The Relative Sizes of the LBM OTC Market and the COMEX/GLOBEX Futures Exchange

Is the COMEX/GLOBEX ‘the be all and end all’ of the world’s precious metals market places, or does the LBM also play a large role, one that even surpasses the former, not only in volume but perhaps also in significance when it comes to certain aspects?

For me, this issue of the relative size, and therefore potentially the importance, of the LBM (London Bullion Market – see end note) in comparison to the COMEX recently arose in a small circle of those I regularly correspond with on matters pertaining to gold and silver. I sent around a posting by Victor the Cleaner on one of the more popular PM sites, in which he said that the LBMA dwarfs the size of the COMEX. One of my correspondents thought that was interesting enough to ask Ted Butler personally if that were true. Ted replied that he didn’t think that was correct. He has now stated this in his newsletter as follows (as ‘stolen’ by Ed Steer in his March 22 Gold and Silver Daily):

"For more than 30 years, I have noticed that on unique U.S. holidays, when Europe is open for business and the US closed, worldwide trading almost stops altogether in gold and silver. That wouldn’t seem to be the case if the COMEX were [smaller than the LBMA]. Further, the most dominant COMEX traders are also the most dominant traders on the LBMA and the OTC markets...and the allegations of manipulation are principally aimed at these traders anyway." ...