The answer should be obvious. The prices will remain distorted as long as the alleged ‘market’ is manipulated… as long as the banks can…. as long as ‘Federal Reserve Notes’ are the coin of the realm.
It will take a systemic collapse… serious crap… before a cash (dare I say ‘barter’) economy rules the precious metals physical supply. The question then will be… what is the physical price in ‘new US Treasury Dollars’ after TSHTF… welcome to the greater depression.