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Message:: [QUOTE="Cloudsweeper99, post: 996504, member: 3011"]I would just point out that 700 million ounces of silver is only about $14 billion.  This is a tiny amount of money if a few pension funds, hedge funds, and institutional investors jump on the silver band wagon.  Or even if some of the short sellers in the futures market are forced to liquidate their positions because they violate the new CFTC position limits. Regarding the ongoing debate about price and demand, I think it might be clear if you invert the problem.  Silver prices have risen from $5 to $20 with demand increasing at the same time.  So rather than supporting your theory that higher prices will lessen demand, I think this clearly demonstrates that silver has no close substitute that performs as well in industrial applications that require silver's performance [e.g., as the most reflective metal and best electrical conductor, or as a biocide] at prices close to present levels.  Maybe copper is a substitute for some applications, but if it results in a reduction of performance for a 1% cost savings, the swap probably won't occur.  Of course there is some theoretically high price at which industrial demand will weaken [but investment demand may soar], but apparently we are nowhere near that level yet.[/QUOTE]