Accessibility Statement Skip Navigation
  • Resources
  • Investor Relations
  • Journalists
  • Agencies
  • Client Login
  • Send a Release
Return to PR Newswire homepage
  • News
  • Products
  • Contact
When typing in this field, a list of search results will appear and be automatically updated as you type.

Searching for your content...

No results found. Please change your search terms and try again.
  • News in Focus
      • Browse News Releases

      • All News Releases
      • All Public Company
      • English-only
      • News Releases Overview

      • Multimedia Gallery

      • All Multimedia
      • All Photos
      • All Videos
      • Multimedia Gallery Overview

      • Trending Topics

      • All Trending Topics
  • Business & Money
      • Auto & Transportation

      • All Automotive & Transportation
      • Aerospace, Defense
      • Air Freight
      • Airlines & Aviation
      • Automotive
      • Maritime & Shipbuilding
      • Railroads and Intermodal Transportation
      • Supply Chain/Logistics
      • Transportation, Trucking & Railroad
      • Travel
      • Trucking and Road Transportation
      • Auto & Transportation Overview

      • View All Auto & Transportation

      • Business Technology

      • All Business Technology
      • Blockchain
      • Broadcast Tech
      • Computer & Electronics
      • Computer Hardware
      • Computer Software
      • Data Analytics
      • Electronic Commerce
      • Electronic Components
      • Electronic Design Automation
      • Financial Technology
      • High Tech Security
      • Internet Technology
      • Nanotechnology
      • Networks
      • Peripherals
      • Semiconductors
      • Business Technology Overview

      • View All Business Technology

      • Entertain­ment & Media

      • All Entertain­ment & Media
      • Advertising
      • Art
      • Books
      • Entertainment
      • Film and Motion Picture
      • Magazines
      • Music
      • Publishing & Information Services
      • Radio & Podcast
      • Television
      • Entertain­ment & Media Overview

      • View All Entertain­ment & Media

      • Financial Services & Investing

      • All Financial Services & Investing
      • Accounting News & Issues
      • Acquisitions, Mergers and Takeovers
      • Banking & Financial Services
      • Bankruptcy
      • Bond & Stock Ratings
      • Conference Call Announcements
      • Contracts
      • Cryptocurrency
      • Dividends
      • Earnings
      • Earnings Forecasts & Projections
      • Financing Agreements
      • Insurance
      • Investments Opinions
      • Joint Ventures
      • Mutual Funds
      • Private Placement
      • Real Estate
      • Restructuring & Recapitalization
      • Sales Reports
      • Shareholder Activism
      • Shareholder Meetings
      • Stock Offering
      • Stock Split
      • Venture Capital
      • Financial Services & Investing Overview

      • View All Financial Services & Investing

      • General Business

      • All General Business
      • Awards
      • Commercial Real Estate
      • Corporate Expansion
      • Earnings
      • Environmental, Social and Governance (ESG)
      • Human Resource & Workforce Management
      • Licensing
      • New Products & Services
      • Obituaries
      • Outsourcing Businesses
      • Overseas Real Estate (non-US)
      • Personnel Announcements
      • Real Estate Transactions
      • Residential Real Estate
      • Small Business Services
      • Socially Responsible Investing
      • Surveys, Polls and Research
      • Trade Show News
      • General Business Overview

      • View All General Business

  • Science & Tech
      • Consumer Technology

      • All Consumer Technology
      • Artificial Intelligence
      • Blockchain
      • Cloud Computing/Internet of Things
      • Computer Electronics
      • Computer Hardware
      • Computer Software
      • Consumer Electronics
      • Cryptocurrency
      • Data Analytics
      • Electronic Commerce
      • Electronic Gaming
      • Financial Technology
      • Mobile Entertainment
      • Multimedia & Internet
      • Peripherals
      • Social Media
      • STEM (Science, Tech, Engineering, Math)
      • Supply Chain/Logistics
      • Wireless Communications
      • Consumer Technology Overview

      • View All Consumer Technology

      • Energy & Natural Resources

      • All Energy
      • Alternative Energies
      • Chemical
      • Electrical Utilities
      • Gas
      • General Manufacturing
      • Mining
      • Mining & Metals
      • Oil & Energy
      • Oil and Gas Discoveries
      • Utilities
      • Water Utilities
      • Energy & Natural Resources Overview

