Gold and Silver Availability

In May, 2010, there were reports of silver and gold shortages in some European countries, and there were shortages in the U.S. and elsewhere in March, 2008 and August, 2008.

So we have come up with a number quantifying silver and gold availability in the U.S. We start by checking with major dealers that are known to report if they are out of stock of various items (and/or how much is in stock). We tally the results and come up with a percentage, ranging from 0% (none of the dealers have any of the items in stock) to 100% (all of the dealers have all of the items in stock). The number attempts to answer the question, 'If I go to my favorite online dealer, what are the chances that they will have my favorite silver/gold product in stock?'.

Numbers below 100% do not necessarily indicate a shortage! It is normal for some dealers to occasionally be out of stock or have low inventory on certain items (although we do give priority to the more popular items). However, the lower the numbers get, the more likely that there is a shortage in gold or silver in the U.S..

The numbers do not, however, factor in premiums. So if inventory remains the same, but premiums go sky-high, the numbers will not change. It would be nice to include premiums, but we are unable to do so right now. Also, we do not have a chart showing changes in the numbers. You may also want to check out the Apmex Retail Supply Index at gold-silver.us

To add the image above to your website, blog, etc., you can use the following code (the image updates automatically when we update the data):

<a href="http://About.Ag/availability.gif"><img src="http://About.Ag/data/availability.gif"></a>

Please Note: This information is not currently being updated, as there have been no verifiable signs of shortages of retail silver in the U.S. since this started.