GOLD: $1325.20  DOWN $8.20  (COMEX TO COMEX CLOSINGS)

Silver: $16.36 UP 6 CENTS (COMEX TO COMEX CLOSINGS)

Closing access prices:

Gold $1326.50

silver: $16.39

For comex gold:

APRIL/

NUMBER OF NOTICES FILED TODAY FOR APRIL CONTRACT:0 NOTICE(S) FOR nil OZ.

TOTAL NOTICES SO FAR 595 FOR 59500 OZ (1.8506 tonnes)

THE COMEX IS OUT OF GOLD

For silver:

APRIL

0 NOTICE(S) FILED TODAY FOR

nil OZ/

Total number of notices filed so far this month: 19 for 90,000 oz

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Bitcoin: BID $6738/OFFER $6841: DOWN $1(morning)

Bitcoin: BID/ $6710/offer $6810: DOWN $29  (CLOSING/5 PM)

 

end

Let us have a look at the data for today

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In silver, the total open interest SURPRISINGLY AND SHOCKINGLY ROSE BY  8453 contracts from 232,682  RISING TO 241,135  DESPITE YESTERDAY’S  11 CENT FALL IN SILVER PRICING. TODAY WE SET A NEW ALL TIME RECORD FOR SILVER OPEN INTEREST AND EACH AND EVERY TIME, THE PRICE OF SILVER WHEN THE RECORD WAS SET IS LOWER. OBVIOUSLY, WE HAD ZERO COMEX LIQUIDATION.  HOWEVER WE ALSO WITNESSED ZERO COMEX SHORT COVERING AND THUS THE REASON FOR THE RAID TODAY..TRYING TO SHAKE SOME OF THE SILVER LEAVES FROM THE SILVER TREE. WE WERE AGAIN NOTIFIED THAT WE HAD ANOTHER HUMONGOUS SIZED NUMBER OF COMEX LONGS TRANSFERRING THEIR CONTRACTS TO LONDON THROUGH THE EFP :  3962 EFP’S FOR MAY AND ZERO FOR ALL  OTHER MONTHS  AND THUS TOTAL ISSUANCE OF 3962 CONTRACTS.  WITH THE TRANSFER OF 3962 CONTRACTS, WHAT THE CME IS STATING IS THAT THERE IS NO SILVER (OR GOLD) TO BE DELIVERED UPON AT THE COMEX AS THEY MUST EXPORT THEIR OBLIGATION TO LONDON. ALSO KEEP IN MIND THAT THERE CAN BE A DELAY OF 24-48 HRS IN THE ISSUING OF EFP’S. THE 3962 CONTRACTS TRANSLATES INTO 19.810 MILLION OZ  ON TOP OF THE RISE IN OPEN INTEREST IN SILVER AT THE COMEX AND THE STRONG AMOUNT OF SILVER OUNCES STANDING FOR APRIL COMEX DELIVERY.

ACCUMULATION FOR EFP’S/SILVER/J.P.MORGAN’S HOUSE OF BRIBES, / STARTING FROM FIRST DAY NOTICE/FOR MONTH OF APRIL:

8994 CONTRACTS (FOR 4 TRADING DAYS TOTAL 8994 CONTRACTS) OR 44.97 MILLION OZ: AVERAGE PER DAY: 2249 CONTRACTS OR 11.243 MILLION OZ/DAY

TO GIVE YOU AN IDEA AS TO THE HUGE SUPPLY THIS MONTH IN SILVER:  SO FAR THIS MONTH:  44.97 MILLION PAPER OZ HAVE MORPHED OVER TO LONDON. THIS REPRESENTS AROUND 6.42% OF ANNUAL GLOBAL PRODUCTION

ACCUMULATION IN YEAR 2018 TO DATE SILVER EFP’S:  763.46 MILLION OZ.

ACCUMULATION FOR JAN 2018:                        236.879 MILLION OZ

ACCUMULATION FOR FEB 2018:                        244.95 MILLION OZ

ACCUMULATION FOR MARCH 2018:                236.67 MILLION OZ

RESULT: WE HAD A GIGANTIC (ATMOSPHERIC) SIZED GAIN IN COMEX OI SILVER COMEX OF 8453  DESPITE THE 11 CENT FALL IN SILVER PRICE.   WE ALSO HAD ANOTHER STRONG SIZED EFP ISSUANCE OF 3962 CONTRACTS WHICH EXITED OUT OF THE SILVER COMEX AND TRANSFERRED THEIR OI TO LONDON AS FORWARDS. SPECULATORS CONTINUED THEIR INTEREST IN ATTACKING THE SILVER COMEX FOR PHYSICAL SILVER . FROM THE CME DATA 3962  EFP’S  FOR THE  MONTH OF MAY WERE ISSUED FOR  A DELIVERABLE FORWARD CONTRACT OVER IN LONDON WITH A FIAT BONUS.   WE GAINED A HUMONGOUS  12,415 OI CONTRACTS ON THE TWO EXCHANGES: i.e. 3962 open interest contracts headed for London (EFP’s) TOGETHER WITH AN INCREASE OF 8453  OI COMEX CONTRACTS. AND ALL OF THIS HAPPENED WITH THE FALL IN PRICE OF SILVER OF 11 CENTS AND A CLOSING PRICE OF $16.30 WITH RESPECT TO WEDNESDAY’S TRADING. YET WE STILL HAVE A GOOD AMOUNT OF SILVER STANDING AT THE COMEX FOR DELIVERY IN THIS NON ACTIVE APRIL DELIVERY  MONTH.

In ounces AT THE COMEX, the OI is still represented by just OVER 1 BILLION oz i.e. 1.206 BILLION TO BE EXACT or 172% of annual global silver production (ex Russia & ex China).

FOR THE NEW FRONT APRIL MONTH/ THEY FILED: 0 NOTICE(S) FOR NIL OZ OF SILVER

IN SILVER, WE HAVE NOW SET THE NEW RECORD OF OPEN INTEREST AT 241,135 AND AGAIN THIS HAS BEEN SET WITH A STILL LOWER PRICE.  THE PREVIOUS RECORD WAS 234,000 CONTRACTS WITH A SILVER PRICE CLOSING OF $17.89.

ON THE DEMAND SIDE WE HAVE THE FOLLOWING:

1. HUGE AMOUNTS OF SILVER STANDING FOR DELIVERY  (MARCH 27 MILLION OZ AND APRIL 1.8 MILLION OZ)
2. HUGE OPEN INTEREST IN SILVER  241,135 CONTRACTS (OR 1.207 BILLION OZ/
3. HUGE ANNUAL EFP’S ISSUANCE EQUAL TO 2.9 BILLION OZ OR 400% OF SILVER ANNUAL PRODUCTION

AND YET WE HAVE A CONTINUAL LOWER PRICE OF SILVER DESPITE THE ABOVE HUGE DEMAND.  TO ME THE ONLY ANSWER IS THAT WE HAVE SOVEREIGN  (CHINA) WHO IS ENDEAVOURING TO GOBBLE UP ALL AVAILABLE PHYSICAL SILVER NO MATTER WHERE, EXACTLY WHAT J.P.MORGAN IS DOING. AND IT IS MY BELIEF THAT J.P.MORGAN IS HOLDING ITS SILVER FOR ITS BENEFICIAL OWNER..THE USA GOVERNMENT WHO IN TURN IS HOLDING THAT SILVER FOR CHINA.(FOR A SILVER LOAN REPAYMENT)

In gold, the open interest  ROSE BY A CONSIDERABLE SIZED 6569 CONTRACTS UP TO 499,710 ACCOMPANYING THE SMALL SIZED RISE IN PRICE/YESTERDAY’S TRADING ( GAIN OF $2.90). AS WE ENTER THE ACTIVE DELIVERY MONTH OF APRIL. THE CME RELEASED THE DATA FOR EFP ISSUANCE AND IT TOTALED A RATHER LARGE SIZED 12,098 CONTRACTS :   JUNE SAW THE ISSUANCE OF 12,098 CONTRACTS  AND ALL OTHER MONTHS ZERO.  The new OI for the gold complex rests at 499,710. ALSO REMEMBER THAT THERE WILL BE A DELAY IN THE ISSUANCE OF EFP’S.  THE BANKERS REMOVE LONG POSITIONS OF COMEX GOLD IMMEDIATELY.  THEN THEY ORCHESTRATE THEIR PRIVATE EFP DEAL WITH THE LONGS AND THAT COULD TAKE AN ADDITIONAL 48 HRS SO WE GENERALLY DO NOT GET A MATCH WITH RESPECT TO DEPARTING COMEX LONGS AND NEW EFP LONG TRANSFERS. DEMAND FOR GOLD INTENSIFIES GREATLY AS WE CONTINUE TO WITNESS A HUGE NUMBER OF EFP TRANSFERS TOGETHER WITH THE MASSIVE INCREASE IN GOLD COMEX OI  TOGETHER WITH  THE TOTAL AMOUNT OF GOLD OUNCES STANDING FOR FEBRUARY COMEX. EVEN THOUGH THE BANKERS ISSUED THESE MONSTROUS EFPS, THE OBLIGATION STILL RESTS WITH THE BANKERS TO SUPPLY METAL BUT IT TRANSFERS THE RISK TO A LONDON BANKER OBLIGATION AND NOT A NEW YORK COMEX OBLIGATION. LONGS RECEIVE A FIAT BONUS TOGETHER WITH A LONG LONDON FORWARD. THUS, BY THESE ACTIONS, THE BANKERS AT THE COMEX HAVE JUST STATED THAT THEY HAVE NO APPRECIABLE METAL!! THIS IS A MASSIVE FRAUD: THEY CANNOT SUPPLY ANY METAL TO OUR COMEX LONGS BUT THEY ARE QUITE WILLING TO SUPPLY MASSIVE NON BACKED GOLD (AND SILVER) PAPER KNOWING THAT THEY HAVE NO METAL TO SATISFY OUR LONGS. LONDON IS NOW SEVERELY BACKWARD IN BOTH GOLD AND SILVER  AND WE ARE WITNESSING DELAYS IN ACTUAL DELIVERIES. IN ESSENCE WE HAVE A HUMONGOUS  OI GAIN IN CONTRACTS ON THE TWO EXCHANGES: 6569 OI CONTRACTS INCREASED AT THE COMEX AND A STRONG  SIZED 12,098 EFP OI CONTRACTS WHICH NAVIGATED OVER TO LONDON.THUS  TOTAL OI GAIN: 18,667 CONTRACTS OR 1,866,700 OZ =58.06 TONNES

YESTERDAY, WE HAD 691 EFP’S ISSUED.

