Page 12 - Bullion World Issue 5 Sep 2021

Bullion World | Issue 05 | September 2021

State of India

Silver Bullion

Market

Silver had a rollercoaster ride in the year of 2020, with the demand fall
to a seven-year low, driven by economic weakness, high silver prices
and the pandemic. Whenever silver price shoots up, physical demand
dries up and some dealers and producers use exchange platform
to sell, It was seen more in 2020 due to covid. Let’s see what these
industry experts have to say on Silver going forward.

What is your comment on the
current silver demand? What
is your outlook on demand
for the next six months or
so? How much of it do you
think will be served by import
of silver bullion? How much
from the domestic recycled
bar?
Suresh Hundia: In India, Silver is
mainly used for jewellery and silverware
manufacture. Industrial uses are picking
up in recent times. On an average, about
6000 tonnes used to be India’s annual silver
imports prior to corona. However, in 2020,
due to corona, manufacturing, refining
and retail shops were closed. Also, silver
price increased steeply due to increase in
demand in international market. As a result,
there was a complete collapse in demand.
In my opinion, the silver imports in 2020
were less than 50% of the normal imports.

Based on the data, silver import during
Mar-Jun 2021 was about 917 tonnes.
If silver price in the international market
remains between 1800 and 2000 cents per
Troy Ounce (currently, it is 2400 cents/TO),
Mr Suresh Hundia
then we could see about 2000 tonnes silver Hundia Exports
import into India from September 2021 till
March 2022. On the other hand, if silver
price increases, then demand would drop.

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