Silver investigation: CFTC does U-turn
By Rob Mackinlay

Allegations that the price of physical silver has been manipulated downwards by short-selling on the silver futures markets have been made for decades.

These allegations have gathered pace recently and if proven would have a substantial impact on both the silver and gold markets, where similar allegations have been made.

The frequency with which investors and analysts have made these claims has led the Commodities Futures Trading Commission (CFTC), the US futures market regulator, to respond on a number of occasions.

The most recent was in May this year when the CFTC dismissed every claim of manipulation as either “implausible” or “tenuous”. The May report also appeared to attack the credibility of the people making the allegations, warning investors to “evaluate the motives of commentators dispensing advice on markets” adding that they may have a financial interest in silver prices going up.

On 25 September, four months after the publication of the May report, The Wall Street Journal said the CFTC had confirmed an ongoing investigation into the silver futures market. This could have been a significant U-turn, but clues about when and why the CFTC opened its investigation were contradictory.

Full article with additional links of interest:

http://www.investegate.co.uk/invarticle.aspx?id=68374

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