Silver prices are in the doldrums, with both supply and demand in the spot market declining [SMM Weekly Review of Silver Market]

At the beginning of this week, Trump announced that the 50% tariff on the EU, originally scheduled to be imposed on June 1, would be postponed to July 9. The US and Europe reached a "consensus on a critical buffer period," leading to a shift in market risk appetite. Gold and silver prices corrected simultaneously, with silver prices weakening after testing previous highs. Despite the medium and long-term bullish trend in precious metal prices, the current market sentiment is being dominated by the tug-of-war between short-term technical factors and capital flows. Market traders are cautiously observing the direction of breakthroughs at key levels.

[Spot Market] Silver: This week, macro headwinds combined with weakening consumption dragged silver prices into the doldrums. In May, smelters prioritizing export demand reduced domestic silver ingot supply, leading to a continuous decline in domestic social inventory. The trend of declining both supply and demand in the domestic spot market persisted. As month-end approached, some suppliers, after experiencing a decline in inventory, refused to budge on prices. In Shanghai, the premium of tonne-grade national standard spot silver ingots for self pick-up against TD remained at 3-5 yuan/kg, or a discount of 8-10 yuan/kg against the SHFE silver 2506 contract. Downstream buyers actively negotiated prices and engaged in limited buying the dip, but transactions at high premiums remained relatively difficult. Additionally, the operating rate of silver nitrate did not rebound this week and is expected to continue to decline in June. Downstream buyers still primarily focus on long-term contract cargo pick-up, with a strong wait-and-see sentiment.

PV: This week, the reference average price of solar cell rear-side silver paste ranged from 5,356 to 5,386 yuan/kg; the reference average price of solar cell front-side fingers ranged from 8,069 to 8,113 yuan/kg; and the reference average price of solar cell front-side busbars ranged from 8,019 to 8,063 yuan/kg.