      • View All Energy & Natural Resources

      • Environ­ment

      • All Environ­ment
      • Conservation & Recycling
      • Environmental Issues
      • Environmental Policy
      • Environmental Products & Services
      • Green Technology
      • Natural Disasters
      • Environ­ment Overview

      • View All Environ­ment

      • Heavy Industry & Manufacturing

      • All Heavy Industry & Manufacturing
      • Aerospace & Defense
      • Agriculture
      • Chemical
      • Construction & Building
      • General Manufacturing
      • HVAC (Heating, Ventilation and Air-Conditioning)
      • Machinery
      • Machine Tools, Metalworking and Metallurgy
      • Mining
      • Mining & Metals
      • Paper, Forest Products & Containers
      • Precious Metals
      • Textiles
      • Tobacco
      • Heavy Industry & Manufacturing Overview

      • View All Heavy Industry & Manufacturing

      • Telecomm­unications

      • All Telecomm­unications
      • Carriers and Services
      • Mobile Entertainment
      • Networks
      • Peripherals
      • Telecommunications Equipment
      • Telecommunications Industry
      • VoIP (Voice over Internet Protocol)
      • Wireless Communications
      • Telecomm­unications Overview

      • View All Telecomm­unications

  • Lifestyle & Health
      • Consumer Products & Retail

      • All Consumer Products & Retail
      • Animals & Pets
      • Beers, Wines and Spirits
      • Beverages
      • Bridal Services
      • Cannabis
      • Cosmetics and Personal Care
      • Fashion
      • Food & Beverages
      • Furniture and Furnishings
      • Home Improvement
      • Household, Consumer & Cosmetics
      • Household Products
      • Jewelry
      • Non-Alcoholic Beverages
      • Office Products
      • Organic Food
      • Product Recalls
      • Restaurants
      • Retail
      • Supermarkets
      • Toys
      • Consumer Products & Retail Overview

      • View All Consumer Products & Retail

      • Entertain­ment & Media

      • All Entertain­ment & Media
      • Advertising
      • Art
      • Books
      • Entertainment
      • Film and Motion Picture
      • Magazines
      • Music
      • Publishing & Information Services
      • Radio & Podcast
      • Television
      • Entertain­ment & Media Overview

      • View All Entertain­ment & Media

      • Health

      • All Health
      • Biometrics
      • Biotechnology
      • Clinical Trials & Medical Discoveries
      • Dentistry
      • FDA Approval
      • Fitness/Wellness
      • Health Care & Hospitals
      • Health Insurance
      • Infection Control
      • International Medical Approval
      • Medical Equipment
      • Medical Pharmaceuticals
      • Mental Health
      • Pharmaceuticals
      • Supplementary Medicine
      • Health Overview

      • View All Health

      • Sports

      • All Sports
      • General Sports
      • Outdoors, Camping & Hiking
      • Sporting Events
      • Sports Equipment & Accessories
      • Sports Overview

      • View All Sports

      • Travel

      • All Travel
      • Amusement Parks and Tourist Attractions
      • Gambling & Casinos
      • Hotels and Resorts
      • Leisure & Tourism
      • Outdoors, Camping & Hiking
      • Passenger Aviation
      • Travel Industry
      • Travel Overview

      • View All Travel

  • Policy & Public Interest
      • Policy & Public Interest

      • All Policy & Public Interest
      • Advocacy Group Opinion
      • Animal Welfare
      • Congressional & Presidential Campaigns
      • Corporate Social Responsibility
      • Domestic Policy
      • Economic News, Trends, Analysis
      • Education
      • Environmental
      • European Government
      • FDA Approval
      • Federal and State Legislation
      • Federal Executive Branch & Agency
      • Foreign Policy & International Affairs
      • Homeland Security
      • Labor & Union
      • Legal Issues
      • Natural Disasters
      • Not For Profit
      • Patent Law
      • Public Safety
      • Trade Policy
      • U.S. State Policy
      • Policy & Public Interest Overview

      • View All Policy & Public Interest

  • People & Culture
      • People & Culture

      • All People & Culture
      • Aboriginal, First Nations & Native American
      • African American
      • Asian American
      • Children
      • Diversity, Equity & Inclusion
      • Hispanic
      • Lesbian, Gay & Bisexual
      • Men's Interest
      • People with Disabilities
      • Religion
      • Senior Citizens
      • Veterans
      • Women
      • People & Culture Overview