ACCUMULATION OF EFP’S GOLD AT J.P. MORGAN’S HOUSE OF BRIBES: (EXCHANGE FOR PHYSICAL) FOR THE MONTH OF APRIL : 39,730 CONTRACTS OR 3,973,000  OZ OR 123.57 TONNES (4 TRADING DAYS AND THUS AVERAGING: 9933 EFP CONTRACTS PER TRADING DAY OR 993,300 OZ/ TRADING DAY)

TO GIVE YOU AN IDEA AS TO THE HUGE SIZE OF THESE EFP TRANSFERS :   SO FAR THIS MONTH IN 4 TRADING DAYS IN  TONNES: 125.57 TONNES

TOTAL ANNUAL GOLD PRODUCTION, 2017, THROUGHOUT THE WORLD EX CHINA EX RUSSIA: 2555 TONNES

THUS EFP TRANSFERS REPRESENTS 125.57/2550 x 100% TONNES =  4.92% OF GLOBAL ANNUAL PRODUCTION SO FAR IN MARCH ALONE.*** THE ACCUMULATION OF EFP CONTRACTS IS RISING PER MONTH.

ACCUMULATION OF GOLD EFP’S YEAR 2018 TO DATE:  2168.07 TONNES

ACCUMULATION OF GOLD EFP’S FOR JANUARY 2018:           653.22  TONNES

ACCUMULATION OF GOLD EFP’S FOR FEBRUARY 2018:         649.45 TONNES

ACCUMULATION OF GOLD EFP’S FOR MARCH 2018:                741.89 TONNES

WHAT IS ALARMING TO ME, ACCORDING TO OUR LONDON EXPERT ANDREW MAGUIRE IS THAT THESE EFP’S ARE BEING TRANSFERRED TO WHAT ARE CALLED SERIAL FORWARD CONTRACT OBLIGATIONS AND THESE CONTRACTS ARE LESS THAN 14 DAYS.  ANYTHING GREATER THAN 14 DAYS, THESE MUST BE RECORDED AND SENT TO THE COMPTROLLER, GREAT BRITAIN TO MONITOR RISK TO THE BANKING SYSTEM.  IF THIS IS INDEED TRUE, THEN THIS IS A MASSIVE CONSPIRACY TO DEFRAUD AS WE NOW WITNESS A MONSTROUS TOTAL EFP’S ISSUANCE AS IT HEADS INTO THE STRATOSPHERE. 

Result: A HUGE SIZED INCREASE IN OI AT THE COMEX DESPITE THE SMALL SIZED GAIN IN PRICE IN GOLD TRADING YESTERDAY ($2.90 GAIN). WE HAD A VERY LARGE SIZED NUMBER OF COMEX LONG TRANSFERRING TO LONDON THROUGH THE EFP ROUTE: 12098 CONTRACTS AS THESE HAVE ALREADY BEEN NEGOTIATED AND CONFIRMED.   THERE OBVIOUSLY DOES NOT SEEM TO BE MUCH PHYSICAL GOLD AT THE COMEX AND YET WE ALSO OBSERVED A HUGE DELIVERY MONTH FOR THE MONTH OF DECEMBER. I GUESS IT EXPLAINS THE HUGE ISSUANCE OF EFP’S…THERE IS HARDLY ANY GOLD PRESENT AT THE GOLD COMEX FOR DELIVERY PURPOSES. IF YOU TAKE INTO ACCOUNT THE 12098 EFP CONTRACTS ISSUED, WE HAD A HUMONGOUS NET GAIN IN OPEN INTEREST OF 18,667 contracts ON THE TWO EXCHANGES:

12098 CONTRACTS MOVE TO LONDON AND 6569 CONTRACTS INCREASED AT THE COMEX. (in tonnes, the GAIN in total oi equates to 58.06 TONNES).

we had: 0 notice(s) filed upon for NIL oz of gold.

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With respect to our two criminal funds, the GLD and the SLV:

GLD

WITH GOLD DOWN  $8.20 :  WE HAD TWO  ENTRIES IN GOLD TONNAGE AT THE GLD: 1)A WITHDRAWAL OF .29 TONNES TO PAY FOR FEES. AND 2) A DEPOSIT OF 2.06 TONNES

Inventory rests tonight: 854.09 tonnes.

SLV/

WITH SILVER UP 6 CENTS TODAY:  NO  CHANGES/ 

/INVENTORY RESTS AT 318.877 MILLION OZ/

end

First, here is an outline of what will be discussed tonight:

1. Today, we had the open interest in silver ROSE BY AN ATMOSPHERIC 8453 CONTRACTS from 232,682 UP TO 241,135 (AND A  NEW COMEX RECORD SET TODAY/APRIL 5/2017. THE PREVIOUS RECORD WAS 234,787 SET ON APRIL 21.2017 ALMOST ONE YEAR AGO.  THE PRICE OF SILVER ON THAT DAY: $17.89).  THIS ALL OCCURRED SURPRISINGLY WITH THE  FALL IN PRICE OF SILVER (11 CENTS//  YESTERDAY’S TRADING).   OUR BANKERS USED THEIR EMERGENCY PROCEDURE TO ISSUE ANOTHER 3962 EFP CONTRACTS FOR MAY  (WE DO NOT GET A LOOK AT THESE CONTRACTS AS IT IS PRIVATE BUT THE CFTC DOES AUDIT THEM) AND 0 EFP’S FOR ALL OTHER MONTHS. EFP’S GIVE OUR COMEX LONGS A FIAT BONUS PLUS A DELIVERABLE PRODUCT OVER IN LONDON. WE HAD AGAIN ZERO COMEX SILVER COMEX LIQUIDATION. IF WE TAKE THE  OI GAIN AT THE COMEX OF 8453 CONTRACTS TO THE 3962 OI TRANSFERRED TO LONDON THROUGH EFP’S, WE OBTAIN AN ATMOSPHERIC  GAIN OF 12,415  OPEN INTEREST CONTRACTS.  WE STILL HAVE A GOOD AMOUNT OF SILVER OUNCES THAT ARE STANDING FOR METAL IN APRIL (SEE BELOW). THE NET GAIN TODAY IN OZ ON THE TWO EXCHANGES:  62.075 MILLION OZ!!!

RESULT: A HUMONGOUS SIZED INCREASE IN SILVER OI AT THE COMEX DESPITE THE  FALL IN SILVER PRICING / YESTERDAY (11 CENTS) . BUT WE ALSO HAD ANOTHER VERY GOOD SIZED 3962 EFP’S ISSUED TRANSFERRING COMEX LONGS OVER TO LONDON. TOGETHER WITH THE STRONG  SIZED AMOUNT OF SILVER OUNCES STANDING FOR MARCH, DEMAND FOR PHYSICAL SILVER INTENSIFIES AS WE WITNESS SEVERE BACKWARDATION IN SILVER IN LONDON.

(report Harvey)

.

2.a) The Shanghai and London gold fix report

(Harvey)

2 b) Gold/silver trading overnight Europe, Goldcore

(Mark O’Byrne/zerohedge

and in NY: Bloomberg

3. ASIAN AFFAIRS

i)THURSDAY MORNING/WEDNESDAY NIGHT: Shanghai closed HOLIDAY  /Hang Sang CLOSED HOLIDAY   / The Nikkei closed UP 325.87 POINTS OR 1.53%/Australia’s all ordinaires CLOSED UP .41% /Chinese yuan (ONSHORE) closed UP at 6.3033/Oil DOWN to 63.22 dollars per barrel for WTI and 68.00 for Brent. Stocks in Europe OPENED DEEPLY IN THE GREEN   .   ONSHORE YUAN CLOSED UP AT 6.3033 AGAINST THE DOLLAR. OFFSHORE YUAN CLOSED UP ON THE DOLLAR AT 6.2938 /ONSHORE YUAN TRADING WEAKER AGAINST OFFSHORE YUAN/ONSHORE YUAN TRADING STRONGER AGAINST USA DOLLAR/OFFSHORE YUAN TRADING  MUCH STRONGER AGAINST THE DOLLAR . CHINA ON HOLIDAY TODAY/CHINA RETALIATES WITH TARIFFS/LOOKS LIKE A FULL TRADE WAR IS BEGINNING/

SOUTH KOREA/NORTH KOREA

i)North Korea/South Korea

b) REPORT ON JAPAN

3 c CHINA

ii)The way China and the uSA are going at each other, there is no way that there is going to be a settlement between them.  Trump is now building an army of nations in its war against China

( zerohedge)

4. EUROPEAN AFFAIRS

ii)The following commentary should make you think that the poisoning of Skripal and his daughter was not of Russian origins:

(courtesy Rob Slane/Blogmire.com)

5. RUSSIAN AND MIDDLE EASTERN AFFAIRS

6 .GLOBAL ISSUES

7. OIL ISSUES

8. EMERGING MARKET

9. PHYSICAL MARKETS

10. USA stories which will influence the price of gold/silver

Trading Volumes on the COMEX

PRELIMINARY COMEX VOLUME FOR TODAY:360,630  contracts

CONFIRMED COMEX VOL. FOR YESTERDAY: 297,094 contracts

comex gold volumes are RISING AGAIN

Here is a summary of the latest gold trading volumes at the Comex per year

certainly the introduction of EFP’s has certainly had an effect:

Meanwhile, gold-trading volumes on the COMEX have never been higher:

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And now for the wild silver comex results.

