Though this is dated by a few weeks it is very pertinent
The silver vs gold investment is a debate which has several angles and valid arguments on both sides. However, there are good reasons why the view of Mr. Butler expert should be trusted. Everyone who has been following his work knows that he is a very factual, data-driven person. Analysis is the basis of his thoughts and writings. His professional background started 40 years ago as a commodity broker for Merrill Lynch. In 1985 one of his clients, Israel Friedman, challenged him to explain why silver was stuck at $5 an ounce when demand exceeded production and inventories were being drawn down for several years. In his attempt to resolve the challenge, Mr. Butler discovered that “the price of silver stayed low because it was manipulated by excessive short selling on the COMEX, the principal world precious metals exchange.”
It is really no overstatement to say that the world, and in particular the precious metals enthusiasts, should be grateful for Ted Butler’s work. Convinced about the facts of silver price manipulation on the COMEX market, Ted Butler has petitioned the exchange and US federal regulators to end the manipulation. Although he has not been successful on that score to date, which are his own words, he has made many thousands aware of the facts. He writes: “The key point here is that nothing invites a shortage more than a prolonged artificial low price and its affect on the law of supply and demand.”