In India, No Silver for You!
In USA, No Eagles for you!
In USA, no shares For You to Borrow!
RE: The SLV, Bob Coleman, who runs a precious metals vault services in Idaho states, “If dealers or authorized participants want to draw down shares in SLV and redeem silver in a rising market, there is a hidden price to pay. The Borrowing Fee to short SLV shares just exploded higher. Almost tripling from last week. And get this, less than 10,000 shares available to short. Expecting volatility to rise in the options markets.”
In Vietnam, No Silver for You
In UK, No Silver for you
In Holland, No Silver for you
In South Africa, No Silver Krugerrands for You!
In Canada, No Silver for You!
Silver scarcity is intensifying across both physical and ETF markets, with major global dealers reporting depleted inventories and escalating costs to access silver-linked financial products . Prominent bullion distributors such as Rand, UK Bullion, and Monument Metals recently listed no physical silver Krugerrands or American Silver Eagle monster boxes in stock, while JM Bullion has run out of backdated Silver Eagles, underlining widespread retail shortages .
Costco, a popular mass-market outlet for silver bullion, has also been frequently out of stock, suggesting strong retail demand and supply chain disturbances . Internationally, Japan’s largest bullion dealer faces a gold supply crunch, particularly for smaller bars, reflecting broader issues in precious metals distribution. Meanwhile, credible commodity publishers like Zero Hedge report unprecedented difficulty sourcing silver in Vietnam, corroborating a pattern of shortages in emerging Asian markets .
The strain extends to financial instruments: the cost to borrow iShares Silver Trust (SLV) shares has soared above 8.5%, with zero available shares, signaling acute pressure in the ETF lending market as silver moves deeper into backwardation . Backwardation—a scenario where spot prices exceed futures prices—often reflects immediate physical demand and vanishing supplies, forcing investors and institutions to pay hefty premiums for current-day delivery .
Collectively, these trends point to a dramatic silver squeeze gripping retail and institutional markets alike. Bullion dealers across continents, from North America to Europe and Asia, are unanimously reporting sell-outs or extreme shortages. At the same time, the ETF sector is marked by surging borrowing fees and vanishing availability of shares, underscoring the rapid escalation of scarcity. This environment may drive continued volatility and premiums for both physical silver and paper-based products, intensifying the challenge for investors seeking exposure to the metal .