this really impacting silver. Gold still has a wide range of suppliers and I'm now looking to move into that as well but it's significantly higher outlay per oz which at present is too much for me to afford as regularly. It's basically 30:1 increase in cost to buy, gram for gram, but there is at least a supply available.
Okay, but why does this matter?
I've read today here that reverse repos are on the rise to the tune of trillions. This is abnormal in the extreme. Banks are basically playing a dangerous game of gambling away their life savings at the casino, only to lose it all and then take out a loan with a loan shark to try and win it back.
There have also been massive paper silver dumps and shorts ongoing. The buy price and sell price are all over the map to my view. Buying at up to 2x cost of sell prices for the low volume investors, with only 25% markups for buying larger volumes. This indicates a push to price out the common man, or rip them off short term, with expectations that sell prices won't exceed over 50 bucks an oz. The reality is these will eventually be much, much higher once the supply is gone, and some of the manufacturers are playing on that now. They know they are running low on supplies, and once they are dry, shit will hit the fan.
I think, but cannot prove, that the recent reverse repos are a combo of failing shorts. The meme stocks like GME are a part of this, but silver (and to a lesser degree gold) have both been shorted, and the silver shorts have been in effect for nearly two centuries. There is only so long that banks and COMEX groups can hide this, and if the repos are anything to go by, they are running out of time here.
If trends continue like this, by the end of this year silver will not be available for purchase, and those of us holding it in our hands will have a field day when that happens. We're in for a fun 2022 financially I think, and I expect a total stock market collapse, and a shock on silver comparable to a 40k Titan God machine attack.
I see APMEX and MoneyMetalsExchange have 1oz silver bars all day long........
What am I missing?
I'm reporting from the UK which uses largely European suppliers. US may still have supplies, but if the trend lasts they won't be around for long.
Gotcha. I have a feeling you're right.