Silver prices edged lower, spot-futures price spread widened; suppliers' willingness to sell declined, market transactions were subdued [SMM Daily Review]

Today, precious metal prices underwent a corrective consolidation, with the spot-futures price spread for the SHFE silver 2510 contract expanding to 30-35 yuan/kg. According to SMM, in Shanghai, the premium of standard silver ingot warrants against TD slightly increased to 5 yuan/kg. Large producers' silver ingots were quoted at a premium of 5-7 yuan/kg against TD or at a discount of 23 yuan/kg against the SHFE silver 2510 contract, with just-in-time procurement deals taking place. Some suppliers mentioned being "trapped" and suspended their quotations, adopting a cautious wait-and-see approach. Suppliers quoting against the SHFE silver 2510 contract maintained a discount of 25-26 yuan/kg, with transactions remaining very sluggish. The spot market supply and demand did not show any significant contradictions, as downstream end-users made just-in-time procurement according to the market. Approaching month-end, coupled with the widening spot-futures price spread, the number of available goods in the trading market decreased, leading to slightly sluggish transactions.