RE: Standing for Delivery....On every bet on the comex there is a buyer and a seller. JPM and HSBC have notoriously shortsold more silver on the comex than is available on the planet , and they have been doing it for years. Of course they have no margins troubles, i doubt anyone even checks to see if JPM has the margin OR the silver to back their short sale.
The problem arises when too many ask for physical , or hold til contract expiry and call JPM 's bluff. The bluff callers of course have to have money backing them to buy all that silver. It is well known that the comex does not carry enough physical silver to satisfy all fo JPM and HSBC 's naked short sells and they never have had enuf.
But many speculate that the comex is short and so use margin to buy contracts, knowing full well they will not hold til expiry, they sell the future's option ahead . These are the small speculators that the CRIMEX ( comex ) is trying to force out. If there are a lot of smaller players shorting they will be forced out as well. But data says 80% of the huge short on silver is held by two big banks JPM and HSBC, AND THEY DONT EVEN DENY IT.
SO this margin hike business is meant to give the advantage to the big shortsellers ( who have no margin worries), and to help save the comex from default. As the silver price drops JPM and HSBC can cover some of their latest huge short attacks at lower prices and hope to get some physical silver out of those buys to satisfy the physical demand on the comex.
Its a criminal merry-go round and has been going on for so long everyone thinks it is perfectly fine.
I like this blurb from the Turd"
The CME has now raised margins on silver three times in the last five days for a cumulative increase of about 35%. I can only draw one conclusion: This unprecedented move, taken in context with the significant reclassification of delivery-eligible silver by several of the major bullion banks 10 days ago, leads me to believe that the silver Comex is/was indeed in grave danger of failing.
Again, I apologize for the brevity. Today is Mrs Ferguson's birthday and I must go prepare dinner and cake. However, I want you to think about this: Why were silver margins raised and why in stages?
Plenty of reasons are passed around for margin hikes. The primary reason, though, is to control overheated speculation which is leading to a dramatic increase in the price of a commodity.
The politicians are all hot and bothered about energy prices but where are the crude margin hikes? Keeping oil prices low is of national economic interest but instead silver gets its margin raised.
Food prices are exploding but where are the margin hikes on corn and wheat? Every American, indeed everyone in the world is impacted by higher food prices, but instead silver gets its margin raised.
Is silver a vital commodity? Are the skyrocketing prices having a detrimental effect on jewelers worldwide? Can the U.S. suddenly not afford its annual quota of cruise missiles?
Ask yourself, why is it suddenly so vital to raise silver margins by 35%? Then ask yourself, why did the CME act in stages? They clearly knew that margin rates were going higher. These hikes were planned well in advance. Why did they not raise margins 35% last Monday and call it a day? I'll tell you why...because they knew that a one-time increase would be quickly shrugged off by silver longs and the hike would have no lasting impact. No, instead, they've chosen to raise in stages, thereby, holding longs at bay for fear of additional hikes at any time.