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Now that the free market price has risen above the official price, the Purchase Act's provisions have backfired. Where once the Treasury kept the price artificially high by buying at 90½¢ per oz., now the Treasury is keeping the price artificially low, since it sells at nearly the same price. The Silver Bloc no longer seems powerful enough to persuade Congress to raise the official price again—partly because of the opposition of the growing number of new industrial silver users (industry and jewelers use about 100 million oz. of silver a year). The result is a silver stalemate that makes it possible for the first time in years to free silver from politics. If the Treasury was required to buy silver only for its curency and coinage needs, the silver market would become a free market.