Silver lures Indians

NEW DELHI (Commodity Online):

Silver is glittering in India these days. Only poorest among the poor in India could have thought of buying silver jewellery for the marriage of their daughters some years back. But these days, driven by the skyrocketing price of gold Indians—the rich, the middle class and the poor—are buying silver jewellery and investing in silver.

“Silver has emerged as a fashion statement as many people find difficult and unrealistic to buy gold jewellery at these high prices,” John Luckose, who runs a small-time gold and silver jewellery in Kochi, a popular gold buying destination in India, said.

Gold price is in the range of record Ra 20,000 per ten gram in India, the largest marketplace for gold in the world. Though Indians are buying gold coins and bars as investment options these days, people especially in the rural areas are opting for silver in place of gold.

Luckose said that silver jewellery has turned out to be a fashion statement these days. "People fear wearing gold jewellery these days as high gold price has led to several incidents of gold jewellery snatching on streets. Many customers coming to us say that they feel comfortable wearing silver jewellery," Luckose pointed out.

High gold price is changing the custom of wearing the yellow metal jewellery by Indians. People in India—know for their craze for wearing gold jewellery—are turning to silver jewellery thanks to the unaffordable price of gold.

In India, jewellery is revered and valued as a treasure from ages, be it any festival or a marriage, the celebrations are incomplete without gold and silver ornaments. Being the biggest consumers of gold, the industry is set to thrive for a very long time.

India is one of the fastest growing jewellery markets in the world and also the largest consumer of gold with over 700 tonnes consumption in 2010 which accounts for around 24 percent of world gold consumption, majority of it going into production of jewellery

Despite the zooming prices, demand for gold and investments continues to surge in India.

Gold and silver imports by India are set to touch record levels in 2011, according to early data compiled by the World Gold Council (WGC) and the Bombay Bullion Association.

According to WGC managing director for India and West Asia Ajay Mitra, India’s gold imports in 2010 was around 750-800 tonnes, a record in the last one decade.

Mitra says one reason for the soaring demand for gold and silver is that Indians have correctly understood the great investment sense in bullion. He says India will continue to shine as the largest marketplace for gold and silver in 2011.

There has been growing appetite for gold and silver investments in India in the last few years and jewellery shops are opening across the countryside and cities every day.

According to WGC, demand for gold bullion as an investment in India surged 73% last year.

“Gold and silver purchases this year will continue to remain strong in India and price is no longer a factor,” he said.

India is the largest consumer and importer of silver in the world. According to commodities brokerage Karvy Comtrade silver imports by India soared more than six times to $1.7 billion in the first-half of 2010.

India is the largest importer of the silver in the world and the country consumes more than 4000 tons of silver annually with the bulk of sale being made in rural areas. India has emerged as the third largest industrial user of silver in the world after US and Japan.

The vast majority of silver in India is used in production of ornamental items like jewelry, utensils and gift articles. Industrial use account for about 1300-1500 tons. In rural areas, silver is considered as hedge against inflation and thus provides an investment avenue.

Indians are known to spend substantial part of their income on purchase of silver, partly as an unavoidable expenditure for weddings and other family celebrations and partly as investment.

Demand for ornamental silver is affected by the festive season and marriage season in February, April, June and December as well as the monsoons between June and August.

While the demand has increased substantially, annual consumption is dictated both by monsoon, with its effect on the harvest, and the marriage season. In a significant move, the government has also liberalised the import of Gold and Silver. This will provide freedom to procure inputs by jewellery exporters and add to the cost competitiveness of the Indian jewellery exports.

The Indian demand for silver is very different from the global pattern of silver demand, where 65% of the demand comes for Jewellery, Ornaments and gift articles. Industrial demand forms a minor share. Indian demand plays a major role on the global silver demand.

Industrial demand for silver in India is in the range of 1300-1500 tons per annum, the bulk of which is in pharmaceuticals, plating, electrical, foils, jari, soldering and brazing.