COMEX Warehouse Stocks Mar 18, 2011

SILVER

ZERO ozs withdrawn from the dealer’s (registered) inventory
164,133 ozs deposited in the customer (eligible) inventory
Total dealer inventory 41.56 Mozs
Total customer inventory 62.57 Mozs
Combined Total 104.13 Mozs

GOLD

2,000 ozs deposited in the dealers (registered) category
ZERO ozs withdrawn from the customer (eligible) category
Total dealer inventory 2.36 Mozs
Total customer inventory 8.65 Mozs
Combined Total 11.02 Mozs

There were 2Kozs of gold deposited in the dealer inventory. In silver 0.16 Mozs were deposited in the customer inventory which brings the total inventory to a “104” handle BUT the registered inventory is still a puny 41 Mozs. The Comex is skating on very thin ice. It is shocking that the inventories can be allowed to be so low in the face of unprecedented backwardation. It is only a question of time before we enter REAL price discovery and I think that will shock even the most bullish.

There were 22 delivery notices issued in the MAR gold contract. The MAR gold delivery notice total for the month is 1,140 notices or 114,000 ozs.

There were ZERO delivery notices issued in the MAR silver contract. The MAR silver delivery notice total for the month is 978 or 4.89 Mozs.

The OI in MAR silver stands at 893 contracts; this number has declined again in the absence of any delivery notices which is a sure indication of cash settlement. The shorts are clearly lacking available silver for delivery. The potential silver delivery for the month is 9.31 Mozs or 22.4% of the registered inventory.
Cheers
Adrian