Today London metals trader Andrew Maguire spoke with King World News about the massive amount of gold being smuggled into India and the reason why silver may now be set to skyrocket. Below is what Maguire had to say in Part III of this incredibly powerful series of interviews.
Maguire: “Here is the problem, and why these banks are willing to throw all credibility out of the window (with wrong-footed bearish calls on gold): They are heavily underwater in their physical positions in London, and they are desperate to replace these disappearing inventories…
They are extremely worried about the shift in bearish sentiment, and they are doing their utmost trying to stop this from taking off.
Now, we’ve been getting a lot of two-way information regarding India. … The World Gold Council estimates gold smuggling to be 20 to 30 tons per month, but my wholesaler says this is a ‘gross underestimation,’ and could be as high as ’50 tons per month.’
Although this large scale smuggling has partially offset an enormous pent-up demand, once restrictions are eased, gold demand will explode (in India). As most Indian gold is sourced in London, this catch-up physical demand will have an immediate impact on price. Indians are used to a $1,450+ gold price already. So there is going to be little in the way of sticker-shock for them.
As far as silver is concerned, the most recent import data recorded Indian silver demanded from April 2013 to January 2014, was 1,497 tons. That is a record for this period during the last 5 years. This data is significant as it matches the strong April 2008 to January 2009 period, when silver reached a bargain price of $8.40 an ounce — Indians know how to recognize a bargain.
This 100% confirms our reports of a ramp-up in wholesale silver bullion bars being airfreighted to India. Silver fundamentals are extremely bullish as is the current paper market structure. … At the margin it is wholesale silver that is in short supply, not retail bars. And JP Morgan is leading the way now in stockpiling 1,000 ounce silver bars. It’s not rocket science to realize why they are doing this.”