      • View All People & Culture

      • In-Language News

      • Arabic
      • español
      • português
      • Česko
      • Danmark
      • Deutschland
      • España
      • France
      • Italia
      • Nederland
      • Norge
      • Polska
      • Portugal
      • Россия
      • Slovensko
      • Suomi
      • Sverige
  • Explore Our Platform
  • Plan Campaigns
  • Create with AI
  • Distribute Press Releases
  • Amplify Content
  • All Products
  • General Inquiries
  • Editorial Bureaus
  • Partnerships
  • Media Inquiries
  • Worldwide Offices
  • Hamburger menu
  • PR Newswire: news distribution, targeting and monitoring
  • Send a Release
    • ALL CONTACT INFO
    • Contact Us

      888-776-0942
      from 8 AM - 10 PM ET

  • Send a Release
  • Client Login
  • Resources
  • Blog
  • Journalists
  • RSS
  • News in Focus
    • Browse All News
    • Multimedia Gallery
    • Trending Topics
  • Business & Money
    • Auto & Transportation
    • Business Technology
    • Entertain­ment & Media
    • Financial Services & Investing
    • General Business
  • Science & Tech
    • Consumer Technology
    • Energy & Natural Resources
    • Environ­ment
    • Heavy Industry & Manufacturing
    • Telecomm­unications
  • Lifestyle & Health
    • Consumer Products & Retail
    • Entertain­ment & Media
    • Health
    • Sports
    • Travel
  • Policy & Public Interest
  • People & Culture
    • People & Culture
  • Send a Release
  • Client Login
  • Resources
  • Blog
  • Journalists
  • RSS
  • Explore Our Platform
  • Plan Campaigns
  • Create with AI
  • Distribute Press Releases
  • Amplify Content
  • All Products
  • Send a Release
  • Client Login
  • Resources
  • Blog
  • Journalists
  • RSS
  • General Inquiries
  • Editorial Bureaus
  • Partnerships
  • Media Inquiries
  • Worldwide Offices
  • Send a Release
  • Client Login
  • Resources
  • Blog
  • Journalists
  • RSS

2018 Silver Market Trends

Logo

News provided by

The Silver Institute

Jan 18, 2018, 07:15 ET

Share this article

Share toX

Share this article

Share toX

WASHINGTON, Jan. 18, 2018 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- Of all the metals in the periodic table, silver enjoys one of the most versatile landscapes, with its uses found in a wide variety of applications. Silver's unrivaled characteristics serve many industrial products, while its weight and neutral color make it very popular in jewelry that suits many occasions. As a precious metal, silver serves as a store of value and can provide stability against the cycles of economic adversity. As such, factors influencing the silver market primarily range from developments in the industrial and jewelry sectors to changes in the macroeconomic sphere that affect investor sentiment.

Continue Reading
Silver ETP Holdings and LBMA Benchmark Price (RHS)
Silver ETP Holdings and LBMA Benchmark Price (RHS)

With this in mind, the Silver Institute provides the following insights on 2018 market trends.

Silver Demand

Silver demand from industrial applications, the largest component of silver offtake representing 60% in 2017, is expected to continue to grow this year. Due to silver's unrivaled electrical conductivity, it will continue to play a vital role in major industry sectors that are moving towards increased electrification, such as automotive. Although silver is used in small quantities in some applications, the diversity is large, and the continued rising volumes of applications are expected to again have a positive impact on silver consumption from industrial products this year.

The strong increase in demand for small and large scale solar panels across the globe has boosted the demand for silver in photovoltaic applications in recent years, reaching an estimated 92 Moz (million ounces) in 2017. We expect the growth to continue this year and set another record for silver demand, driven by large scale solar capacity additions and continued strong demand uptake from individual households, particularly in China. 

Jewelry demand is expected to continue its steady increase in 2018, expanding consumption by another 4%, following a rise of 1% in 2017. Silver demand from the jewelry sector accounts for approximately one-fifth of total silver demand. Many would argue that silver's features lend themselves better than gold to fashionable jewelry because of silver's color neutrality, which provides more versatility for many fashion-conscious consumers.

Coin demand almost halved to 73 Moz in 2017. Much of the weakness was concentrated in the United States where a buoyant stock market and parabolic increases in cryptocurrencies diverted some capital away from physical precious metals. With equity and bonds in "expensive" territory and Bitcoin's stratospheric increase taking a breather during the beginning of 2018, we expect some investment to flow back into precious metals, benefiting silver bar and coin demand this year.    

