India To Take Advantage of Lower Silver Price

By Vivien Diniz – Exclusive to Silver Investing News

Economic data gathered late Friday indicated that China’s inflation rate topped 5 percent in November. This news raised some concern that China’s interest rates would be on the rise. China opted to avoid raising interest rates, but instead raised bank reserve requirement ratios by 50-bp. The news has had a positive impact on the metals market.

Silver spot price hit a high today of roughly $29.56 an ounce, an increase of 89 cents. Palladium and platinum also gained today. Palladium for March deliverysaw a rise today, with an increase $23.90 or 3.3 percent, the metal reached $756.60 an ounce. Meanwhile, platinum prices rose $23.10 or 1.4 percent to $1698.40 per ounce. Spot gold price went up 1 percent today to $1,396.87 an ounce.

Monday’s market had the white metal recovering from its slip from last week. After reaching its 30-year high last Tuesday, when silver traded around US$30.50, gold’s cousin experienced a drop in price. Precious metals analyst David Levenstein sees the last week’s slip in silver prices as an opportunity for investors. Following the news of JP Morgan’s silver price manipulation, Levenstein states that if the assessment of the financial giant’s short silver position is correct, the implications for investors in long positions will likely be highly lucrative.

India, as world leader in silver imports, appears to be taking advantage of the lower silver prices in comparison to gold. In a report on Reuters India, Haresh Acharya, head of the bullion desk at Ahemdabad-based gold wholesaler Parker Agrochem, has stated that there “has been and increased interest in silver, and it’s drawing interest from people who cannot afford gold.” Last week, speculations were made regarding India’s silver import totals for 2010. As a result of the  increased attention that silver has been receiving, the president of the Bombay Bullion Association Prithviraj Kothari has forecast that silver imports for 2010 may be up 20 percent from last year to 1,200 tonnes.