**The Survey notes a structural shift in investment preferences in India over recent years. Bars and coins have been taking increasing favor over the traditional high-carat jewelry. This is partly due to increasing consumer awareness of issues concerning under-carating in the jewelry industry; this was compounded last year by low local silver prices with bullion demand growing "exponentially" and GFMS estimates that it accounted for 53% of overall demand in the Indian silver market last year, surpassing the combined demand from jewelry, silverware and industrial uses.

**This explosion of investor interest was enhanced by low prices, especially with the local price falling below Rp17,000/kg by November, a drop of 35% from the July peak. It looks as if following Indian trade patterns this year will prove particularly instructive.
Purchases of physical silver bullion bars and coins last year soared to levels not seen in decades in the last year.

**In India, the cheaper silver saw a return to investor favor often in place of gold. Indian silver imports increased 103% to an all-time record of 5,048 tonnes [162.3 million ounces] of silver. With gold prices at present levels, demand for silver relates to disposable income levels, which are relatively static among small investors. In many cases gold investors have felt it necessary to switch to silver.

Post your comment  (0)

Connect:

Post to Twitter

Post to Facebook