URGENT & IMPORTANT! What Comex is doing to Gold & Silver is Unbelievable- Andy Schectman

Added: 2026-05-18

[00:00:00]The Chinese have been buying gold month over month over month, even though they've probably been buying longer than that, they just don't report it. But the bottom line is since he won the election, every month we've seen these kinds of way outsized deliveries, uh, outliers. Yet, the media has no inclination to to dig into this or even mention it. To me, it betrays everything else they're talking about when the most well-informed traders on the planet, who happen to have more money than anyone at nine figures a pop, every single month in the billions of dollars, who's standing for delivery, where's it going, and what are they bringing it home for it instead of trusting the system?

[00:00:31]Here's that word trust again. They would rather stand for delivery, control it themselves instead of trusting the paper promises COMEX offers. So, yeah, I don't know. I think that's the biggest the biggest red flag of all is who the hell's standing for delivery every single month unabated without without stop. Relentless Chinese gold accumulation is increasingly challenging long-standing assumptions about how global precious metals markets function.

[00:00:55]Month after month, unusually large physical deliveries continue flowing eastward while much of the financial media remains focused on price fluctuations, interest rate speculation, and narratives. To a growing number of market observers, the more important signal is not the quoted futures price itself, but the determination of sovereign institutions, commercial banks, and private investors to secure direct possession of bullion rather than rely on contractual promises tied to Western exchanges. That divergence between paper pricing and physical demand has become central to the broader debate surrounding gold's role within the evolving international monetary system. Andy Schectman, president and owner of Miles Franklin, argues that the persistent appetite for physical delivery reveals a profound erosion of trust in traditional financial infrastructure. In his view, countries increasingly prefer tangible reserves free from counterparty exposure rather than assets dependent upon institutional credibility or geopolitical alignment.

[00:01:58]Recent Chinese buying patterns have intensified those concerns. Official data showed substantial increases in gold purchases during periods when prices were under pressure, reinforcing arguments that major buyers view declining prices as strategic acquisition opportunities rather than indications of weakening demand.

[00:02:17]Schectman pointed to China's continued accumulation after 18 consecutive months of reserve additions, suggesting that sophisticated institutional players interpret price weakness very differently from retail investors reacting emotionally to market volatility. The same dynamic appears visible in silver markets. China reportedly imported record quantities of silver during months when prices experienced aggressive downward pressure, while India continued expanding its bullion appetite.

[00:02:47]According to several analysts, those developments illustrate a structural disconnect between futures market behavior and physical supply conditions.

[00:02:56]Now, we present the clips from Andy Schectman's interview. Before we dive deeper, take a moment to like this video, subscribe to the channel, and hit the bell icon so you never miss timely updates. Evidently, gold only moves up when interest rates fall down, but let's not forget that a couple years ago you had gold at 1,800 bucks, 2022 ish, uh and the federal funds rate pretty much nailed to the floor at zero, 2021, 2022, and we watched interest rates move up 450 basis points in the shortest amount of time ever.

[00:03:30]And lo and behold, gold has nearly tripled since then. So, that narrative is convenient for the talking heads when they, you know, when it when it fits their argument, they ignore it when it doesn't.

[00:03:40]In essence, what it truly is is as what it's always been. It's been the central bank and excuse me, the the central bank and the and through the commercial banks' ability to suppress the paper price, but what is breaking the paper price, Kai, is as they go and do this, as they hold it down, we see countries like China who purchased 160,000 oz of gold in March, they added another 260,000 in in April. That's almost nine times the monthly purchase amount from year over year from last year to this year.

[00:04:14]And this is when the price was getting its teeth kicked in. After 18 consecutive months of adding gold, you think people would understand that price is nothing but a tool of misdirection.

[00:04:26]The narrative that we are being told is hogwash as the biggest money in the world stands for delivery. And it's not just China, we're seeing it elsewhere, but they're a good example of of what it is I'm talking about. And by the way, I know we're going to talk about silver, but in in February and March, after the price was destroyed in silver, China bought more silver and imported more silver. In those months, the the largest ever in February and then the largest still setting an all-time record in March of silver, more than they've ever imported in the history of the country as the price was being decimated. Price is a tool of misdirection, and the big money, sophisticated money who understands this, who's been using the Western suppression against us for a long time by standing for delivery, it's accelerating. And nowhere do you see that better than in the import-export numbers into China. Right, well, France did it just recently, right? And that was what everyone heard and it started in 2017, Kai, with the Bundesbank saying, "Give us back our damn gold.

