Silver demand seen surging to its highest since 2015 - report
Apr. 22, 2021 10:51 PM ET iShares Silver Trust ETF (SLV) By: Carl Surran, SA News Editor 32 Comments
Global silver demand will rise this year to its highest since 2015 as jewellery and industrial offtake rebounds after the pandemic, helping to lift prices, the Silver Institute says in its 2021 World Silver Survey.
All demand segments except for ETFs, which store silver for investors, will use more this year, and even ETFs will buy far more than was typical before the pandemic, the report says.
Excluding ETFs, global silver demand will rise to 1.03B oz. in 2021 from 896.1M oz. last year, according to the report.
Silver supply is forecast to rise to 1.05B oz. from 976.2M oz. last year, implying oversupply of 23.3M oz. this year for the sixth consecutive annual surplus.
ETFs reportedly will stockpile 150M oz. this year, down from 331.1M oz. in 2020; if the numbers are added to physical demand, the market would be undersupplied by 126.7M oz. following a 251M oz. deficit in 2020.
As a result, the report forecasts average silver prices rising by a third this year to $27.30/oz., the highest annual average since 2012, from $20.55/oz. in 2020.
ETFs: SLV, PSLV, SIL, AGQ, USLVF, SIVR, SLVO, SLVP |
