Comment Text:
The silver and gold futures markets continue to be manipulated by several large financial institutions. This is not news, but a condition that has been going on for some time (and known and completely ignored by the CFTC). The CFTC continues to put itself and its reputation at risk by ignoring said manipulation while legal actions accumulate against these institutions. I strongly encourage the Commission to institute hard position limits on all physical commodities.
The core issue is that there exists an unusual concentration on the short side of COMEX silver futures held by JPMorgan. Manipulation can only exist if a concentrated position exists. Everything else is a peripheral matter. It does not matter if the concentrated silver short position held by JPMorgan is naked or is hedged with physical or OTC offsets. It does not matter if JPMorgan inherited the concentrated short position from Bear Stearns at the request of the US Government. It does not matter if JPMorgan operates an exchange -- licensed or not. What does matter is the concentrated nature of its COMEX silver short position [in the futures market]. What also matters is that the only known antidote to concentration is the enactment of legitimate speculative position limits, something now lacking in COMEX silver futures.
Regards,
Brad Gordon
