The CME announced hikes in margins on its precious metal futures on January 30 and said the changes were set to take effect after market close on Monday.

“The increase in margin requirements makes holding speculative positions less appealing now and this will also force a lot on the retail side of the market who do not have the extra liquidity to sell positions,” said Zain Vawda, analyst at MarketPulse by OANDA.

“It is definitely creating a sort of feedback loop where ?as prices drop, more traders will face margin calls leading to more selling and ?even lower prices,” Vawda added.
THIS JUST CONFIRMS THAT THE COMEX IS DEAD….THAT’S WHY YOU BUY FUTURES, FOR LEVERAGE.  IF YOU DIDN’T WANT IT, YOU’D BUY PHYSICAL.
Still 105 in Shanghai…wish I owned a large plane to do some arbitrage, but in the 15 hours it would take to fly it there, the price could be up or down 10%…I guess that’s what they are trying to achieve..total distrust in PM’s so nobody will buy them.
I mean who doesn’t want to buy a commodity that swings 18% in span of 2 hours in the morning pre-market open.
I’ll be buying dips on producing or near producing silver and gold miners today….not investment advice, but you may want to see if it agrees with your common sensibilities.