Total silver OI ROSE BY AN ATMOSPHERIC 8453  CONTRACTS FROM 232,682 UP TO 241,135 AND A NEW RECORD OI FOR SILVER,  DESPITE OUR 11 CENT FALL IN SILVER PRICING/ YESTERDAY).   ALSO,WE WERE ALSO INFORMED THAT WE HAD A FAIR  3962 EMERGENCY EFP’S FOR MAY ISSUED BY OUR BANKERS AND ZERO FOR ALL OTHER MONTHS TO COMEX LONGS WHO RECEIVED A FIAT BONUS PLUS A DELIVERABLE PRODUCT OVER IN LONDON: THE TOTAL EFP’S ISSUED: 3962.   THE SILVER BOYS HAVE STARTED TO MIGRATE TO LONDON FROM THE START OF DELIVERY MONTH AND CONTINUING RIGHT THROUGH UNTIL FIRST DAY NOTICE JUST LIKE WE ARE WITNESSING TODAY. USUALLY WE NOTED THAT CONTRACTION IN OI OCCURRED ONLY DURING THE LAST WEEK OF AN UPCOMING ACTIVE DELIVERY MONTH AS WE HAVE JUST SEEN IN GOLD TODAY. THIS PROCESS HAS JUST BEGUN IN EARNEST IN SILVER STARTING IN SEPTEMBER 2017. HOWEVER, IN GOLD, WE HAVE BEEN WITNESSING THIS FOR THE PAST 2 YEARS. NICK LAIRD WAS KIND ENOUGH TO SUPPLY US THE TOTAL FOR 2017 GOLD EFP’S AND IT WAS 6600 TONNES FOR THE ENTIRE YEAR.  WE  SURPRISINGLY AND SHOCKINGLY HAD ZERO LONG COMEX SILVER LIQUIDATION AND SHORT COVERING BUT THAT WAS QUICKLY REMEDIED WITH TODAY’S RAID.  WE ALSO HAVE A HUMONGOUS SIZED GAIN IN TOTAL SILVER OI FROM OUR TWO EXCHANGES. WE ARE ALSO WITNESSING A STRONG AMOUNT OF SILVER OUNCES STANDING FOR COMEX METAL IN THIS  NON ACTIVE OF APRIL AS WELL AS THE CONTINUAL MIGRATION OF EFPS OVER TO LONDON. ON A PERCENTAGE BASIS THERE ARE MORE EFP’S ISSUED FOR GOLD THAN SILVER.  ON A NET BASIS WE GAINED 12,415 SILVER OPEN INTEREST CONTRACTS AS WE OBTAINED A  8453 CONTRACT GAIN AT THE COMEX COMBINING WITH THE ADDITION OF 3962 OI CONTRACTS NAVIGATING OVER TO LONDON.

NET GAIN ON THE TWO EXCHANGES:12,415 CONTRACTS 

AMOUNT STANDING FOR SILVER AT THE COMEX

We are now in the non active delivery month of April and here the front month LOST 5 contracts LOWERING TO 337 contracts.  We had 0 notices filed upon (CME correction last Thursday night) so in essence we lost 5 contracts or 25,000 additional ounces of silver will NOT stand for delivery in this non active delivery month of April.(AND THESE GUYS MORPHED INTO LONDON BASED FORWARDS)

The next big active delivery month for silver will be May and here the OI GAINED 3377 contracts UP to 152,557. June saw another gain of 33 contracts to stand at 33.  The next big delivery month for silver is July and here the OI rose by 4377 contracts up to 52,271.

We had 0 notice(s) filed for NIL OZ for the APRIL 2018 contract for silver

IN THE LAST 18 MONTHS 72 NET TONNES HAS LEFT THE COMEX.

end

And now for silver

AND NOW THE APRIL DELIVERY MONTH

APRIL INITIAL standings/SILVER

we had 0 inventory movement at the dealer side of things

total dealer deposits:  nil oz

we had 1 deposits into the customer account

i) Into JPMorgan: 606,231.900 oz

*** JPMorgan for most of 2017 and in 2018 has adding to its inventory almost every single day.

JPMorgan now has 140 million oz of  total silver inventory or 53.4% of all official comex silver. (140 million/263 million)

JPMorgan  deposited  into its warehouses (official) today.

total deposits today:  606,231.900  oz

we had 2 withdrawals from the customer account;

i) Out of Delaware:  15,343.770 oz

ii) Out of Brinks:  3037.700 oz

total withdrawals;  18,378.47   oz

we had 0 adjustment

total dealer silver:  58.8561 million

total dealer + customer silver:  263.332 million oz

The total number of notices filed today for the APRIL. contract month is represented by 0 contract(s) FOR NIL oz. To calculate the number of silver ounces that will stand for delivery in APRIL., we take the total number of notices filed for the month so far at 19 x 5,000 oz = 95,000 oz to which we add the difference between the open interest for the front month of April. (337) and the number of notices served upon today (0 x 5000 oz) equals the number of ounces standing.

.

Thus the INITIAL standings for silver for the APRIL contract month: 19(notices served so far)x 5000 oz + OI for front month of April(337) -number of notices served upon today (0)x 5000 oz equals 1,780,000 oz of silver standing for the April contract month

WE  LOST 5  SILVER CONTRACTS OR 25,000 ADDITIONAL OUNCES WILL NOT STAND IN THIS NON ACTIVE DELIVERY MONTH OF APRIL AND THESE GUYS MORPHED INTO LONDON BASED FORWARDS. 

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ESTIMATED VOLUME FOR TODAY: 115,765 CONTRACTS

CONFIRMED VOLUME FOR YESTERDAY: 106058 CONTRACTS

YESTERDAY’S CONFIRMED VOLUME OF 106,058 CONTRACTS EQUATES TO  530 MILLION OZ OR 75.7% OF ANNUAL GLOBAL PRODUCTION OF SILVER

COMMODITY LAW SUGGESTS THAT OPEN INTEREST SHOULD NOT BE MORE THAN 3% OF ANNUAL GLOBAL PRODUCTION. THE CROOKS ARE SUPPLYING MASSIVE PAPER TRYING TO KEEP SILVER IN CHECK.

The record level of silver open interest is 234,787 contracts set on April 21./2017 with the price at that day at $18.42
The previous record was 224,540 contracts with the price at that time of $20.44

end

NPV for Sprott 

1. Sprott silver fund (PSLV): NAV FALLS TO -2.52% (APRIL 4/2018)
2. Sprott gold fund (PHYS): premium to NAV RISES TO -0.62% to NAV (APRIL 4/2018 )
Note: Sprott silver trust back into NEGATIVE territory at -2.52%-/Sprott physical gold trust is back into NEGATIVE/ territory at -0.62%/Central fund of Canada’s is still in jail but being rescued by Sprott.
Sprott WINS hostile 3.1 billion bid to take over Central Fund of Canada

(courtesy Sprott/GATA)

3.SPROTT CEF.A FUND (FORMERLY CENTRAL FUND OF CANADA): NAV FALLS TO -2.58%: NAV 13.65/TRADING 13.29//DISCOUNT 2.58

END

And now the Gold inventory at the GLD/

APRIL 5/WITH GOLD DOWN $8.20 WE HAD TWO ENTRIES: 1) TINY WITHDRAWAL OF .28 TONNES TO PAY FOR FEES AND 2) A DEPOSIT OF 2.06 TONNES//INVENTORY RESTS AT 854.09 TONNES

April 4/WITH GOLD UP $2.90 WE HAD NO CHANGES IN GOLD INVENTORY AT THE GLD/INVENTORY RESTS AT 852.31 TONNES

APRIL 3./WITH GOLD DOWN $9.30 WE HAD NO CHANGES IN GOLD INVENTORY AT THE GLD/INVENTORY RESTS AT 852.31 TONNES

APRIL 2/WITH GOLD UP $19.50, WE HAD A BIG  CHANGES IN GOLD INVENTORY AT THE GLD A DEPOSIT OF 6.19 TONNES/INVENTORY RESTS AT 852.31 TONNES

MARCH 29/WITH GOLD DOWN $3.20 AND OPTIONS EXPIRY FINISHED, WE HAD NO CHANGE IN GOLD INVENTORY AT THE GLD/INVENTORY RESTS A 846.12 TONNES

