jpm
Ted Butler often said to me that JPMorgan was the biggest factor in the silver market. Ted claimed they were responsible for every significant change in silver. We know today, they likely hold more silver than any other entity. When the price crashes, they become the chief suspect. But why would they knock the price down when they own so much silver?
When the price tumbles like it did between Christmas and New Year’s, were he here, Ted Butler would claim JPM was knocking it down in the paper futures market while taking delivery on actual physical metal. He argued they have been doing that for years, and never lost money on their silver transactions. Furthermore, Ted pointed a finger at the regulators, who he said allowed JPM to get by with this chicanery. We know that JPMorgan has been fined for their actions in the gold and silver market. However, they have never been prohibited from manipulating these markets. If Ted was right about how much control they have, then it’s also possible they don’t want silver fireworks to attract a lot of attention and get them negative publicity, so they dampen the price.
It appears that China is a bigger factor in the silver market than it was a few years ago. Ted didn’t trust the data coming out of China and so he dismissed their importance. That may be changing. China may even be behind the super-bullish Asian Guy podcast from Boring Currency that everybody should watch.
So far, the silver price is following the path that Ted Butler predicted. He also said the silver manipulation would destroy the COMEX. In the months ahead, we shall see if that prediction holds water.