SILVER has been trading tightly within the US$15.60 to US$18.50 range since October 2017, and we believe it is waking up from its slumber as speculators (hedge funds, individual investors and large financial institutions) bet excessively on a lower silver price. Based on the Commitment of Traders (COT) report, the net positions of the non-commercial (speculators) are once again in the extreme short side. In other words, the market is heavily tilted to the short side where everyone is expecting a lower silver price. However, the extreme positioning from the speculators always provides a reliable contrarian signal when they are overly positioned on the long or short side. Silver tends to move in the opposite direction when the net positions exceed the extreme boundaries. COT reports show the general sentiment of the speculator crowd.

Our study reveals the extreme short scenario is any amount lesser than 9,277 contracts. Historically, when the Commodities Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) net non-commercial futures positions fall below 9,277 contracts, short squeezes tend to happen, and silver rebounds higher. In total, since 2003, there were nine occasions of such excessive short events. All nine examples showed strong signs of short squeeze, and on average, the recovery in silver was about 32 per cent after the short squeeze began.

For example, since May 2013, the speculators were already extremely short on silver. The net non-commercial futures positions dropped below the extreme low range of 9,277 contracts in May 2013 and continued to remain short until July 2013. As the shorts continued to pile on where the net non-commercial futures positions fell to a low of 837 contracts, a short squeeze finally took place lifting silver higher by 26 per cent over two months.