March 28/WITH GOLD DOWN $16.70, ANOTHER RAID ORCHESTRATED, AGAIN NO SURPRISES AS WE WITNESS ANOTHER 1.18 TONNES OF GOLD REMOVED/INVENTORY RESTS AT 846.12 TONNES

MARCH 27/WITH GOLD DOWN $11.70 AND A RAID INITIATED, IT WAS NO SURPRISE TO SEE THAT A MASSIVE WITHDRAWAL OF 3.24 TONNES WAS USED IN THE ABOVE RAID/INVENTORY RESTS AT 847.30 TONNES

MARCH 26./WITH GOLD UP $4.60/NO CHANGE IN GOLD INVENTORY AT THE GLD/INVENTORY RESTS AT 850.54 TONNES

MARCH 23/WITH GOLD UP $23.30/NO CHANGE IN GOLD INVENTORY AT THE GLD/INVENTORY RESTS AT 850.54 TONNES

MARCH 22.WITH GOLD UP $5.90, NO CHANGES IN GOLD INVENTORY AT THE GLD/INVENTORY RESTS AT 850.54 TONNES/

MARCH 21/WITH GOLD UP $9.65 NO CHANGES IN GOLD INVENTORY AT THE GLD/INVENTORY RESTS AT 850.54 TONNES

March 20/WITH GOLD DOWN $5.75, A SURPRISING HUMONGOUS DEPOSIT OF 10.32 TONNES OF GOLD INTO THE GLD/INVENTORY RESTS AT 850.64 TONNES/

SO FAR, FOR THE MONTH OF MARCH, THE GLD HAS ADDED 19.61 TONNES WITH A NET LOSS OF $17.45

March 19/WITH GOLD UP $5.25: ANOTHER HUGE DEPOSIT OF GOLD TO THE TUNE OF 2.07 TONNES/GOLD INVENTORY RESTS TONIGHT AT 840.22 TONNES

MARCH 16/WITH GOLD DOWN $5.65/OUR CROOKS DEPOSITED ANOTHER 4.42 TONNES INTO GLD INVENTORY/INVENTORY RESTS AT 838.15 TONNES

FOR THE WEEK: GOLD LOST  $11.80, BUT GOLD INVENTORY ADVANCED:4.42 TONNES

MARCH 15/WITH GOLD DOWN $7.85, NO CHANGES IN GOLD INVENTORY AT THE GLD/INVENTORY RESTS AT 833.73 TONNES

MARCH 14/WITH GOLD DOWN $1.55/NO CHANGES IN GOLD INVENTORY AT THE GLD/INVENTORY RESTS AT 833.73 TONNES

MARCH 13/WITH GOLD UP $6.25/NO CHANGES IN GOLD INVENTORY AT THE GLD/INVENTORY RESTS AT 833.73 TONNES

MARCH 12/WITH GOLD DOWN $3.00/NO CHANGES IN GOLD INVENTORY AT THE GLD/INVENTORY RESTS AT 833.73 TONNES

MARCH 9/WITH GOLD UP $2.25/NO CHANGES IN GOLD INVENTORY AT THE GLD/INVENTORY RESTS AT 833.73 TONNES

March 8/NO CHANGES IN GOLD INVENTORY AT THE GLD/INVENTORY RESTS AT 833.73 TONNES

GOLD DOWN 5.45 TODAY.

MARCH 7/WITH GOLD DOWN 8.00/A SLIGHT CHANGE IN GOLD INVENTORY AT THE GLD/A WITHDRAWAL OF .25 TONNES TO PAY FOR FEES//INVENTORY RESTS AT 833.73 TONNES

MARCH 6/WITH GOLD UP $15.60/NO CHANGE IN GOLD INVENTORY AT THE GLD/INVENTORY RESTS AT 833.98 TONNES

March 5/WITH GOLD DOWN $4.10/NO CHANGE IN GOLD INVENTORY AT THE GLD/INVENTORY RESTS AT 833.98 TONNES

MARCH 2/WITH GOLD UP $18.70/NO CHANGE IN GOLD INVENTORY AT THE GLD/INVENTORY RESTS AT 833.98 TONNES

March 1/WITH GOLD DOWN ANOTHER $12.30/A HUGE CHANGE IN GOLD INVENTORY/ A DEPOSIT OF 2.96 TONNES/INVENTORY RESTS AT 833.98 TONNES

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APRIL 5/2018/ Inventory rests tonight at 854.09 tonnes

*IN LAST 356 TRADING DAYS: 86.95 NET TONNES HAVE BEEN REMOVED FROM THE GLD
*LAST 306 TRADING DAYS: A NET 69.35 TONNES HAVE NOW BEEN ADDED INTO GLD INVENTORY.

end

Now the SLV Inventory/

APRIL 5/WITH SILVER UP 6 CENTS/NO CHANGES IN INVENTORY AT THE SLV/INVENTORY RESTS AT 318.877 MILLION OZ/

April 4/WITH SILVER DOWN 11 CENTS/A SMALL CHANGE IN SILVER INVENTORY AT THE SLV/ A WITHRAWAL OF 135,000 OZ AND THIS IS PROBABLY TO PAY FOR FEES/INVENTORY RESTS AT 318.877 MILLION OZ/

APRIL 3./WITH SILVER DOWN 16 CENTS/NO CHANGE IN SILVER INVENTORY AT THE SLV/INVENTORY RESTS AT 319.012 MILLION OZ/

APRIL 2/WITH SILVER UP 34 CENTS/NO CHANGES IN SILVER INVENTORY AT THE SLV/INVENTORY RESTS AT 319.012 MILLION OZ/

MARCH 29/WITH SILVER UP 6 CENTS, THE CROOKS DECIDED THAT THEY HAD BETTER ADD SOME 943,000 PAPER OZ TO THEIR INVENTORY/INVENTORY RESTS AT 319.012 MILLION OZ

March 28/WITH SILVER DOWN 27 CENTS/AGAIN NO CHANGE IN SILVER INVENTORY AT THE SLV/INVENTORY RESTS AT 318.069 MILLION OZ

MARCH 27/WITH SILVER DOWN 14 CENTS/NO CHANGE IN SILVER INVENTORY AT THE SLV/INVENTORY RESTS AT 318.069 MILLION OZ/

WITH SILVER UP 11 CENTS/NO CHANGE IN SILVER INVENTORY AT THE SLV/INVENTORY RESTS AT 318.069 MILLION OZ/

MARCH 23/WITH SILVER UP 19 CENTS, A HAD A BIG WITHDRAWAL OF 1.602 MILLION OZ.INVENTORY RESTS AT 318.069 MILLION OZ/

MARCH 22/WITH SILVER DOWN ONE CENT, NO CHANGE IN SLV INVENTORY/INVENTORY RESTS AT 319.671 MILLION OZ/

March 21/WITH SILVER UP 21 CENTS/NO CHANGE IN SLV INVENTORY/INVENTORY RESTS AT 319.671 MILLION OZ/

March 20/WITH SILVER DOWN 13 CENTS/NO CHANGE IN SLV INVENTORY/INVENTORY RESTS AT 319.671 MILLION OZ/

March 19/WITH SILVER UP 5 CENTS, THE SLV ADDS A SMALL 659,000 OZ TO ITS INVENTORY/INVENTORY RESTS AT 319.671 MILLION OZ/

MARCH 16/WITH SILVER DOWN 15 CENTS/NO CHANGES IN SILVER INVENTORY AT THE SLV/INVENTORY RESTS AT 319.012 MILLION OZ.

FOR THE WEEK;  SILVER IS DOWN 42 CENTS YET ADDS 943,000 OZ OF SILVER INTO THE SLV/

MARCH 15/WITH SILVER DOWN 11 CENTS/NO CHANGES IN SILVER INVENTORY AT THE SLV/INVENTORY RESTS AT 319.012 MILLION OZ/

MARCH 14/WITH SILVER DOWN 8 CENTS/NO CHANGES IN SILVER INVENTORY AT THE SLV/INVENTORY RESTS AT 319.012 MILLION OZ/

MARCH 13/WITH SILVER UP 10 CENTS/NO CHANGES IN SILVER INVENTORY AT THE SLV/INVENTORY RESTS AT 319.012 MILLION OZ/

MARCH 12/WITH SILVER DOWN 8 CENTS/A BIG CHANGES IN SILVER INVENTORY AT THE SLV/ A DEPOSIT OF 943,000 OZ/INVENTORY RESTS AT 319.012 MILLION OZ/

MARCH 9/WITH SILVER UP 21 CENTS, NO CHANGES IN SILVER INVENTORY AT THE SLV/INVENTORY RESTS AT 318.069 MILLION OZ/

March 8/WITH SILVER DOWN 1 CENT TODAY: NO CHANGE IN SILVER INVENTORY AT THE SLV/INVENTORY RESTS AT 318.069 MILLION OZ/

MARCH 7/WITH SILVER DOWN 27 CENTS/NO CHANGE IN SILVER INVENTORY AT THE SLV/INVENTORY RESTS AT 318.069 MILLION OZ/

MARCH 6/WITH SILVER UP 38 CENTS/NO CHANGE IN SILVER INVENTORY AT THE SLV/INVENTORY RESTS AT 318.069 MILLION OZ/

March 5/WITH SILVER DOWN 11 CENTS/NO CHANGE IN SILVER INVENTORY AT THE SLV/INVENTORY RESTS AT 318.069 MILLION OZ/

MARCH 2/WITH SILVER UP 23 CENTS: A HUGE 1.479 MILLION OZ WAS ADDED TO SILVER’S INVENTORY/INVENTORY RESTS AT 318.069 MILLION OZ/

March 1/WITH SILVER DOWN 11 CENTS TODAY/NO CHANGE IN SILVER INVENTORY AT THE SLV/INVENTORY RESTS AT 316.590 MILLION OZ./

HAD ANOTHER HUGE ADDITION OF 1.315 MILLION OZ/INVENTORY RESTS AT 316.590 MILLION OZ/

APRIL 5/2018:  NO CHANGES IN SILVER INVENTORY: 

Inventory 318.877 million oz

end

6 Month MM GOFO 2.04/ and libor 6 month duration 2.46

Indicative gold forward offer rate for a 6 month duration/calculation:

G0FO+ 2.04%

libor 2.46 FOR 6 MONTHS/

GOLD LENDING RATE: .42%

XXXXXXXX

12 Month MM GOFO
+ 2.48%

LIBOR FOR 12 MONTH DURATION: 2.68

GOFO = LIBOR – GOLD LENDING RATE

GOLD LENDING RATE  = +.20

end

Major gold/silver trading /commentaries for THURSDAY

GOLDCORE/BLOG/MARK O’BYRNE.

