Silver Imports Remained High in July! [SMM Analysis]

In July, the imports of unwrought silver with a purity of ≥99.99% were 105.9 mt, up 14.7% MoM, while the exports were 283.2 mt, down 19.3% MoM. The imports of silver nitrate were 228.3 kg, down 22.2% MoM, and the exports were 14 kg, down 98.6% MoM. The imports of silver powder were 299.7 mt, down 5% MoM, and the exports were 0.4 mt, up 33.3% MoM.

In July, silver imports remained at a high level and increased compared to June due to the price spread between domestic and overseas markets and the issue of locked-in prices, which sustained import demand. However, exports decreased compared to June. For part of July, domestic silver prices were higher than overseas prices, making export profits unfeasible. Some refineries adjusted the ratio of large and small ingot exports in July, reducing exports and increasing domestic supply, which also contributed to the increase in domestic silver production in July.

The reason for the decrease in both imports and exports of silver nitrate in July was that the increase in silver prices in June compared to March-May was restrained. Domestic import demand and overseas procurement demand were both released in June, and the continuous price rise in early to mid-July also suppressed market procurement demand.

In July, due to an increase in domestic photovoltaic demand compared to June, market demand for essential procurement increased. However, due to the continuous high prices in early to mid-July, although silver prices began to pull back from mid-July, the extent of the pullback was limited by the end of July. Downstream enterprises had replenished inventory and essential stock in June, and in July, due to price constraints, the procurement demand of some enterprises for non-flake silver powder decreased.