NEW YORK (Commodity Online): Silver prices may rise in the second half of 2012 and 2013, according to BNP Paribas S.A. (Euronext: BNP) in a commodity research note. The German bank also revised its average forecasts of $33.50 an ounce for 2012 and $41.70/oz for 2013.

Anne-Laure Tremblay, precious-metals strategist at BNP stated that,“ the assumption of a further round of monetary stimulus is at the heart of our forecast for a higher silver price, although we do not see it returning to its highs of April 2011.”

She continued that, BNP economists look for a third round of United States quantitative easing to take place in September, with Federal Reserve Chairman Bernanke signaling further monetary accommodation at the Jackson Hole Fed gathering at the end of August.

“Were central banks to disappoint, silver’s downside would be very pronounced,” Tremblay added.

She also noted that, silver as the precious metal most closely correlated with gold, with production costs far below current prices. Fabrication demand has been hurt by a slowdown in economic activity.

On Thursday, silver for September delivery ended up unchanged at $27.446 per ounce on the Comex division of the New York Mercantile Exchange.

Banque Nationale de Paris Paribas (BNP Paribas) was the world’s biggest bank, as measured by total assets of $2.670 trillion in 2011 and Eurozone's largest bank by deposits.