GOLD/SILVER

Silver Bullion: Should We Be Worried About Silver?

5, April

Silver Bullion: Should We Be Worried About Silver?

– Bloomberg’s Mike McGlone silver “set to test the $18 an ounce resistance level”
– LBMA report: volume of silver ounces transferred in February fell by 24%
– Standard Chartered: gold-silver ratio and supply/demand fundamentals favour silver
– Gold/silver ratio at near two-year high on silver’s underperformance
– Silver COT reports remain more bullish than at any time in history
– Silver expected to outperform gold as macro and industrial factors begin to drive price

The silver price has perhaps disappointed many investors of late. Two key institutional metrics released in the last fortnight may have made things worse, however not all is at it seems.

The latest silver COT reports have shown that Managed Money positions are net bearish, the most recent is for the seventh week in a row. Meanwhile an LBMA report this week shows that the volume of silver transferred in February fell by 24%.

Whilst both of these suggest that the silver price might continue to resist further climbs, the contrarian perspective suggests otherwise. Analysis of past COT reports, previous gold/silver ratios and a close look at macro fundamentals should give investors (and those considering buying silver) reassurance that the silver price could be set to make some key moves.

COT report 

Last week’s COT data showed Managed Money positions hold are net bearish for the 7th week in a row. This is the longest net negative stretch in over three years (since late 2014).

The March 20 COT report ‘showed an all-time record high Large Speculator NET short position and an all-time record low Commercial NET short position with the Small Specs as the only category still showing a small NET long position.’

As we explained last week, COT data shows that ‘we are close to bottoming and suggests that both gold and silver should make gains in the coming weeks and months. The data showed that the hedge funds and “Managed Money traders,” the “dumb money” speculators now have record short positions in silver.’

At the same time, the large commercials and including large bullion banks such as JP Morgan, the “smart money” and the “inside money” have reduced their shorts dramatically and are now long.

The COT report shows ‘Managed money’ silver specs have their largest short position in at least 28 years and maybe ever. From a contrarian perspective this is very bullish.

Listen on SoundCloud , Blubrry & iTunes. Watch on YouTube below

Usually we would expect gold and silver to behave similarly when it comes to the futures market as generally the same factors affect both metals. Whilst recent silver COT reports showing large speculators giving up on and even shorting silver is (from a contrarian perspective) extremely bullish, there is a paradox with the gold COTs which are arguably bearish. Many analysts believe this is a positive sign that the silver price is set to climb, but not before falling.

In recent weeks we have commented on the divergence occurring between both gold and silver.

‘What does this mean? One possible explanation is that silver has gotten too cheap relative to gold and needs to be revalued. That could happen in several ways, with both metals rising but silver rising more, or both falling but silver falling less. Or with gold dropping while silver rises, as improbable as that seems.’

In order for the silver price to climb it likely requires a retreat in the gold price before recovering alongside it. In short, the current silver indicators show a short-term weakness followed by a strong rebound.

Bloomberg Intelligence’s Mike McGlone wrote in a recent report “Silver’s 52-week range is the most compressed in 15 years and appears unsustainable…Silver’s extreme compression projects a revisit of 2016’s high. Sustaining below the December low would indicate failure.”

Why should we expect a recovery in the silver price? “Because of the gold price” is clearly not a reasonable enough answer. Standard Chartered said in a recent report that they expect fortunes to turn for silver this year as the weaker dollar and rising inflation expectations will see investors seek out safe havens alongside gold.  Many of the factors driving gold will begin to affect silver as well. Additionally silver is both a monetary and industrial metal which means it listens to two tunes when performing.

Gold/silver ratio

This week the gold/silver price ratio has so far remained above 81. This is gold at its most expensive in relation to silver, since the early 1990s. Since the start of the millennium the ratio has been trading in a range of 80 and 47. Silver is extremely undervalued in both the short and long-term.

ICBC’s Marcus Garvey said in a report last week, “Inevitably, given the historical precedent, [the ratio level] has raised the question of whether bullion investors are being presented with a contrarian opportunity to position for a reversal…In the very short-term, we think the answer is yes.”

As in any market and with any asset the ratio could yet head higher, but how much higher must be considered in respect of the key fundamentals. For example, the current breakeven price for the primary silver mining industry is about $15-$16. The current price point is not sustainable.

The gold/silver ratio has never remained at 80 (or above) for very long before decreasing. This suggests that the window of opportunity to stock up on silver is small. According to silver seek there have been three occasions sine 1995 where the ratio registered at or above 80. The average of those days is 47. We have just exceeded the historical average in this latest range.

John Rubino recently explained how investors can use this unusual occurrence to their advantage:

‘gold has recently been rising relative to silver (or silver has been falling relative to gold) with the gold/silver ratio now close to 80, meaning that it takes 80 ounces of silver to buy one ounce of gold. It’s been there two other times in the past decade and both times gold subsequently rose while silver rose a lot more.

Based on this (admittedly short) bit of recent history, an interesting trade might be to short gold and go long silver on the assumption that silver bullion will outperform gold bullion going forward. Or just stack more silver than usual for a while.

With the world’s mines producing only about 10 times as much silver as gold while silver stockpiles are dwarfed by those of gold because so much silver is used and then lost in industrial applications, this might be a trade that works for years rather than months.

Silver: the hardworking metal

Silver’s role as an industrial metal has always been impressive but no more so than since this fourth industrial revolution. It’s importance in both communication and sustainable technologies is worth noting, especially given both industries are set to expand.

In the last five years more than half of all the silver sold worldwide has been bought by industry. Less than 10% of gold is bought by the same sector.

Import figures demonstrate growing demand for silver: China’s silver imports are up 36% year-on-year so far in 2018, while India’s silver imports are up 63%. This is in large part thanks to industrial demand where mobile phone and solar cell use are mopping up supply.

“To go green, to do all the things we want to do as the human race gets off oil and gas, we need a ton of silver,” Keith Neumeyer, CEO of First Majestic Silver Corp

Silver has enormous potential in the field of technology. It is the most electrically conductive known material other than gold. Unsurprisingly gold is far too expensive to use in the majority of areas where silver makes for a viable alternative. As we find more solutions to solve energy and technology issues we will inevitably require more and more silver. Right now there is no obvious substitute for it.

Wider macro factors will drive silver

As John Rubino wrote recently, we should be careful not to look at recent institutional date in a vacuum as there are other factors that will support stronger silver prices:

‘Silver is a whole different story, with speculators going aggressively net short, something very seldom seen, and commercials almost in balance, which is also unusual. Looked at in a vacuum, this is hyper-bullish…between trade wars, massive ongoing government deficits and spiking stock market volatility, the reasons for owning safe haven assets like gold and silver are both multiplying and gaining urgency.’

The latest COT report should not be seen as a bearish sign. This is a strong indicator to accumulate silver before it breaks through this current resistance level and begins to catch up with gold. Gold has outperformed silver in the last year or so most likely thanks to safe-haven demand.

Gold is considered to be a safe play in times such as these, hence silver isn’t keeping pace with it. This is also not helped by the fact that the market perceives silver to be exposed to economic weakness. But this won’t be forever. Inflation will begin to show itself in a less covert manner. As it does so more of the public will realize silver’s second role as a store of value and inflation hedge.

Final note from Mark O’Byrne:

Silver remains very undervalued in the short term and on a long term historical basis. It is also undervalued against gold as seen in the gold silver ratio at over 80:1.

Gold is beginning to receive some interest again from a small minority of retail investors but silver remains the preserve of relatively few contrarian investors. The media and financial press rarely, if ever, covers silver and almost never in a positive manner despite its strong fundamentals.

Yet silver is quite likely in the early stages of a new bull market that will rival or surpass that of the 1970s and thus merits an allocation in investment and pension portfolios.

