Comex Said Warning Brokers About December Gold Squeeze
December 15th, 2008WARNING: This is not a recommendation to buy, sell or hold any financial instrument.
Here’s an email that I wrote to a reader about the various gold backwardation and shortage stories that are floating around:
I’m keeping a close eye on this chart:
Comex Gold Deliveries/Warehouse Supplies
The band plays on as long as the vast majority of the futures contracts continue to be settled in cash and not metal. When/if the goldbugs can force this inventory down, then the show is over for Comex gold.
Via: GATA:
I received a call this morning from a commodities broker who told me that the Comex is alerting various futures firms about the potential of a squeeze on the December contract and is advising the $840 December shorts to exit their positions. That is the remaining open position.
There have been 12,636 notices of delivery. The shorts have until December 31 to make delivery. Normally they deliver early to take in cash and earn the interest. They must be delaying. As I understand the situation, that represents about 40 percent of the gold available at the Comex, and of course someone could enter the scene late, buy February gold, and then spread into December, which would stun the shorts.
My broker friend said his back office said this sort of alert is highly unusual and that the concern is real, not only for gold, but for other commodities too, like copper and palladium, as there is a good deal of talk of taking deliveries there too. But gold is the one for which the advice to cover went out.
This is an extremely productive development and could spur the price of gold up quickly as word spreads. As we all know, buying Comex gold and silver (the cheapest way to buy precious metals) makes all the sense in the world in this financial environment.
Gold just broke above $850USD