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Silver Inventories Plummet at LBMA and COMEX
Numismatic News ^ | 9/15/22 | Patrick Heller

Posted on 09/20/2022 5:19:32 AM PDT by EBH

The London Bullion Market Association (LBMA) is the world’s largest silver exchange. For the last nine consecutive months, the quantity of silver held in LBMA vaults have declined. The August 2022 report states that the vaults now hold only 916.5 million ounces of silver, the lowest total since July 2016.

In November 2021, the LBMA vaults held 1.170.6 billion ounces of silver. Since then, inventories have fallen 21.7 percent. As dramatic a drop as that is, it becomes even more extreme when you consider only the LBMA inventories not owned by 13 silver exchange traded funds (ETFs) and the private client investors who are customers of Bullion Vault and GoldMoney.

As of Sept. 8, a total of 592.8 million ounces of silver in LBMA vaults were owned by these 15 entities. That means that around 320-325 million ounces of LBMA silver were available to other parties. That is an even larger percentage drop from the approximate 470 million ounces that were available to other parties in November 2021.

This silver is not showing up in the vaults of the New York COMEX. Silver in COMEX vaults is held in two different categories. Registered inventories are available to deliver in fulfillment of maturing commodity and options contracts called for delivery of the physical metal. Eligible inventories are NOT available to deliver against maturing COMEX contracts unless the owners specifically elect to reclassify such holdings to registered status.

Over the past nine months, eligible inventories at the COMEX have mostly ranged from 250-280 million ounces. On Sept. 8, there were only 45.99 million ounces of registered silver in the COMEX vaults, down from about 80 million ounces at the end of 2021 and from about 150 million ounces at the end of 2020. Current COMEX registered silver inventories are at their lowest level since July 2020.

Where is the physical silver going that is leaving the LBMA and COMEX? Metals Focus India reports that silver demand in that country, perhaps the world’s top silver consuming nation, is now so strong that the silver price in India is trading at a premium to the world silver spot price. In July 2022, almost 58 million ounces of physical silver was imported into India. This was at least 50 percent higher than in any month in the previous four years and may be an all-time high record amount of imports into India in any month.

Over the past year, the bullion banks that facilitate trades in the silver market have reversed their previous net short positions to now be in a net long position. Obviously, their shift from an overall short position to long position has also absorbed tens of millions of ounces of silver.

Worldwide silver mining output now averages about 70 million ounces a month. Silver recycling operations produce about 15 million ounces monthly. With industrial and investment monthly demand for physical silver now about 95 million ounces, demand is again outstripping supply. Now that information on how much the silver inventories at the LBMA and COMEX are declining is becoming more widespread, the prospects for higher prices over the next year are looking more attractive.


TOPICS: Business/Economy; Miscellaneous; News/Current Events
KEYWORDS: bubble; comex; lbma; silver
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1 posted on 09/20/2022 5:19:32 AM PDT by EBH
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To: EBH

.... and yet the COMEX Silver price is less than $20 an ounce ....


2 posted on 09/20/2022 5:23:39 AM PDT by Ken522
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To: EBH

Still less than $20/oz..


3 posted on 09/20/2022 5:23:40 AM PDT by vetvetdoug
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To: Ken522

Can’t find physical for anything close to that of course


4 posted on 09/20/2022 5:31:17 AM PDT by rb22982
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To: rb22982; Ken522; vetvetdoug
Next metals futures contract expiration is next Wednesday.

The lowest I see in physical premiums is $4, with an occasional $3 until it quickly gets snarfed up.

Dollar to silver ratio on usdebtclock is now $1221/ounce.

Happy Stacking!

5 posted on 09/20/2022 5:42:55 AM PDT by C210N (Everything will be okay in the end. If it’s not okay, it’s not the end.)
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To: C210N

😉


6 posted on 09/20/2022 5:54:15 AM PDT by cuban leaf (My prediction: Harris is Spiro Agnew. We'll soon see who becomes Gerald Ford, and our next prez.)
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To: EBH

Still waiting for that $600 silver. That would certainly take the edge off. Of course, when it hits that price a gallon of gas will be $65.


