AGE Gold Commentary

AGE Gold Commentary is our regular report analyzing trends in precious metals and rare coins. We monitor domestic and international markets and extrapolate from our 30 years in metals to place current events into a hard asset perspective. View archives.

2/9/2026: China silver whale times market perfectly

Bloomberg reported on Wednesday, February 4, that Chinese commodity trader Bian Ximing, dubbed the "silver whale," had built an enormous short position in silver. According to the report, Ximing sold 30,000 silver contracts short, or roughly 450 metric tons, on the Shanghai exchange--about 10% more silver than the exchange reportedly holds.

Even more striking, this massive short position peaked just before silver hit an all-time high of $121 on January 29, the day before prices plunged 32%. In 46 years of trading precious metals, we have never seen more precise market timing.

Now, after a volatile week, gold, silver, platinum, and palladium are finding support and rebounding from short-term cyclical lows. This raises some critical questions. Is the silver whale covering his short position and helping to drive prices higher? Are firm short-term market bottoms in place?

In this AGE Gold Commentary for Monday, February 9, 2026, we break down how the silver whale built his short position, what happened going into the January 30 selloff, and where precious metals are currently finding key support and resistance levels.

You can also view this video on the AGE YouTube channel, which includes a transcript.

Sincerely,

Dana Samuelson
President