I agree with your explanation 100%.

The question is why didn't Pohl explain this to us? I personally think he "could" have been in some hot water if he admitted he knew this was the reason why the SP sank so much. Why else would he play dumb about the whole matter???? He certainly sounded a bit ridiculous stating he was "perplexed" about the whole thing. If you and I could figure it out, he certainly knew.