Silver exchange-traded-products (ETP) holdings achieved a record high at 670 Moz at the end of 2017. Since their introduction in 2002, silver ETPs have recorded a small decline in total annual holdings only twice, indicating the stickiness of their nature among investors (this is in part since a relatively high proportion of silver ETP investors are individuals rather than institutions). Although growth has been somewhat stable since 2012, drawdowns of silver ETPs are far and few between. We expect ETP holdings to rise an approximate 3% this year.

Indian silver imports reported a strong year in 2017, almost doubling to 183 Moz compared to the previous year. The strong increase is a combination of healthy jewelry demand and a shift from business conducted previously in cash to more formal channels. The implementation of the Goods-and-Services-Tax (GST) has had a positive effect on that development. Indeed, silver demand from jewelry, silverware, coins and medallion retailers, who prefer a more transparent business model, substantially rose last year in India. In 2018 we expect silver demand from jewelry fabricators to remain strong, pushing imports to approximately 180 Moz.

Silver Supply

Global mine supply fell 1% in 2016, the first annual decline following 14 years of consecutive growth. In 2017 that trend continued with mine output expected to contract by a further 2% to 870 Moz. Production disruptions out of South America, along with a decline in capital expenditure among the primary producers in the past five years, is expected to constrain output again this year. However, the strong recovery in base metal prices will provide some support to output in 2018, particularly from by-product producers capitalizing on the trend.

Silver generated from scrap supply improved slightly last year on stronger recycling waste generated from the manufacturing process. Scrap supply has been in a strong decline since 2011 due to a contracting pool of near market silverware, jewelry and coins. Scrap is expected to stabilize around 150 Moz this year, which equates to around 15% of total supply.

Silver Market Balance

The silver market balance (total supply less total demand) is expected swing into a slight market deficit again this year with both supply and demand reaching above 1 billion ounces. Silver from above ground stocks will have to be drawn down in order to serve the shortfall. That will be a welcome development as above ground stocks rose 9% last year in the face of weak physical demand from the United States and Asia.

Silver Price

The silver price fell by just half a percent last year to an average of $17.05/oz. This year we expect the silver price to experience a volatile ride. Short covering in the beginning of the year has already propelled the price above last year's average. On a ratio with gold, currently at around 72, silver has plenty of room for improvement and to migrate towards its long-term average of around 64. With physical gold investment likely to be robust via risk-hedging, silver should benefit by proxy, given the propensity of professional speculators to leverage gold exposure through silver, and retail investors to buy silver instead of gold if they cannot afford the latter.

SOURCE The Silver Institute

WANT YOUR COMPANY'S NEWS FEATURED ON PRNEWSWIRE.COM?

icon3
440k+
Newsrooms &
Influencers
icon1
9k+
Digital Media
Outlets
icon2
270k+
Journalists
Opted In
GET STARTED

Modal title

Contact PR Newswire

  • Call PR Newswire at 888-776-0942
    from 8 AM - 9 PM ET
  • Chat with an Expert
  • General Inquiries
  • Editorial Bureaus
  • Partnerships
  • Media Inquiries
  • Worldwide Offices

Products

  • For Marketers
  • For Public Relations
  • For IR & Compliance
  • For Agency
  • All Products

About

  • About PR Newswire
  • About Cision
  • Become a Publishing Partner
  • Become a Channel Partner
  • Careers
  • Accessibility Statement
  • APAC
  • APAC - Simplified Chinese
  • APAC - Traditional Chinese
  • Brazil
  • Canada
  • Czech
  • Denmark
  • Finland
  • France
  • Germany
  • India
  • Indonesia
  • Israel
  • Italy
  • Japan
  • Korea
  • Mexico
  • Middle East
  • Middle East - Arabic
  • Netherlands
  • Norway
  • Poland
  • Portugal
  • Russia
  • Slovakia
  • Spain
  • Sweden
  • United Kingdom
  • Vietnam

My Services

  • All New Releases
  • Platform Login
  • ProfNet
  • Data Privacy

Do not sell or share my personal information:

  • Submit via [email protected] 
  • Call Privacy toll-free: 877-297-8921

Contact PR Newswire

Products

About

My Services
  • All News Releases
  • Platform Login
  • ProfNet
Call PR Newswire at
888-776-0942
  • Terms of Use
  • Privacy Policy
  • Information Security Policy
  • Site Map
  • RSS
  • Cookies
Copyright © 2025 Cision US Inc.