2013 Physical Silver Demand Hit Record High

The latest World Silver Survey has been released by the Silver Institute. Researched and compiled by Thomson Reuters GFMS, the report is an exhaustive examination of global silver supply and demand data in the previous year.

“Total physical silver demand rose by 13 percent in 2013 to an all-time high, according to “World Silver Survey 2014″, released today by the Silver Institute. This was primarily driven by the 76 percent increase in retail investment in bars and coins coupled with a sturdy recovery in jewelry and silverware fabrication. On the supply side, silver scrap fell by 24 percent, experiencing the largest drop on record to reach its lowest level since 2001. The silver price averaged $23.79 in 2013, the third highest nominal average price on record, in a particularly volatile year for the entire precious metals complex.

Total physical demand for silver stood at a record 1,081 million ounces (Moz) last year. The largest component of physical silver demand, industrial applications, dipped by less than 1 percent to 586.6 Moz, to account for 54 percent of total physical silver demand. Asia, however, experienced a 3 percent increase in silver industrial demand, led by China, where a continued recovery in the electrical and electronics sector, along with gains in the Chinese ethylene oxide industry, took total Asian industrial offtake to a new high. Japan also experienced gains in silver industrial demand.”

Read a Summary and Access the Survey Here

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