Listen on SoundCloud , Blubrry & iTunes. Watch on YouTube below

Related reading

Silver bullion will likely outperform gold bullion going forward

Silver Futures Report and JP Morgan Record Silver Bullion Holding Is Extremely Bullish

Silver’s Positive Fundamentals Due To Strong Demand In Key Growth Industries

News and Commentary

Gold futures pop higher as fresh China tariffs escalate trade-war fear (MarketWatch.com)

Gold hits 1-week high as dollar dips, U.S.-China trade tensions escalate (Reuters.com)

China’s Counterpunch to Trump’s Tariffs Sparks Global Selloff (Bloomberg.com)

Growth in U.S. Service Industries Cools for a Second Month (Bloomberg.com)

U.S. factory orders increase broadly in February (Reuters.com)

Gold Is Heading to $1,400 If Trade War Breaks Out, According to Sprott (Bloomberg.com)

No Exit in Sight for the World Record Holder in Negative Rates (Bloomberg.com)

Three Mini-Bubbles Burst. Is One Of The Big Ones Next? (DollarCollapse.com)

Matt King: This Is The Real Reason Behind The Blow Out In Libor-OIS (ZeroHedge.com)

Goldman Sachs: 20 Years Left of Mineable Gold (ProActiveInvestors.co.uk)

Gold Prices (LBMA AM)

04 Apr: USD 1,343.15, GBP 955.52 & EUR 1,092.79 per ounce
03 Apr: USD 1,336.60, GBP 949.65 & EUR 1,085.99 per ounce
29 Mar: USD 1,323.90, GBP 941.69 & EUR 1,075.80 per ounce
28 Mar: USD 1,341.05, GBP 946.24 & EUR 1,082.23 per ounce
27 Mar: USD 1,350.65, GBP 954.64 & EUR 1,087.41 per ounce
26 Mar: USD 1,348.40, GBP 949.27 & EUR 1,086.95 per ounce
23 Mar: USD 1,342.35, GBP 952.80 & EUR 1,088.65 per ounce

Silver Prices (LBMA)

04 Apr: USD 16.46, GBP 11.72 & EUR 13.40 per ounce
03 Apr: USD 16.52, GBP 11.78 & EUR 13.44 per ounce
29 Mar: USD 16.28, GBP 11.58 & EUR 13.21 per ounce
28 Mar: USD 16.46, GBP 11.63 & EUR 13.28 per ounce
27 Mar: USD 16.64, GBP 11.79 & EUR 13.41 per ounce
26 Mar: USD 16.61, GBP 11.67 & EUR 13.39 per ounce
23 Mar: USD 16.53, GBP 11.70 & EUR 13.39 per ounce

Recent Market Updates

– Martin Luther King Jr. Anniversary: Reminds Us Of Costs Of War To Society and Financial System
– Gold Outperforms Stocks In Q1, 2018
– Brexit, Stagflation Pressures UK High Street
– Gold Is Money While Currencies Today Are “IOU Nothings”
– “Stars Are Slowly Aligning For Gold” – Frisby
– Uncle Sam Issuing $300 Billion In New Debt This Week Alone
– Eurozone Faces Many Threats Including Trade Wars and “Eurozone Time-Bomb” In Italy
– Silver Futures Report and JP Morgan Record Silver Bullion Holding Is Extremely Bullish
– London House Prices Falling Sharply – UK’s Much Needed Wake-Up Call
– Global Trade War Fears See Precious Metals Gain And Stocks Fall
– Gold +1.8%, Silver +2.5% As Fed Increases Rates And Trade War Looms
– Credit Concerns In U.S. Growing As LIBOR OIS Surges to 2009 High
– Four Charts: Debt, Defaults and Bankruptcies To See Higher Gold

Andrew Maguire’s Kinesis money which is a “bitcoin” but backed 100% by allocated gold and silver is set to go.

it think it would be a great idea to look at this!

please read at:  https://kinesis.money/#/

(Andrew Maguire)

END

A thorough presentation of how the gold market is manipulated by central banks and the BIS

(courtesy Chris Powell/GATA)

(courtesy Lawrie Williams)

3. ASIAN AFFAIRS

i)THURSDAY MORNING/WEDNESDAY NIGHT: Shanghai closed HOLIDAY  /Hang Sang CLOSED HOLIDAY   / The Nikkei closed UP 325.87 POINTS OR 1.53%/Australia’s all ordinaires CLOSED UP .41% /Chinese yuan (ONSHORE) closed UP at 6.3033/Oil DOWN to 63.22 dollars per barrel for WTI and 68.00 for Brent. Stocks in Europe OPENED DEEPLY IN THE GREEN   .   ONSHORE YUAN CLOSED UP AT 6.3033 AGAINST THE DOLLAR. OFFSHORE YUAN CLOSED UP ON THE DOLLAR AT 6.2938 /ONSHORE YUAN TRADING WEAKER AGAINST OFFSHORE YUAN/ONSHORE YUAN TRADING STRONGER AGAINST USA DOLLAR/OFFSHORE YUAN TRADING  MUCH STRONGER AGAINST THE DOLLAR . CHINA ON HOLIDAY TODAY/CHINA RETALIATES WITH TARIFFS/LOOKS LIKE A FULL TRADE WAR IS BEGINNING/

3 a NORTH KOREA/USA

North Korea/South Korea

 

3 b JAPAN AFFAIRS

The Central Bank of Japan now owns 77% of all ETF’s in Japan on top of just about all of Japanese Government debt.

This is an accident waiting to happen

(courtesy zerohedge)

c) REPORT ON CHINA

Two things to be cognizant of:

1. China is already declaring victory in their trade war with the uSA as they correctly state that China has targeted key industries such as autos, chemicals and of course soybeans
2. China has hinted that they may wish to lower the value of the USA dollars and that means dumping their huge amount of treasuries.

(courtesy zerohedge)

4. EUROPEAN AFFAIRS

France is a bit of a turmoil with rotating rail strikes.  Macron is trying to change the hugely debt ridden public transportation rail operations  Citizens of France are worried that he might privatize the rail..and that has set of the protests.

(courtesy Mac Slavo/SHFTPlan.com)

French Rail Staff Stage Protests Against Tyrannical President Emmanuel Macron

Authored by Mac Slavo via SHTFlan.com,

French rail workers have launched three months of rolling train strikes.

The strikes are on schedule to become the largest and most chaotic industrial action against Emmanuel Macron’s drive to overhaul state transport and liberalize the economy.

The media is calling the protests “Black Tuesday,” while simultaneously attempting to deflect from the left-of-left dictator in charge, Emmanuel Macron.

The opening day of train strikes was expected to cause disruption for France’s 4.5 million rail passengers after around 33% of all train staff and more than 75% of drivers walked out.

The rail sector is traditionally one of France’s riskiest political issues. It’s quickly become a battleground on which Macron is refusing to budge in order to prove that he can face down strikes and continue with a liberalizing overhaul of other sectors.

The government argues that France’s heavily in debt state railway company, the SNCF, has to be made more efficient before local and national passenger services open up to competition in coming years under EU rules.

The government intends to cut rail workers’ special employment rights so that new hires would not have jobs for life or special retirement provisions. But there are also plans to change the SNCF structure, turning it into a publicly listed company. -The Guardian

Leftists worry that should the government own 100% of shares in the rail company that it would lead to complete privatization. The Socialist politician Julien Dray warned of a veiled plan for “rampant privatization.” (Oh no! Not the free market handling transportation! It’s like Armageddon!) Of course, the French government denies that they want privatization, which is probably true.  Governments don’t like the free marketas it’s incredibly difficult to control and manipulate.  They’d more likely than not total control of all services.

The standoff has become a public relations battle that has hit at the heart of Macron’s liberalization program.

“We need to rid this country of its strike culture,” Gabriel Attal, a spokesman for Macron’s party, La République En Marche, said on Monday.

end

The following commentary should make you think that the poisoning of Skripal and his daughter was not of Russian origins:

(courtesy Rob Slane/Blogmire.com)

The Three Most Important Aspects Of The Skripal Case… And Where They Might Be Pointing

Authored by Rob Slane via TheBlogMire.com,

I have now asked a total of 50 questions around the Skripal case, which you can find here and here. Having gone back through these questions, as far as I can see only three have been answered by the release of public information or events that have transpired. These are:

• Are they (Sergei and Yulia Skripal) still alive?
• If so, what is their current condition and what symptoms are they displaying?
• Can the government confirm that its scientists at Porton Down have established that the substance that poisoned the Skripals and D.S. Bailey was actually produced or manufactured in Russia?

On the first two points we are now told that Yulia Skripal’s condition has significantly improved to the point where she is said to be recovering well and talking. However, although this provides something of an answer to these questions, it also raises a number of others. Is she finally being allowed consular access? Is she being allowed to speak to her fiancé, her grandmother, or her cousin by telephone? Most importantly, how does her recovery comport with the claim that she was poisoned with a “military-grade nerve agent” with a toxicity around 5-8 times that of VX nerve agent?

On the other point, we do now have a definitive answer from none other than the Chief Executive of the Defence Science and Technology Laboratory (DSTL) at Porton Down, Gary Aitkenhead: No, Porton Down was not able to identify the substance as being produced or manufactured in Russia.

It is important that reasonable questions continue to be raised, as they not only help clarify the actual issues, but the answers — or lack thereof — are also a good barometer as to how the official narrative stacks up. As a keen observer of the case — especially since it took place just a few hundred yards from my home in Salisbury — I have to say that the official narrative of the British Government has not stood up to even the most cursory scrutiny from the outset. In fact, there are three crucial issues that serve to raise suspicions about it, and to my mind these issues are the most important aspects of the case so far:

1. The absurd speed at which the British Government reacted to the incident
2. The British Government’s ignoring of legal frameworks and protocols
3. The large number of discrepancies between events and the official narrative

Let’s just look at these in turn.

