Silver and its Large Short Position

Everybody knows that I can always be counted on to go ballistic about silver being such a Screaming Freaking Bargain (SFB) because of (according to the most recent Official Mogambo Count (OMC)) more than a dozen very good reasons, which is a lot of reasons, and that at $17- and-change per ounce, silver is loudly saying, "Buy me! Buy me!" although obviously not in the literal sense, nor (perhaps less obviously) in the "voices in my head" sense, which shows I am responding to therapy and why everybody is so pleased with me.

One of the reasons for my bullishness and bullheadedness about silver is the large short position, which is the number of ounces already sold (opening the short position) but which have not been bought yet (closing out the position), which means these shorts are going to get clobbered if they have to cover their short position by buying silver at a higher price than they sold it.

So I was very interested when Ed Steer's Gold and Silver Daily reports says that the commodity futures market report shows that bullion banks' "silver net short position now stands at 213.6 million ounces...about a third of world silver mining production...all held by 'four or less' bullion banks."

He characterizes this as "grotesque beyond description", which I guess it is, since it is hard to even imagine such a thing, which implies that these "four or less" banks are so stupid that they would be short silver when the fundamentals are so compelling that my throat is bloody and raw from screaming, "The fundamentals of silver are compelling!"

And this is even ignoring the headline "Gold & Silver Market Alert - Buy before the Breakout!" from Julian Phillips at Goldforescaster.com, which reflects my sentiments exactly.

In gold, the situation is similar, in that Mr. Steer says, "The bullion banks' net short position now stands at 211,342 contracts... 21.1 million ounces. This is well over 25% of world gold production. This is also grotesque beyond description".

Suddenly I see an opportunity to hide my rising excitement and get a quick laugh! So I said, "This means it is NOT 'beyond description' when it is perfectly described by silver, which is also 'grotesque beyond description' and which can be described as 'like gold'! Hahahaha!"

Well, I am laughing at my own joke and having a wonderful time when I looked around and noticed that nobody else appreciated my little joke about circular reasoning, which, upon reflection, I admit is pretty bad, and I am pretty embarrassed about it.

I don't know why I thought it was funny, except for maybe it's these new pills that are supposed to keep me from screaming my guts out in fear about the coming collapse of the dollar and the attendant horrific rise in consumer prices that destroys America and plunges us into a post-Apocalyptic nightmare. And, parenthetically, they work pretty well, too, except for the catatonia and the, you know, drooling.

Mr. Steer sees my embarrassment and starts talking about how many of the owners of futures contracts in gold and silver said, "We want our metals!"

People with inquiring minds want to know, "How much gold and silver was delivered so that we can maybe see if the Mogambo Who Thinks He's So Hot (MWTHSH) is actually turning out to be right about gold and silver going so much higher in price because the despicable Federal Reserve is creating so much money and credit that inflation in consumer prices is guaranteed, which would be indicated by a rising price for silver!"

Well, it turn out that "The final totals for August are as follows... gold 5,728 contracts [572,800 ounces] and silver 91 contracts [455,000 ounces]", which doesn't seem like a lot, but what in the hell do I know?

So, I report these things without knowing what they mean because I am pretty stupid and I am just in it for the money, so all I can ever see is the obvious, especially when it is pointed out to me, which he apparently does when he says it means, "August was a big month for gold deliveries...but not for silver. September is a big month for silver deliveries...but not for gold."

I still don't know what it means, but a big buying of gold and silver every other month is plenty enough to keep their prices rising and demand growing, which is Another Good Reason (AGR) to buy gold and silver beyond the obvious good reason that they always soar in value and price when the government is acting so irresponsibly, or when the Federal Reserve is acting so irresponsibly, but especially when both of them are acting irresponsibly, like now!

It's enough to make you squeal with delight, "Whee! This investing stuff is easy!"

Until next time,

The Mogambo Guru
for The Daily Reckoning Australia

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