THEODORE BUTLER INTERVIEW
Cook: Has JPMorgan become the most important story in silver?
Butler: Yes, by far. Apart from the inevitable physical silver shortage, JPM is all that matters.
Cook: Why?
Butler: Because JPMorgan not only owns more silver than any other private entity in history, it also is the dominant force in COMEX trading which determines the price of silver.
Cook: Do you remember any big bank ever accumulating a big hoard of anything like this?
Butler: No, Although JPMorgan did acquire a corner on the COMEX gold futures market in 2013, but that was a paper derivatives position, not actual metal, as is the case in silver. The closest anyone has come to acquiring this much silver was the Hunt Bros in 1980 and Warren Buffett in 1998, but they were only able to accumulate 100 million ounces, or a fifth of what JPMorgan holds.
Cook: It’s really quite remarkable wouldn’t you say?
Butler: Not only is this remarkable, it will never and can never be done again.
Cook: Is it all theirs or could they be buying it for a big client like a foreign government?
Butler: I don’t think so and there is no way of knowing for sure, but it wouldn’t make much difference to the future price of silver in either case.
Cook: How much more silver can JPMorgan accumulate?
Butler: That’s anyone’s guess, but the easy stuff is behind them.
Cook: Is the available supply of silver beginning to dry up?
Butler: Sure and JPM has played a large role in drying up the supply with their purchases
Cook: Could anything be more bullish for silver than JPMorgan accumulating a vast hoard?
Butler: Not to my mind. Picture them or anyone else buying and locking up a third of the world inventories of any commodity.
Cook: Is a shortage inevitable?
Butler: A silver shortage was inevitable to begin with and started to develop in 2011. JPMorgan’s actions make the shortage more certain.
Cook: What impact do you expect on the silver price?
Butler: For it to explode.
Cook: Care to give a number?
Butler: If things look similar to current conditions, $200 might prove low.
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