comex we have a problem..

The COMEX has an increasingly sticky problem and its clear for all to see. The Open Interest on Silver in the front month of July amounts to 300 million ounces but they report only 31 million ounces in their vaults available for delivery. If as few as 1 in 10 silver contracts stand for delivery, there will be smoke coming from their COMEX asses;

http://jessescrossroadscafe.blogspot.com/2011/05/comex-silver-deliverable-inventory.html

The way I see it the number of options out of this nice little mess are limited. Just for fun I have listed a few here for your amusement and edification;

1. They could raise margins again until investors (sorry speculators!!) stop buying silver. Problem is speculators on COMEX are few and far between:
http://www.zerohedge.com/sites/default/files/images/user5/imageroot/images/Silver%205.20.jpg

2. Get the CPM group's Jeffrey M. Christian to deny there is any shortage. You know the 100-to-one guy at the CFTC hearing last year. Wait, they did this before;
http://www.kitco.com/reports/KitcoNews20110216DeC_CPM.html

2. Fix the information/fix the problem -stop giving out data. The collusion of secrecy works great in opaque markets all around the world. Take the LBMA, for instance nobody would have any idea how much bullion is in THEIR vaults on a daily basis, why should the COMEX spill the beans every month??

3. Allow the commercial shorts to increase their position as they have done before. Could be risky since 2008 the commercial short positions have been dwindling now to their lowest in 3 years. This could provide a LOT of upside to silver until the shorts get big enough to bear on the market. It could also be that the CFTC have been privately imploring their JPM and HSBC buddies to reduce their shorts for 3 years. The circumstancial evidence points to this.
http://www.gotgoldreport.com/2011/05/got-gold-report-silver-cot-most-bullish-of-2011-.html#more

4. Phone a friend to get more silver. As Jeremy Charles global head of HSBC Precious Metals Group and Former Chairman/member of the LMBA said in 2008 in his written submission to the CFTC hearing on gold and silver futures concentration:

"Gold and silver have an unlimited supply, not necessarily finite as suggested by the CFTC therefore are not subject to sudden or unreasonable fluctuations or unwarranted changes"

Clearly the vault owners at COMEX need to get their hands on some of this unlimited supply. Does anyone know a plentiful source of 1000oz bars? I am not the first person to suggest UNALLOCATED accounts and ETF's will be the go-to places for last-resort bullion, but here in Australia we have our own version of the ultimate in flexible bullion supply. I find it very hard to accept on face value that a wildly successful business model such as Perth Mint Unallocated Silver should be closed to new customers simply because of its success. Maybe its just the skeptic in me but could it possibly be that the closure of Perth Mints Unallocated silver account a month or two back was actually a pre-emptive measure designed to prevent the coming raiding parties joining the scheme and withdrawing large amounts of silver at spot price?