this is from ted butler's latest essay. he is still pushing for position limits on the comex, but from all indications if those are enacted, they will be for energy and not for metals. it appears that bart chilton may be in favor of limits on gold and silver, but gary gensler is beholden to the banks that are short large quantities of precious metals.

Last week, I made the case that the level of the speculative position limit in COMEX silver was completely out of line with the level of the limits in all other commodities, including gold. I pointed out that, based upon annual production, silver had a position limit from five to more than sixty times greater than a wide variety of commodities, including gold, copper, crude oil and grains. In terms of world bullion inventories, silver’s position limit was more than 100 times larger than gold’s limit.

I also made the case that exemptions to position limits were granted regularly in all commodities, for so-called bona fide hedging purposes, where the bona fides were clearly lacking. This was the thrust of the recent Senate report on excessive speculation in wheat. Given the absurdly large level of position limits in COMEX silver, it is remarkable that phony exemptions to those limits would even exist. Yet the exemptions in silver are more egregious than in any other commodity. This is proven by the level of concentrated short positions held in COMEX silver, largely by one or two US banks.

Since the new Chairman of the CFTC, Gary Gensler, publicly called for a review of position limits in all commodities of a finite supply nature on July 7, I asked you to write to him about silver. Specifically, I recommended that position limits in COMEX silver be reduced to between 1000 to 1500 contracts (from 6,000) and that phony hedge exemptions for non-producers and consumers be thrown out. Many hundreds of you did write, and for that you have my thanks. This is the real solution. If enacted, the silver manipulation will be terminated. If you haven’t written yet, please do so. It will make a difference.

http://news.silverseek.com/TedButler/1248196925.php