[00:05:24]We've been trying to get it for 3 years."

[00:05:26]Shortly after that happened, to your point, Bank of Austria, Hungary, Turkey, Poland, the Czech National Bank, the Dutch National Bank, they all said the same thing. And it boils down, look, for for And not only that, India took back all their gold or almost all of it from the Bank of England.

[00:05:41]The the reason all these countries left their gold at the New York Federal Reserve and/or the Bank of England was to direct access to the COMEX and the LBMA, Western rule of law, uh you know, the the the convenience of being able to transact on those two exchanges. These countries are saying, you know, nuts to that. We will forgive the or forego rather the ease of transaction in in favor of lack of counterparty risk. And that's a big indictment. And and I've been talking about that for the last several years, really since since the Bundesbank did this and then all the central banks, you know, it's interesting, too. The Bundesbank did this in 2017. Those other six or seven or eight European banks did it and then the next year those banks bought more gold as a group uh together as they did in the 60 years previously combined. And since that year, which was 2018, they have not stopped buying gold. And largely to your point, repatriating it. And this is my point about why they're selling Treasuries and buying gold because there is no counterparty risk. When a system that is is as robust as ours is is based solely on trust, when the trust begins to fray and fragment, these are the things you would expect to see. And you do it in a proactive manner before it's too late and the door gets shut. So, they're like, you know what? We'll we'll deal with the lack of convenience. All the countries in Southeast Asia known as the ASEAN uh countries, they're 800 million people, twice the population of the United States, and uh China's largest trading partner by far. Now, they will be trading on the CIPS system, meaning a system that is not compliant with SWIFT or the dollar.

[00:07:19]So, meaning they're trading their own currencies, building their own monetary future and ecosystem instead of strengthening ours, settling imbalances in gold. Now, how do they do that? The Shanghai Metals Exchange is expanding their vaulting. They built They built the first one in Hong Kong, which is important cuz when gold leaves China, it has to leave it through Hong Kong. Now, there are reports that the the next one in Saudi Arabia is now complete and operational. They they intend to put one in the United Arab Emirates, in Switzerland, and then throughout the entire Belt Road where all of these vaults will connect with the existing vaults in Singapore, uh in in Moscow.

[00:07:56]Um now they built a new one in St. Petersburg, and the BRICS vault ultimately and all of these vaults which will trade local currencies across Ambridge and SIPS outside of the purview of the Swift, settle in balances in gold. And this is exactly what they are intending to do in my mind, exactly why they're accumulating gold. Gold will replace the Treasury, and everyone's local currency will be the preferred mode of trade amongst these countries.

[00:08:23]The dollar is not going to die, but less dollars in settlement chips away at the settlement system, less Treasuries needed for less dollars chips away at the reserve status. And so little by little this is going to have a major impact, and gold is right at the center of it. Another important shift involves the growing movement toward gold repatriation among central banks.

[00:08:44]Beginning with Germany's decision to retrieve portions of its reserves from foreign custodians, several nations including Poland, Hungary, Austria, Turkey, and the Netherlands pursued similar strategies. The underlying rationale extends beyond symbolism.

[00:09:00]Governments appear increasingly willing to sacrifice transactional convenience offered by London and New York in exchange for sovereign control over monetary reserves stored within domestic borders. These developments coincide with broader efforts by Asian and BRICS-aligned economies to reduce dependence on dollar-centered settlement systems. China's expansion of Shanghai Metals Exchange infrastructure into Hong Kong, the Middle East, and other Belt and Road regions reflects ambitions to create alternative trading and settlement mechanisms operating outside traditional Western financial channels.

[00:09:35]Rather than backing currencies directly with gold, the emerging framework emphasizes convertibility and settlement flexibility, allowing participating nations to exchange local currencies while maintaining the ability to redeem balances into bullion. Supporters of this transition argue that gold's appeal stems from its neutrality within an increasingly fragmented geopolitical environment. Unlike sovereign debt instruments, bullion carries no direct political liability and cannot be printed into excess supply. That distinction has become increasingly relevant as governments confront rising debt burdens, persistent inflation concerns, and declining confidence in reserve currencies previously anchors of stability. Now, let's get back to the video. Well, so I don't know that they're going to back the currency with gold. I mean, China kind of already has done that. Why? Because right now, they have made their yuan immediately convertible into gold up through the Shanghai exchange. Now, you don't have to convert to dollars first. It doesn't mean it's backed. It just means you can convert it seamlessly. So, as an example, we'll use Saudi Arabia as an example.

