Silver Subject to Price Manipulation, Chilton Says

The silver markets have been subject to “repeated attempts to influence prices,” said Bart Chilton, one of five commissioners on the Commodity Futures Trading Commission, the top U.S. commodities regulator. “There have been fraudulent efforts to persuade and deviously control that price,” Chilton said in a statement released today, alleging there have been violations of the Commodity Exchange Act. “Any such violation of the law in this regard should be prosecuted,” he said.

The commission began investigating allegations of price manipulation in the silver futures market in September 2008. Before today, silver gained 40 percent this year, touching $24.95 an ounce on Oct. 14, the highest level in 30 years. The law prevents him from divulging traders’ names or information about their positions, Chilton said in the statement. The commission should release more information “in the very near future,” he said.

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