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Gold/Mining/Energy : Silver prices -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: Canuck Dave who wrote (4396)	1/9/2002 6:22:47 PM
From: Secret_Agent_Man	Read Replies (2) \| Respond to of 8010

agreed, the JPM derivative mess will unravel a whole lotta things and ENE is just the tip of the iceberg...puttin the dots together.....

To: Canuck Dave who wrote (4396)	1/10/2002 7:07:46 AM
From: Raja	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 8010

Singapore Business Times January 9, 2002 Mystery buyer causing silver prices to soar Dealers rule out buying from Warren Buffett By Neil Behrmann In London A MYSTERY buyer has created a squeeze in the silver market, causing prices to surge. London, Swiss and New York dealers report that the buyer or consortium of buyers has been buying the silver on the London market. The result is that cash prices of silver have soared to a 12-month peak of US$4.78 an ounce, up 18 per cent from the 12-month low point at the end of November. The identity of the buyer hasn't been disclosed, but dealers say that it isn't Warren Buffett, the billionaire US investor. His company Berkshire Hathaway bought 130 million ounces of silver or 4,000 tonnes in 1997 and early 1998. Traders said that a large proportion of that silver was sold, but Berkshire hasn't confirmed any sales or further purchases. The finger is thus being pointed at an undisclosed macro hedge fund. The purchases have been carried out by a technique known as 'leasing'. The buyers have 'borrowed' the silver by purchasing physical metal from dealers and have sold it forward. The borrowing began when monthly lease rates were around 2 to 3 per cent and traders say that forward sales had expiry dates of up to two years. The operation which is described as 'manipulation' by Swiss and New York traders took place in the quiet December month, causing an artificial shortage of silver. Precious metals firms and US and London commodity firms that had sold silver derivatives on expectation that the price would fall further had to frantically cover their positions by repurchasing metal on the market or borrowing metal to deliver to the buyers.