Silver Ingot Imports Surge in Feb, Expected to Remain High in March

[SMM Precious Metals Market Bulletin] In the silver ingot trading market last week, some suppliers reported that, as spot premiums in China declined and short-term expectations for price increases failed to materialize, import profits could no longer support price locking for April orders. At present, spot cargoes of imported large and small silver ingots were generally being sold off at reduced prices, and some suppliers even sold at a loss due to the need to recover funds or concerns that spot premiums would continue to fall. Approaching the weekend, spot cargoes of imported silver ingots and expectations for short-term supply both decreased, and selling pressure in the market eased marginally.

[SMM Precious Metals Market Flash] Approaching month-end in March, spot silver ingot circulation in China’s spot market was ample. Large imported ingots and crude silver, previously constrained by refining capacity, were slowly entering the market. According to an SMM survey, a crude silver processing enterprise reported that new crude silver processing orders had decreased significantly since the beginning of this week, and processing fees for imported silver ingots had also been lowered.

Updated information from the Vietnam Department of Geology and Minerals (under the Ministry of Agriculture and Environment) indicates that during the implementation of the project, the agency discovered 12 gold ore sites, with estimated resources of more than 10 tons of gold and over 16.4 tons of silver. “This serves as an important foundation for advancing comprehensive digital transformation in the geology sector, supporting state management, resource planning, and attracting investment in sustainable mineral exploitation,” a representative of the project said.