Indians love gold. Despite rising prices, a tax increase, and government attempts to tighten regulation of the jewelry industry, gold imports into the country nearly tripled year-on-year in August. India ranks as the second largest gold consuming country in the world, trailing only China. But gold isn’t the only precious metal Indians covet. They also buy a lot of silver.
According to a new report by the Silver Institute, India consumed 160.6 million ounces of silver in 2016, accounting for 16% of global silver demand.
More than half of the silver flowing into India is used in jewelry and silverware.
These are traditional markets, though the demand drivers and consumer profile vary considerably between both segments. Typically, silver jewelry is purchased by most income groups in India, whereas silverware is bought by the middle and affluent classes. Since the start of this decade, there has been a large expansion of demand in both markets, from around 39 Moz in 2010 to 88 Moz in 2016. Of note, the Indian silverware market is the largest in the world and its importance is growing, representing 70 percent of the total global demand.’
This post was published at Schiffgold on OCTOBER 2, 2017.
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