India silver consumption to rise to 5000 tonnes in 2011

NEW DELHI, May 2 (Commodity Online): Silver demand in China and India is set to rise 30 per cent in 2011. Silver prices for July delivery surged $1.058, or 2.2 per cent, to $48.599 an ounce. Silver prices have risen 5.5 per cent this week and 57.1 per cent in 2011. China said its net imports of silver nearly quadrupled to more than 3,500 tonnes in 2010, boosted by sharp increases in demand by the industrial sector and the jewelry industry. Silver demand in China and India has increased sharply in recent months as more investors use silver as a store of value. About 70 per cent of China's silver demand comes from the industrial sectors. Silver is widely used in the production of electronic products, jewelry, industrial production, such as medical, solar power and water purification industries. China is the world's largest producer of solar power and electronics. Silver price increased more than 80 per cent in 2010. Demand for silver in China and India is up 30 per cent in 2011. In 2010 India consumed about 2,800 tonnes of silver, this year's consumption is expected to rise to 5,000 tonnes, according to Albanian Minerals trading experts. Silver investments in India is mostly from rural areas, which account for 70 percent of the country's 1.2 billion population. The world's silver output was 21,500 tonnes in 2009. In 2009, global supply of physical silver was 27,000 tons, rising by 0.20 per cent in 2008. The total global production of silver was 29,000 tonnes in 2010. Indian and Chinese investors are buying more silver to hedge market losses.