Market Nuggets: Commerzbank: Silver ETF Holdings Rise Sharply This Week

Friday August 16, 2013 9:29 AM

Holdings of silver exchange-traded funds have increased in recent days and are up for the year, a contrast to lower holdings of metal by gold ETFs, says Commerzbank. Silver itself has risen 19% over the last eight trading days, the bank points out. “Its price rise was accompanied by a huge increase in silver ETF holdings, which have meanwhile reached a record level of nearly 20,000 tons,” Commerzbank says. “The silver ETFs tracked by Bloomberg have recorded inflows of 674 tons since the beginning of the week alone, including their highest daily inflow (447 tons) since mid-January. In contrast to the gold ETFs, the holdings of silver ETFs have increased by 975 tons since the beginning of the year. Coupled with a recovery of industrial demand, which accounts for more than 50% of total silver demand, this could lend support to the silver price.”

By Allen Sykora of Kitco News; asykora@kitco.com