1. The absurd speed at which the British Government reacted to the incident

I remain astonished at the manner and the speed with which the British Government reacted to this incident. There was the speed with which the Foreign Secretary, Boris Johnson, first pointed the finger of culpability, less than 48 hours after the incident, and before any investigation or analysis of the substance had taken place. There was the speed with which Porton Down was apparently able to analyse and identify the substance, even though it is set to take the Organisation for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons (OPCW) at least three weeks to carry out a similar identification. There was the speed with which the British Government officially accused the Russian Government of being behind the incident, and the 36-hour ultimatum given to it to prove its innocence without being given any of the evidence that apparently showed its culpability. There was the speed with which the British Government, armed with evidence that looked like it was put together by a rather dull 14-year-old on work experience, managed to convince a number of other countries to expel diplomats, including 60 from the United States.

Why, if it was so sure of its claims, did the British Government feel the need to act so hastily and recklessly, rather than await the results of the investigation?

2. The British Government’s ignoring of legal frameworks and protocols

Not only has the British Government acted with lightning speed, it has also ridden roughshod over a number of international legal agreements and protocols.

Firstly, there is the involvement of the OPCW. What ought to have happened is the British Government should have invited the OPCW in as part of the investigation immediately upon suspicion of the use of a nerve agent. However, according to the British Government’s own timeline, it wasn’t until March 14th– the day that Mrs May formally announced the culpability of the Russian State to Parliament – that she actually wrote to the OPCW to involve them in the case. This is, I understand, contrary to the obligations Britain has as a member of the OPCW, and signatory to the Chemical Weapons Convention (CWC).

In addition, the British Government has refused to provide evidence to the Russian Government. Again, my understanding is that this is contrary to the protocols set out in the CWC.

The British Government has also refused to grant the Russian Embassy in London consular access to two Russian nationals, Sergei and Yulia Skripal, which it is legally obliged to do under Articles 36 and 37 of the 1963 Vienna Convention and Article 35 (1) of the 1965 Consular Convention.

Why, if it was so sure of its claims, did the British Government feel the need to ignore international agreements to which it is a signatory, and instead act in this opaque and frankly suspicious manner?

3. The number of oddities and discrepancies in the official narrative

The speed of apportioning blame and the ignoring of international legal agreements might not have looked nearly as suspicious had the narrative presented by the British Government and the facts on the ground been in harmony with one another. But they have not been.

Instead, many of the actual events that have transpired over the weeks since the incident was first reported simply do not fit the overarching explanation given.

Below are five of the most important:

1. As mentioned above, the Chief Executive of Porton Down, Gary Aitkenhead has confirmed that the laboratory was unable to identify the origin of the substance used to poison the Skripals. This is in direct contradiction to the claims made by the Foreign Secretary, Boris Johnson, who said the following on the Andrew Marr Show on 18th March:

“Obviously to the best of our knowledge this is a Russian-made nerve agent that falls within the category Novichok made only by Russia, and just to get back to the point about the international reaction which is so fascinating…”

If it’s made only by Russia, as Mr Johnson claimed, then it must have originated in Russia. Right? Yet Mr Aitkenhead says they were unable to identify where it was made.

Then in an interview with Deutsche Welle two days after his above comments, Mr Johnson was categorical about the source of the nerve agent as being Russian. Here’s the exchange:

Interviewer: You argue that the source of this nerve agent, Novichok, is Russia. How did you manage to find it out so quickly? Does Britain possess samples of it?

Johnson: “Let me be clear with you … When I look at the evidence, I mean the people from Porton Down, the laboratory …”

Interviewer: “So they have the samples …

Johnson: “They do. And they were absolutely categorical and I asked the guy myself, I said, ‘Are you sure?’ And he said there’s no doubt.”

Who “the guy” is, perhaps we’ll never know. The cleaner perhaps? I suppose a politician of Mr Johnson’s calibre will happily try to weasel his way out of the implications of what he said. But to us lesser mortals, it does rather look like he was deliberately misleading, doesn’t it

2. Much of the investigation initially concentrated on where the Skripals were poisoned. Amongst the suggestions made were the bench on which they collapsed, the Zizzi restaurant where they had eaten, Ms Skripal’s luggage or Mr Skripal’s car. Then, some 24 days after the incident, it was announced that a high concentration of the “military-grade nerve agent” had been found on the front door, and that this was the likely place of poisoning. Yet it is known that after leaving the house, Mr Skripal and his daughter drove into the City Centre, went to the Mill pub, and then to the restaurant where they ate a meal together. In other words, according to the door theory, the two of them were poisoned by a military grade nerve agent, which then took over three hours to have any effect. Odd, wouldn’t you say?

3. Furthermore, it has been stated that the two of them became ill at the same time on the bench in the Maltings. Therefore, if they were poisoned at the front door, this would mean that not only did the two of them feel little or no effects for the three hours or so that followed, but it would also mean that a large 66-year-old man and an averagely built 33-year-old woman, of different height, weight and metabolism, somehow succumbed to the effects of poisoning at exactly the same time, some three hours or so later. Again, is that not very odd?

4. The claim that they were poisoned by a military grade nerve agent, of a type said to be 5-8 times the toxicity of VX nerve agent, is itself surely open to question. Both Mr Skripal and his daughter not only survived, but Yulia Skripal is now said to be sitting up and talking just weeks later. Perhaps it is possible to survive a miniscule dose of such a nerve agent. The problem with this is that according to many earlier claims, there were significant traces of the substance in various parts of the City of Salisbury, which indicates that it cannot have been a very miniscule amount that they came into contact with at the door. Which means that we are being asked to believe that they were poisoned by “more than a miniscule amount” of this deadly poison, but both somehow survived, despite neither receiving an antidote (a fact now confirmed by Gary Aitkenhead). Does that not seem improbable?

5. The official explanation – that this was planned and authorised at the highest level within the Russian Government – would lead one to believe that the action was carried out by top level agents of the FSB. Yet the mode of attack – nerve agent apparently smeared or sprayed on the door – has to be one of the least effective methods that could be used to assassinate anyone. For a start, it rains a lot in Salisbury, and it did indeed rain on the day of the poisoning. If the substance was left at the front door (assuming it was the outside), the attacker(s) could have had no guarantee that it would not be washed off before Mr Skripal touched it. Nor could they have had any guarantee that he, as opposed to his daughter or perhaps a delivery person etc, would come into contact with it. And of course there is the fact that Mr Skripal is still alive. Does any of this seem consistent with the narrative of a professional, Kremlin-authorised hit-job.

Conclusion

Where does this leave us?

The official narrative would have us believe that the Russian Government authorised the killing of a has-been (former?) MI6 spy, who it had freed in 2010 and who presumably posed no threat to it, just a week before the Russian election and weeks before the World Cup, using a nerve agent with an exclusively Russian signature, in a way (on the door) that could not guarantee the intended target would touch it. This would be difficult enough to swallow by itself, but the British Government’s rush to judgement, disregard for law, and the many discrepancies in the actual events themselves make this scenario absurdly implausible.

Another possibility – that the British Government or intelligence services were behind the incident – has been given great credibility by the British Government itself, in its absurdly quick reaction to the incident and its blatant ignoring of legal protocols. These actions were bound to fuel suspicions about the possibility of its own involvement, and I have to say that such suspicions are absolutely legitimate precisely because of the way it has behaved. However, it must be said that the oddities and discrepancies in the case don’t lend themselves very well to the idea of a carefully planned false flag. If British intelligence had planned a hit job on Mr Skripal using a military-grade nerve agent “of a type developed by Russia”, in order to then pin the blame on the Russian Government, I doubt very much that Mr Skripal and his daughter would still be alive, or that the explanation for where the poison was administered would be changing on a daily basis, or that the British Government’s evidence to other countries would have been as risible as it was (unless of course our intelligence agencies are as incompetent as such a scenario would require them to be, that is).

My hunch – and it is just that – is that Mr Skripal himself was perhaps still working for British intelligence, and may have been in possession of a nerve agent. Somehow, this involvement went wrong, and he ended up accidently poisoning himself and his daughter on the bench in The Maltings. The Government then scrambled to concoct a story in order to cover up the real story of a Russian working for MI6 and handling nerve agents, and so quickly decided to point the finger at that most convenient scapegoat, the Russian Government.

The reason that I’m attracted to this possibility is that it explains all three aspects I have described above, and which I think are the most important aspects of the case. The rush to judgement — which looked like panic-mode to me — could have been an attempt to divert attention away from the investigation looking at the possibility of Mr Skripal having military grade nerve agent in his possession. The ignoring of international legal protocols, at least for a time, could have been done to ensure that the case was not probed by any outside body, which may well have exposed discrepancies. And it could also explain many of the oddities mentioned above, such as traces of nerve agent apparently being found in various places in Salisbury, since these could have come about because Mr Skripal was in possession of some sort of nerve agent when he left his house that day.

As I say, this is just a hunch and purely speculative. I am probably wrong. But unless the British Government is able to produce far better evidence than it has so far produced, to back up the claims it has made, I shall consider it a more credible possibility than the one they have sold to the British public.

5. RUSSIAN AND MIDDLE EASTERN AFFAIRS

Russia/UK

Russia is still denied request to join the OPCW investigation into the Skripal poisoning.  Very strange.

