Silverfondler wrote:scyther wrote:Silverfondler wrote:Let me throw this at the panel for discussion as well. In what scenario will Silver/PMs rise - but not rise with inflation? For example if Silver rises to $100 oz. and inflation rises with it. Then by proxy there really is no valued gained.
Historically, the value of the dollar has dropped continuously since the 1930s. Silver has been up and down relative to the dollar, although the long term trend has of course been up. When silver prices went down following the peaks in 1980 and 2011, the dollar didn't get any stronger. So I see no reason why it can't go up again without a corresponding loss of purchasing power.
I agree with that logic. The big question is, What will make that happen. I don't think it will be a random event and one day silver just shoots up. I believe something - a world event - a domestic event. Will trigger the silver prices to shoot up. Perhaps, another mine closes or goes on strike while simultaneously the PMs paper market dries up and people start calling in for their physical PM only to find it is not available? Causing a panic for PMs.
Remember that metals have two-fold protection. Yes they are an inflation hedge against rampant money printing, but they also provide default protection due to intrinsic value. Default is the ultimate downside of deflation. While deflation is bad for the price, if deflation leads to default then the price mechanism changes, and you are left with buying power.
It is correct that the inflation hedge aspect does not increase value. It maintains value, which is something the currency would not do.
As for which scenario PM's will rise in price without inflation - that would require a metal shortage or the end of the dollar. Without a shortage the exchanges can set the price however they like. In the absence of the dollar there is no incentive to suppress the price of metals which are its competition. However the end of the dollar will likely coincide with default, and as the buying power of the metal adjusts to compensate for decades of price suppression the price should go up vs. remaining currencies and other asset classes.
I don't think we will see the end of the dollar for as long as the metal suppression is successful. China is happy to buy cheap metals, and the US is happy to keep borrowing without immediate consequence.
Therefore I don't think any of this will change until metals are truly in a shortage. The trend in that direction is ongoing, but if there were to be a catalyst to speed up the process that would be global instability as per the Libya crisis in metal highs in 2011.
Even though the economy continues to deteriorate, and debt continues to grow at a fever pitch, this can continue indefinitely as long as people choose fiat over real money, to their own detriment. It will only be when something major happens to ramp up the fear trade that the physical supply situation will risk exceeding the control of the exchanges, unless that something is the supply situation itself
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I have to agree. I think will see this play out when there really is a shortage of Gold and Silver world-wide. The only thing I see that can speed it up would be for Gold/Silver to have a fairly modest increase in value and then the general population would have a frenzy buying up whatever they could get their hands on. Having said that, being around people daily and being fairly young. Whenever a discussion of sorts comes up. I just don't see the general population losing their, "faith" in the current FIAT currency. I don't know why - it makes so much sense on why it doesn't/shouldn't work in our current era. All signs and symptom's point towards an unstable FIAT system. However, the masses need a lot more convincing to think outside the box. And/or maybe we are just at a point in our society where ignorance is a bliss - people just cannot fathom not having a currency. Here is a scary social experiment to try. Ask someone in your daily routines what would happen if we didn't have a currency or what would we use as a currency if the USD wasn't worth anything. The answers are astonishing - 2/3 the time PMs are not even brought up...
Little bit of a rant and off subject. It is just frustrating to see these signs and quite honestly only about 1% of the population is reacting to it. Back to the original question, What will make the prices jump? Basic supply and demand for sure would do it. Less to go around and will see the value jump. What about silver being in relation to gold? From what I have collected in history. Silver has always been about 15 to 1 to gold. Meaning you can have 15oz of silver to 1oz of gold. In todays game it is more like 60 to 1. One, would have to think that it will eventually correct itself and silver should shoot up in value based on this?