Goofy Conclusions From the Silver Institute

April 24, 2023

by Ted Butler Silver Seek

Hot off the press is today’s just-released world annual silver survey from the Silver Institute. As previewed a couple of months back, the Institute is reporting flat total supply (mining plus recycling) and sharply increased demand growth of 18% or 186 million oz, resulting in the highest silver deficit in modern times of 237 million oz.

The survey then goes on to (try to) explain that despite the axiom of the law of supply and demand that more demand than supply (by a large margin) must result in higher prices, that silver prices were lower on average over the year 2022 than the year before. The Silver Institute’s (Metals Focus’s) pithy explanation for something that should be impossible under the free law of supply and demand, namely, prices moving lower when demand is greater than supply was due to “institutional activity” in silver. Isn’t that just marvelous? I suppose “institutional activity” sounds a lot more dignified and proper than does blatant price manipulation.