Sunday, May 1, 2011

Silver on fire in India

From Mineweb.com:

Despite a 100% jump in price in just over six months from October 2010, demand for the silver metal refuses to die in India.

Traders and analysts insist that silver demand will climb further this year, as investors across the country pick up on their purchases sensing an even bigger price-hike around the corner.

On October 26, 2010, silver was quoting around $ 799.96 a kilo in Mumbai. At Thursday's closing price of around $ 1,647.36, the increase is over 100%, in just six months.

"Silver prices are set to extend a record rally," said Ketan Shroff, managing director of Pushpak Bullions in Mumbai. ``Consumers are rushing in to grab more for the forthcoming Akshaya Tritiya festival,'' he said.

Akshaya Tritiya falls on May 6 this year. It is considered an auspicious day, the golden day of eternal success. Many bullion houses are offering their customers an advance booking on the white metal to neutralise the impact of rising prices.

Though gold coin sales have picked up over the last week in tandem, jewellers insist that there is huge demand from families who have been known to the jewellery house for decades. The weakening of the rupee and rising inflation have further contributed to the high prices.

The bullion markets here tracks overseas prices. Silver (0.999 fineness) was quoted at $ 1,691.34 a kilo on April 25, 2011, in Mumbai, as against $ 1,064.37 on January 1, 2011, revealing a jump of 58.9%.

"The white metal has beaten gold in terms of returns given to investors both last year and this year so far. Gold may have the glamour, but silver has the momentum right now", Anjani Sinha, chief executive officer of the Mumbai-based bourse, the National Spot Exchange, said to a news agency.

While production bottlenecks due to a rise in mining costs have added to supply constraints, factors such as increasing industrial applications have created a fresh demand, she added.

Demand is expected to jump by 10% to 15% from the current level of about 3,000 tonne a year, she further said......read on

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