[00:10:40]They sell their oil or the United Arab Emirates, who no longer is in OPEC, who is a main member of BRICS, who is one of the four main members of the Embridge platform. They trade their oil to China for the yuan, which trades over CIPS or Embridge, which is not compatible with the West. They send it back to the Shanghai Metals Exchange in Hong Kong and take the metal right out instead of holding yuan, but they are building a Shanghai Metals Exchange in Dubai. That is on the agenda. So, be in their own backyard.

[00:11:12]There's already one in Saudi Arabia. And throughout the whole Belt Road. And And so, yes, in essence, that is what it will be. They are They are focusing on the one shortcoming of our system, and that is eroding trust. And if you have transparency through a blockchain system with immutability in the in in redemption in gold, yes, you are very close to that. Now, it's doesn't have to be completely gold backed, just gold redeemable without switching into dollars first. So, what is what's the difference? The difference is that you have greater monetary latitude if it's not tied back backing it. Redeemability is probably a little bit more latitude in terms of their monetary policy. You know, I I think when your leader says that it has less implications, I think it just strengthens the reason why you would want to own gold to protect you against a devaluing currency. All currencies inherently are meant to die as Dr. Franz Pick once said. So, they understand it's in their DNA. Now, you know, Eric Young, who is someone who I respect a lot on on on X, he came out and said now he he's not giving any sources, but he's hearing that the countries in the Gulf are are selling treasury reserves to buy gold and silver, emphasis on silver. And maybe that's what we saw in India, too, emphasis on silver. They have been rumored to have bought more silver than anyone in the world over the last several years, over 900 oz. They understand silver very very very well.

[00:12:36]But, I wouldn't put much stock in what Moody had to say. I think it it's just again an indictment of all fiat currencies, and I think ask any any average Indian citizen who understands gold and silver, it's in their DNA. They would they would own it prefer to own it over over currency any day. I don't think it's headline driven at all. I mean, look, there was a time when the folks at GATA, who I always whenever I get a chance to throw out a shout out to Bill Murphy and Chris Powell, anyone who owns gold owns them a debt of gratitude, and they have my respect. They always used to say gold and silver will never be allowed to move more than 2% in a day, and that's true. It never did. I've been doing this for over 35 years. It never did. A 7% move is an outsized move, and it goes hand in hand with what Bank of America their lead metals analyst was talking about recently when he said gold could go between $130 and $309 an oz by the end of this year based upon the gold-silver ratio, which is way out of whack. Well, what you saw yesterday is gold move up less than 1/2 a percent and silver move up 7%. That is kind of the trajectory of what he is talking about. But, look, when when China imports more silver in the first two or first 90 days of the year than they ever have in the history of the country as the price was being decimated. When India has been buying it, like I said, close to 900 million oz over the last 3 years. Um when silver is being taken off the COMEX exchange in levels that no one has ever seen before.

[00:13:59]In February, as the price was being destroyed here in the United States, but what happened in on COMEX? About 26 million oz were delivered. Now, that's not a big delivery month. It was not a primary delivery month. They are um it would be um January, not February. March, not April.

[00:14:17]You know, um these kinds of things. And so, Shekman also emphasized that gold's recent strength undermines simplistic narratives linking bullion prices exclusively to falling interest rates.

[00:14:28]During one of the fastest monetary tightening cycles in modern history, gold prices continued climbing despite sharply higher borrowing costs. For many institutional buyers, that resilience reinforced the perception that gold functions less as a conventional commodity and more as a strategic monetary asset capable of preserving purchasing power during periods of systemic uncertainty, rising sovereign debt, currency debasement concerns, geopolitical fragmentation, and growing skepticism toward the long-term stability of fiat-based financial systems. As physical demand continues shifting eastward, questions surrounding the durability of paper pricing mechanisms will likely intensify. If central banks, sovereign wealth funds, and major investors increasingly prioritize direct ownership over financial representation, the balance between futures markets and physical supply could face mounting strain.

[00:15:24]Whether this transition ultimately reshapes global finance or merely strengthens gold's traditional defensive role may depend on how rapidly confidence in existing monetary structures continues to erode globally.

[00:15:36]If you found this breakdown helpful, don't forget to like, subscribe, and share it with others following the gold market. Thanks for watching. Stay informed, stay balanced, and I'll see you in the next video.