It's only taken a week for silver prices to drop  some 17 percent.  Did JP Morgan suddenly start dumping silver?  Dollar get stronger?  Have the mines secretly ramped up production?

Commodities expert, Ted Butler, believes a number of factors contributed to the price decline. And a few are not what you might expect.   "But you know what," Butler predicts, "it's just what the doctor ordered in terms pushing the metal's prices even higher!"

In podcast #8 of "Silver Sleuths," Ted Butler and Jim Cook poke around behind the curtain on the COMEX to analyze what's really sparking the silver price decline... they reveal how close we are to the bottom...and why buying silver on margin is guaranteed to send you back to the doctor ... to get your head examined!

While the rest of the world settles into semi-lockdown, truckloads of 1,000-oz. silver bars are being quietly transferred in and out of COMEX warehouses and ETFs.  Who and what's behind the moves?  

The "Big 8" banks are the principal players, according to silver and commodities expert, Ted Butler.  To avoid criminal prosecution by the Justice Dept. for price manipulation, the banks have agreed to buy back their expensive silver short positions, a move that has already cost them an estimated $15 billion.

Then there's the movement of millions of ounces into silver ETFs, as investment demand consumes more of the precious metal that's already in critical short supply.

Now add in accelerating industrial demand for silver in product manufacturing, setting off a move by some users to begin stockpiling physical silver as insurance against continued and future short supply.  "These guys are going to start to panic," Butler says. They will have to pay whatever the cost is and it will send silver prices to the moon!"

Listen in to this episode to find out when Butler believes it all might happen, whether additional silver mining can right the situation and why he believes most will be tempted to sell when the price is too low.

Another week, another 40 million ounces of silver were deposited into silver ETFs.  That’s on top of the 300 million ounces that have gone into ETF’s the last four months!  

Is that what’s nudging silver prices?   “Partially,” says silver analyst, Ted Butler, Butler Research.  “On top of dwindling investment silver inventories, industrial silver could soon fall in short supply, igniting some panic buying among manufacturing users, sending prices even higher!"

Butler believes JP Morgan has been hiding behind the supply chain curtain all along, stockpiling hundreds of millions of ounces for years, thereby manipulating the price down.

Listen in to learn about a secret settlement with the Justice Department, whereby the Big Bank could avoid prosecution by beginning to release its silver reserves into the marketplace.  "And as long as the price continues to go up, everybody’s happy... it’s a happy ending!" Butler says.

Also be on the lookout for “price sell-offs along the way,” Butler advises, if prices rise too quickly from here.  It could be an opportunity to beef up your current position.

The latest Commitment of Traders Report from the CFTC revealed over three million ounces of silver went into silver ETFs over the past week.  Ted Butler says that action, coupled with the physical shortage of silver available for investment today, has created a "pressure cooker" situation where silver prices could explode "in a matter of days!"  The average investor, Butler projects, stands a chance to make more on silver than any other investment available currently.  "The biggest mistake will be selling too soon!" he believes.

Butler likens the current situation to the two big runs in silver prices that occurred during the Hunt Brothers' market manipulation in the 1980s and the dramatic price rise to $50/oz. in 2011, when 60 million ounces of silver were added to ETFs.  "Except now, over the last 3-1/2 months, four times that amount has been bought by ETFs!" Butler said.

Also discussed by Butler and Cook:

What are the chances non-monetary silver sources like flatware and jewelry could erase the current supply shortage and force prices down?

Why you should never store physical silver with the dealer you bought it from.

What's behind the recent short position contract changes by JP Morgan and the Big Banks and how will they affect silver prices?

Renowned Silver Analyst, Ted Butler, and Jim Cook compare today's silver price manipulations to a rocket ship fueled and about to launch--ultimately skyrocketing gold and silver prices and leaving world banks and investors drowning on the pad.

Gold and silver "leasing" is also dissected by these two precious metals veterans, including who stands to gain and who's getting hoodwinked in the process.  The current physical shortage of silver has forced suppliers to get creative as more and more ETFs and hedge funds add precious metals to their portfolios.  

The question is: When will the Big Shorts start heading for the exits to limit their losses?

Is there a Hunt Brothers-style silver price manipulation at play now, but in reverse?

Now that the justice department has finally opened an investigation, it's only a matter of time before the short curtain is opened and prices begin to reflect silver's real value.

In this week's podcast, Ted Butler and Jim Cook discuss:

What information does the Justice Dept. have that finally made them open this investigation?

What will be the effect on silver prices if the Big Bank Short Holders are forced to give up their positions?

How should we read the recent purchase of 25 million ounces of silver by the SLV ETF?

For more information, read Reuter's recent story here:  https://www.reuters.com/article/us-usa-doj-trading-insight/traders-beware-u-s-taps-new-tools-to-find-fraud-in-volatile-commodities-market-idUSKBN22X14E

Analyst Ted Butler names the other Big Banks involved with the JP Morgan Silver and Gold Scam ...  the Silver Sleuths break down the "real" value of Silver ETFs ... plus an analysis of the events that led up to the June 2019 short selling of silver ... and why both veterans believe owning physical silver is the best way to profit in the precious metals market.