jens ^j^

Expecting Silver to Lead Gold on Both the Upside and the Downside

Your article is very compelleing and believable. If paper Silver does go down to the levels indicated real silver, if available, will be a bargain. The recession/depression will curb mining activity in most mineral classes, silver is for the most part, a by-product of those other mining activiies. Because it is consumed at a higher rate vs production than the other metals Silver will continue to be in short supply. As evidence we only need concider the billions of ounces which were once National Reserves and have been industrially consumed; reserves which are virtually gone today.
Do the ETF's trading in Silver have all that they should in storage or are the regulations such that they also buy paper which can never be completely converted to Bullion. If it is required that a 500,000 ounce order is required to "cash in" and recieve real Silver from an ETF it sounds more like a good way to collect Silver for the big boys but the little guy loses out; again.
The fact that the US dollar is rallying bodes ill for the poorest on the planet, especialy if they do not trade with the US. They must find US dollars to pay for trade, especially in oil. This is the key to Saddam's WMD, trading his oil for Euros was a Weapon of Monetary Destruction. Iran is also flirting with a WMD by trading oil in Euros.
As for the value of the US dollar; is this not the end of the first quarter, a time for settlement, and the US dollar is given additional value for all the large holders and their treasuries, if somewhere someone is forced to overpay, thus overvaluing those dollars held by others.