One has to wonder what it will take to push Sludge higher.....
Silver demand shoots to highest since 2015, Silver Institute says - Reuters News
Sentiment:
Mostly positive
17-Nov-2021 10:26:59 AM
LONDON, Nov 17 (Reuters) - Global silver demand will rise to 1.029 billion ounces this year, up 15% from 2020 and exceeding a billion ounces for the first time since 2015, the Silver Institute said in a report on Wednesday.
The prediction is a slight downgrade from April, when the institute forecast demand for 2021 at 1.033 billion ounces. (Full Story)
The coronavirus sharply reduced use of silver by manufacturers and jewellers but increased demand from investors who wanted a safe asset to ride out economic turbulence.
This year, with most economies out of lockdowns, demand has risen across the board - from manufacturers of goods including solar panels and electronics to jewellers, makers of silverware and investors in silver bars and coins, the institute said.
It predicted the silver market would be undersupplied by 7 million ounces in 2021, the first deficit since 2015.
Those numbers exclude exchange-traded funds (ETFs) that store silver for investors, since these funds hold wholesale silver bars without remaking them as other users of silver do.
The institute, whose figures are prepared by consultants Metals Focus, said it expected ETF to stockpile less than last year but far more than was typical before the pandemic.
Silver XAG= currently trades around $25 an ounce, up from around $16-17 in 2015-19 but down from a high of $30.03 reached in February.
Below are numbers for 2021 and comparisons.
SILVER SUPPLY AND DEMAND (million ounces)
2021(f)
2020
% change
SUPPLY
Mine Production
829
780
6%
Recycling
192
182
5%
TOTAL SUPPLY
1,022
972
5%
DEMAND
Industrial
524
487
8%
Photography
29
28
4%
Jewellery
173
146
18%
Silverware
40
32
25%
Net Physical Investment
263
199
32%
TOTAL DEMAND
1,029
892
15%
Market Balance
-7
80
-109%
Net Investment in ETPs/ETFs
150
331
-55%
Market Balance less ETPs/ETFs
-157
-251
-37%
Silver Price $/oz
25.40
20.55
24%
...............(Couldn't get the article to transfer in the nice chart pattern it came to me as....
the upper numbers are for this time in 2021 -vs- the lower 2020 figures....so, currently Demand is outstripping Supply by 7 Million oz.....despite a rise of nearly $5.00/oz. from 2020...)
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