7 posted on 09/20/2022 5:59:25 AM PDT by Vermont Lt
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To: rb22982
PSLV

100% Physical silver held. It's still cheap folks.

8 posted on 09/20/2022 6:22:11 AM PDT by Poison Pill
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To: EBH

Silver doesn’t go up, the Dollar goes down...


9 posted on 09/20/2022 6:24:08 AM PDT by Yo-Yo (Is the /Sarc tag really necessary? Pray for President Biden: Psalm 109:8)
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To: Poison Pill

Is PSLV physical?

A quicky check shows a share is .361 ounce, held at the Royal Canadian mint.


10 posted on 09/20/2022 6:40:16 AM PDT by C210N (Everything will be okay in the end. If it’s not okay, it’s not the end.)
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To: Vermont Lt

If/when it hits $600, forgeddabout the dollar - by then, it is time for a new currency.

In 1913 it was $2.66/ounce.


11 posted on 09/20/2022 6:42:00 AM PDT by C210N (Everything will be okay in the end. If it’s not okay, it’s not the end.)
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To: EBH

Twenty years of hearing this crap.


12 posted on 09/20/2022 6:51:52 AM PDT by Attention Surplus Disorder (Apoplectic is where we want them)
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To: C210N

Yes PSLV is physical. Buy enough and you can actually go to Toronto and convert to the metal. A share is .361 oz, but a share sells for $7 or there about. Silver is $19.xx per ounce or something.


13 posted on 09/20/2022 6:58:02 AM PDT by Poison Pill
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To: Vermont Lt

Interesting side-note...

Doing a barter deal... item was $75 cash. Offered the guy 4 silver dollar coins. He said yes. OK...handed him $4 in silver. He looked at me funny. I said those coins are worth about $80. What you are giving me was only worth that much in real money.

How much has the dollar degraded again?

LOL.


14 posted on 09/20/2022 6:58:04 AM PDT by EBH ( 1776-2021 May God Save Us.)
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To: C210N

Careful not to confuse PSLV with SLV. SLV is mostly derivatives.


15 posted on 09/20/2022 6:59:40 AM PDT by Poison Pill
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To: EBH

The silver price is still far far short of the 1:15 historic price.

Silver should be $66 or gold should be $80 to be inline with history


16 posted on 09/20/2022 7:00:54 AM PDT by bert ( (KWE. NP. N.C. +12) Juneteenth is inequality day)
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To: Poison Pill

I can’t actually confirm or hold it, its not physical.


17 posted on 09/20/2022 7:09:48 AM PDT by rb22982
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To: EBH
Silver recycling operations produce about 15 million ounces monthly.

If you look at any supply and demand analysis, "recycling" and "unknown" category are consistently about 20% of supply. Is this industrial recycling? Is it people selling grandma's silverware to pay the rent? Is this a normal amount for historical silver supply?

I have read that the best mines in the world produce silver at about $15/oz. It would seem at $20/oz on COMEX, we are in territory where marginal mines are uneconomic.

It would seem supply will have trouble in the future, but the silver market is so opaque its difficult to know for sure.

18 posted on 09/20/2022 7:10:26 AM PDT by PGR88
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To: Poison Pill

I read that PSLV is Royal Canadian Mint, while SLV is JP Morgan. Seems to me different vaults, but same Deep State Cabal control.


19 posted on 09/20/2022 8:15:11 AM PDT by C210N (Everything will be okay in the end. If it’s not okay, it’s not the end.)
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To: C210N

I have no delusions what my silver will be worth in dollars.

But, I have enough metals to get me through a couple months of hyper inflation. I guess I could sell an ounce of gold at that point and buy another home!

I barely look at this stuff because there are so many “wacky” folks in there.


20 posted on 09/20/2022 8:31:20 AM PDT by Vermont Lt
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