The spot prices for gold and silver have dropped dramatically the last two days. Does anybody have a clue?
1: some gov't dumping their stocks (but what would they hold instead)
2: plunge protection team trying to stabilize US economy (not likely, as the economy is booming)
3: a glut of precious metals on the market (they are making so much of it you know)
4my speculation) Gold and silver are known as hedges against inflation. If the FED is correct, and we are headed for an inflationary period, someone is trying to drive the prices down so they can stock up now.

Silver prices tend to move in tandem with gold when investors are looking for a haven from equities, especially during bear markets such as this one or in times of high inflation. But the similarities end there. In the past five years, silver has fallen from as much as $7 an ounce to under $5, while gold has risen over the same time period from $300 to more than $360.

This supply-side deficit is what makes silver so peculiar. In the silver market, supply is decreasing, demand is increasing, and the long-term price is falling. No other commodity defies the laws of supply and demand like silver. David Morgan, a silver analyst with Silver-investor.com, blames the phenomenon on the huge short positions in the silver market. He says there is more silver on paper than actually exists in the world. "It is a pathetically small market and is dwindling all the time" he says. He adds that if big silver investors like Warren Buffett, George Soros, and Bill Gates decided to double their positions, there would not be enough silver to fill the order—and the market would collapse. He says the threat is compounded as investors start to lose faith in the U.S. dollar and look for hard assets.

Most commodity positions, however, never result in the buyer taking delivery, and the jury is still out on exactly how much tangible silver actually exists. Rough estimates have pegged the world supply at between 300 million and a billion ounces. Since silver is a consumable item, that number is expected to be falling.

Still, if the facts are right, a spike in demand could lead to mass default. David Morgan says regulators are not taking the threat seriously enough. He suggests regulators step up to the plate and place limits on purchases for buyers not using the silver for manufacturing. So there's plenty to fear in the silver market, and it's more than just werewolves
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