76,000 SLV Contracts Are About To Go In The Money, Asia Pulling Silver Price Higher, Next Silver Target is $72, 60.6 Million Ounces of ~130 Million Ounces of Silver On COMEX Available For Delivery Have Been Claimed In December - Silver Squeeze Ignites

Buckle up…~76k SLV calls are likely about to be in the money.

76,341 call contracts × 100 shares/contract × ~$60.04 per SLV share ≈ $458,351,364 in exposure.

• Forced buying kicks in. 

  • Market makers short those calls must delta-hedge by buying SLV shares (and often silver futures).

  • That’s mechanical demand—aka fuel.

• Gamma can snowball. 

  • If price keeps rising, hedgers must buy more, faster.

  • That feedback loop can air-lift price short-term.

• Physical pressure leaks in. 

  • SLV must match shares with metal (creation baskets).

  • Heavy creations pull on wholesale bars, tightening a market already flashing stress (high lease rates, Asian premium).

• Volatility spikes. 

  • Expect bigger intraday swings, wider spreads, and higher implied vol across silver options.

• Knock-on effects. 

  • Miners, PSLV, futures curves, and borrow/lease rates can all pop as hedging and arbitrage ripple through the stack.

Reality check: these squeezes can whip back—IV crush, margin hikes, or a dealer “pin” near big strikes can stall moves.

But net-net, a mass of ITM calls is bullish pressure now, with tails fatter to the upside.

Silver price action now seems to be determined by Asia.

China premium → global pull-up. 

When SGE/SHFE clears several dollars above COMEX/LBMA, arbitrageurs try to buy “cheap” West paper/metal and sell “dear” East.

That drains Western inventories or squeezes shorts via EFPs, which lifts the global reference price toward the Asian premium.

Inventory migration East. 

Repeated premium + export frictions force physical flow toward China.

Each ton that ships East is one less cushion for Western shorts and market makers, making rallies steeper and dips shallower.

The silver market just flipped from “strong uptrend” to “squeeze mode.”

• That chart shows a clean ascending-triangle breakout, then a bull flag/9-day base, then another breakout to fresh ATHs.

  • When triangles resolve up after a shallow consolidation, it screams under-owned uptrend—dips are being attacked, shorts are trapped, and CTAs/momentum funds are mechanically adding.

• The measured move from the triangle puts you right in the $70–$72 magnet zone.

  • Thin air above old highs means air-pocket rallies are likely as dealers hedge upside calls and shorts buy to cover.

• What would invalidate the squeeze?

  • A decisive close back below ~62–63 (the breakout shelf) with rising volume.

  • Until then, the path of least resistance is up and fast—volatility included.

Net: price action says buyers control the tape; every failed smackdown invites the next leg higher toward the 70s.

• 60.6M oz just stood for COMEX delivery—almost half of the ~130M “registered” pile.

  • That’s a huge bite in one month.

• LBMA lease rates near 9% = people are paying up to borrow metal.

• China’s SHFE is draining and trading at a premium = Asia is physically pulling silver East.

Put together: real bars are tight, not just paper. 

Expect more volatility, higher premiums, and upside pressure unless inventories miraculously refill and lease rates cool off.

This looks and feels like the opening act of a genuine silver squeeze.

If a big player short silver futures got a margin call, they (or their broker) must buy contracts now to reduce exposure.

In Asia hours the order book is shallow, so urgent market buys rip through offers, tripping stop-losses on other shorts and triggering dealer hedging (gamma) as out-of-the-money calls creep toward the money.

Add the China premium/arb—SGE/SHFE pricing above COMEX pulls spot higher via arbitrage—and you get a fast $2 move from ~$64 to ~$66.

It’s a rumor, not proof, but the pattern fits: spiking LBMA lease rates, big COMEX delivery claims, and elevated call OI all prime the market for vertical squeezes.

Could retrace intraday, yet the mechanism (short covering in a tight, Asia-led market) is exactly how squeezes tend to begin.

When the cost to borrow physical jumps, it means:

• Near-term metal is scarce in London OTC; lenders demand a higher fee to part with bars.

• Shorts are squeezed: rolling short positions gets pricier, so they’re pushed to cover or secure metal.

• Curve pressure: higher lease = higher forward rates and more chances of backwardation bursts as spot tightens.

• Volatility fuel: any buy program or delivery demand hits a thin physical buffer and price gaps.

We spiked to ~40% in October and are grinding higher again—that’s the “pressure cooker” reheating.

Pair this with SHFE draws, elevated COMEX delivery notices, and call OI clustering: the setup screams tight collateral + forced positioning.

Early innings of a squeeze don’t always go vertical day-to-day, but this is the right plumbing signal.

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Luke Lovett
Cell: 704.497.7324
Undervalued Assets | Sovereign Signal
Email: [email protected]

Disclaimer:
This content is for educational purposes only—not financial, legal, tax, or investment advice. I’m not a licensed advisor, and nothing herein should be relied upon to make investment decisions. Markets change fast. While accuracy is the goal, no guarantees are made. Past performance ≠ future results. Some insights paraphrase third-party experts for commentary—without endorsement or affiliation. Always do your own research and consult a licensed professional before investing. I do not sell metals, process transactions, or hold funds. All orders go directly through licensed dealers.