(courtesy zerohedge)

Russia Denied Request To Join OPCW Investigation Into Skripal Poisoning

Russia has been denied the right to participate in an international chemical watchdog’s investigation into the Salisbury nerve agent attack on former (?) Russian double agent Sergei Skripal and his daughter Yulia Skripal.

Fifteen countries voted against Russia’s bid, while six voted for it and 17 abstained.

“Unfortunately, we haven’t been able to have two-thirds of the votes in support of that decision. A qualified majority was needed,” Russian ambassador Alexander Shulgin told reporters, adding “Russia as well as other states that are members of the Executive Committee have been pushed aside from this investigation.”

UK’s Foreign Secretary Boris Johnson brushed aside Russia’s request, calling it a “ludicrous proposal” designed to “undermine” the Organization for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons (OPCW) investigation.

“Russia has had one goal in mind since the attempted murders on UK soil through the use of a military-grade chemical weapon – to obscure the truth and confuse the public,” Johnson said. “The international community has yet again seen through these tactics and robustly defeated Russia’s attempts today to derail the proper international process.”

Johnson also said that “none of us have forgotten” about the “barbaric” chemical weapons attack in Syria a year ago.

“After the OPCW-UN investigation found that the Syrian regime was responsible, Russia blocked that body from doing any more work,” he said.

Russia wants to discuss a letter sent by UK Prime Minister Theresa May to the UN Security Council which says it’s “highly likely” that Moscow was behind last month’s nerve agent attack.

Meanwhile, as we reported yesterday,  the chief scientist from the UK’s Porton Down military laboratory facility, Gary Aitkenhead, told Sky News that they had been unable to prove that the novichok nerve agent used to poison Sergei and Yulia Skripal came from Russia.

Sky News

✔@SkyNews

#Salisbury attack: Scientists have not been able to prove that Russia made the nerve agent used in the spy poisoning. Porton Down lab’s chief exec reveals the details in this interview

“We were able to identify it as novichok, to identify that it was military-grade nerve agent,” Aitkenhead said. “We have not identified the precise source, but we have provided the scientific info to government who have then used a number of other sources to piece together the conclusions you have come to.”

**PAGING COLIN POWELL. IS THERE A MR. POWELL IN THE BUILDING?**

The Porton Down chief scientist said that establishing the Novichok’s origin required “other inputs,” some of which are intelligence based and which only the government has access to.

Aitkenhead added: “It is our job to provide the scientific evidence of what this particular nerve agent is, we identified that it is from this particular family and that it is a military grade, but it is not our job to say where it was manufactured.”

So whose job is it to determine where the Novichok was manufactured?

That said, it was also noted that the nerve agent involved required “extremely sophisticated methods to create, something only in the capabilities of a state actor,” and that there is no known antidote to Novichok – nor was any administered to either of the Skripals.

Aitkenhead would not say whether the Porton Down facility had manufactured or maintained stocks of Novichok – long rumored to be the case.

“There is no way anything like that could have come from us or left the four walls of our facility,” said the chief.

Boris Johnson has come under fire since the Porton Down chief’s statement, as Johnson lied, saying in an interview two weeks ago that Porton Down officials told him there was “no doubt” that the nerge agent came from Russia.

The Foreign Office told Sky News that Johnson “misspoke,” which is apparently UK officialspeak for “he totally lied, but nobody will hold him accountable for it.”

Perhaps Johnson “misspoke” in his rush to locate a hairbrush?

6 .GLOBAL ISSUES

Bill Blain on yesterday’s action on New York’s stock market..basically a giant short squeeze, on low volume

(courtesy Bill Blain/Mint Partners)

Blain: “Yesterday’s Rally Was One Giant Short Squeeze, More Pain Is Coming”

Submitted by Bill Blain of Mint Partners

“For a bunch of hairless apes, we managed to invent some pretty incredible things..”

So what happened that changed everything yesterday as the US stock market staged a steady sustained rally? Has spring finally sprung? Sorry, but it is not the beginning of a new remorseless rise. It was just another wave on the tide of the current cycle – yesterday was driven by short-covering. Simple as. My stock picking guru and chartist wizard, Steve Silver Fox Previs, says the market still has to complete a corrective phase – meaning we’ve still got pain to come before a new real rally resumes.. and then.. who knows..? He say’s sentiment is buoyant, but not as optimistic as saw last year.

Everything feels like a poker game at the moment. On the trade front, we’ve got Trump’s yes-men talking up the prospects for Peace in Our Time with China through a coordinated  “these are not the droids you are looking for” spiel about it not surprising anyone and promising a negotiated solution. Kudlow, Ross and Munchin? Are they purveyors of meaningless noise and economic snake-oil, or might they actually be on to something? Time will tell.

In market’s we have a substantial rally, but on tiny volume? What does it mean. Steve says the low volume is a clear “Tell”.. that giveaway facial tick  that tells you your poker opponent is bluffing. Low volume is a clear signal buyers are not utterly convinced. Low levels of conviction are not a screaming buy signal. When it comes to the geopolitics of the trade war, it would be easy to make the old joke about: “How do you know when Trump is lying…?” but I’ll resist the temptation to say “because his lips are moving…”. In fact, Trump does appear to holding a rather strong hand… but he’s up against players who play the game exceedingly well..

Personally, I think China massively upped the ante when they put Soyabean and Aircraft on the tariff list. $14 bln of soyabean customs are going to thump the Trump heartlands. They may have misjudged it – the Midwest Soyabelt wont blame Trump.. they’ll rally to him! (Not so worried about Aircraft – China needs thousands of new aircraft, and their own COMAC C919 is at least 20 years behind the technological curve and likely to prove late on its deliveries at a time when the Asian middle class is tripling in size – clue: Boeing’s slide y’day was a snapback over-reaction.)

Next thing to worry about is probably Facebook again – the wobble we’re seen thus far about Cambridge Analytica might just be a mild tremblor compared to what comes next as it becomes clear user’s information has been systemically and surgically harvested and scraped across the board.. We’re talking 2 billion users…. Governments need to be seen to react, fulminated their righteous anger, and whip someone… Step up Zuck. Its going to hurt. And in his wake, a lash of new regulation, a focus on taxation, and the model changes… the Tech route is not over yet.

I did like the rumour Jeff Bezos is buying Twitter, and his first action will be to suspend Trump’s account. He should have thought of that years ago… oh, he probably did..

All of which leads me to last night’s film. She-who-is-now-Mrs-Blain and I went to see Spielberg’s Ready Player One last night. We loved it – probably because it’s a nod back to the 1970s and 80s. This is not a film for our Millennial and Generation Y kids – this is a film for us. I was brilliant at Space Invaders but sucked at Asteriod! Tron on Steroids! It’s full of references, the music and the vibe of our youth, so I loved it. Its even got a De Lorean FFS! But, interesting but utterly confused view of the future dominated by gaming and all global  economic activity focused upon it. I don’t suppose it will ever be a classic, but any film with Mark Rylance in it is bound to be utterly brilliant…

END

7. OIL ISSUES

Bahrain discovers a massive 80 billion barrels  of oil

(courtesy zerohedge)

Bahrain Discovers Largest Oil Field With 80 Billion Barrels In Reserves

Bahrain officials have revealed that the tiny gulf kingdom has discovered some 80 billion barrels of shale (otherwise known as tight) oil – the kingdom’s largest oil and gas find ever. The field also discovered 14 trillion cubic feet of natural gas beneath an existing field.

Oil Minister Sheikh Mohammed bin Khalifa Al Khalifa said the kingdom has not yet determined how much of the oil can be easily extracted, according to the Associated Press.

The oil fields were discovered in the offshore Khalij al-Bahrain Basin, which covers some 770 square miles in the shallow waters off Bahrain’s west coast.

The underwater shale would dwarf the country’s existing reserves.

According to figures from the US Energy Administration, Bahrain currently pumps about 45,000 barrels a day from its Bahrain Field. It also shares income from a deposit with Saudi Arabia that produces about 300,000 barrels a day.

“Initial analysis demonstrates the find is at substantial levels, capable of supporting the long-term extraction of tight oil and deep gas,” the Sheikh said.

He added during the news conference, which was held in Manama on Wednesday, that Bahrain’s National Oil and Gas Authority hoped to lure foreign oil and gas firms to develop the field where the reserves were found, per the BBC.

Bahrain has been pumping oil since 1932 and was among the first Arab Gulf states to extract oil.

According to the Guardian, industry consultants DeGolyer and MacNaughton (Demac) have worked with Bahrain to evaluate the newfound reserves.

“Demac evaluated the reservoir and test data, evaluated volumetric and recovery potential, and provided reports documenting both prospective and contingent resources. This is a project which breaks new ground for the industry,” a spokesperson said.

The country has not historically been a major oil producer – but the new field, which officials said could come online within five years, has the potential to dramatically change that. According to the initial estimates, the oil deposits are roughly the size of Russia’s oil deposits.

It could also help bolster the sagging Bahrainian economy, which has suffered from low oil prices and unrest among the majority Shia population. The country, like most of its neighbors, is run by a Sunni monarchy, and low oil prices have forced it to cut back on popular government handouts, leading to a some unrest.

8. EMERGING MARKET

end

And now your more important USA stories which will influence the price of gold/silver

TRADING IN GRAPH FORM FOR THE DAY

HARVEY