BLBG:Silver ETP Holdings Slump by Most in More Than Four Years
Silver holdings in exchange-traded products slumped by the most in more than four years as prices traded near a three-month low and exchange stockpiles rose, underscoring concern that a global slowdown may curb demand.
Assets in exchange-traded products backed by silver contracted 3.6 percent yesterday, the biggest one-day decline since January 2008. Spot silver slumped as much as 3.8 percent to $30.48 an ounce yesterday, the lowest price since Jan. 20, and traded at $30.80 at 3:04 p.m. Singapore time today.
Stockpiles of the metal tracked by Comex climbed for a second day to 140.59 million ounces yesterday. Inventories reached 141.59 million ounces on April 13, the highest level since September 1997. Futures tumbled to $30.52 an ounce yesterday in New York, also the lowest since Jan. 20.
“The price drop drives fund selling and that in turn, drives prices even lower,” said Sun Yonggang, an analyst at Everbright Futures Co., a unit of China’s largest state-owned investment group. “Silver isn’t holding up as well as gold because it is still primarily an industrial metal.”
Manufacturing in the euro area and China are contracting, separate reports showed yesterday, boosting demand for the dollar as a haven. Silver and gold tend to trade inversely to the U.S. currency.
To contact the reporter on this story: Glenys Sim in Singapore at gsim4@bloomberg.net
To contact the editor responsible for this story: James Poole at jpoole4@bloomberg.net
