The 1 000 oz bar market seized up.
Lease rates spiked to > 30 % (some reports show intraday > 100 %).
NY futures traded below London spot — pure backwardation.
Physical supply is tight where it matters most.
4️⃣ Why supply can’t respond
~70 % of silver is a by-product metal → price spikes don’t trigger new mines.
Meanwhile, solar and electronics demand hit records.
The structural deficit is in its 5th year (Silver Institute 2025 report).
5️⃣ The old setup (Feb 2024)
• Managed Money: ≈ 9 000 net shorts (≈ 45 Moz ≈ $1 B).
• Swap Dealers: slightly net long.
It was a time bomb waiting for a spark.
6️⃣ The COT reversal (Sept 2025)
✅ Managed Money → from −45 Moz short to +185 Moz long.
❌ Swap Dealers → from slightly long to −220 Moz short.
The entire market flipped polarity.
Now banks hold the short bag — and funds are long with stackers.
7️⃣ Who’s under pressure now?
Swap Dealers (BB banks) sit on massive shorts while physical metal is disappearing.
If prices rise further, they must cover — buy back contracts — fueling a vertical move.
That’s the essence of a short squeeze.
8️⃣ Asia vs West
Shanghai and Indian premiums positive again (+2–3 USD/oz).
London discount deepens.
When metal flows east and paper trades west, price discovery moves with the bars.
9️⃣ Real signals to watch
• Lease rates (1M) holding above 20 %, with intraday spikes > 30 % (a few reports even > 100 % overnight).
• London–NY spread (EFP) remains inverted — paper trades cheaper than physical.
1️⃣ China is SOLD OUT.
In Yongxing, Hunan — the “Silver Capital” of China, producing ~¼ of the nation’s silver — most shops are completely out of investment silver.
Price per kilo jumped from 8,000 RMB → 13,000+ RMB.
That’s nearly +70% YTD. 🥈🇨🇳
2️⃣ This isn’t some local rumor.
Yongxing is the hub of China’s silver mining, refining, and trading.
When the source region itself reports empty shelves, it means one thing —⚠️ pressure across the entire chain from the mine to the final buyer.
Mining → Refining → Allocation (industry vs. retail).
When industry (solar, electronics) pulls harder,
👉 retail dries up
👉 premiums rise
👉 and the paper price stops reflecting reality.
🧵 Thread: How the silver market broke (2025 edition)
1. The calm before the storm
The global silver market had already been under strain for years. According to one analysis, from 2021 onward demand exceeded supply by ~678 million ounces.
Silver is unlike gold: much of its supply comes as a by-product of mining other metals. So it doesn’t respond as quickly to price signals.
On the demand side: industrial uses (especially solar power) are growing. Silver is used in photovoltaic cells, electronics etc.
On the investor side: With global uncertainty, inflation, weak dollar talk, precious metals were increasingly in focus.
So we had a market that was already stretched — then the spark hit.
2. India says: “Let’s load up on silver for the goddess”
In India, investors and consumers shifted part of their traditional festival buying away from gold → silver. Why? Because gold had run up so high, and people were looking for the next leg (and the social-media push on silver was strong).
One quoted dealer in India said: “I have never seen these kind of premiums … people who are dealing silver and silver coins, they’re literally out of stock.”
Premiums in India on silver above international rates, which are normally minimal, started climbing. Indian imports of silver fell ~42% in 2025 through August, even as demand surged.
Brown-note sarcasm: Yes, you heard it right — instead of “I’ll buy gold this festive season,” many went “Hmm, silver’s the under-dog, let’s go silver.” The under-dog turned into the scarce-dog.
3. The supply-chain & global arbitrage got squeezed
As India and others clambered for physical metal, supply chains began creaking. One big point: physical inventories in the global hubs (particularly London) fell dangerously.
One key condition: Although large amounts of silver exist in warehouses (e.g., in New York), not all of it is immediately deliverable to the points of demand (London, India).
So you could have “tons of silver” but still a shortage of usable supply.
Example: Leasing or borrowing silver in London became wildly expensive because metal was simply not available to lend. One commentator says overnight borrowing rates spiked. Business Standard+1
The perfect storm ingredients:
Festival demand in India
Industrial demand (solar etc)
Investment demand (ETFs, hedge funds)
Limited physical supply + logistical delays → large premiums and shortages
1️⃣ Is there a bigger problem than ZERO “free float” in London?
JPM could “fix” it on paper — without moving a single ounce of silver.
But they don’t. Why? 🧵👇
@KingKong9888 @pmbug
2️⃣ About 86% of all silver in London is locked inside ETFs/ETCs — mostly SLV.
SLV holds 12,213t in London and 3,209t in NY (Comex).
All within JPM’s vaults.
In theory, JPM could shift some SLV shares from London to NY
and instantly free up silver in London.
Yet they keep it tight
3️⃣
Most silver in NY might be held in customer accounts, not JPM’s own “house” stock meaning it can’t be pledged to SLV.
And since silver was recently added to the U.S. strategic mineral list, those clients probably don’t want their silver “transferred” to London anyway.