Investors may increase their net silver purchases by as much as 1 billion additional ounces in various investment instruments over the next decade, says a report issued by The Silver Institute. This would be on top of more than 860 million purchased as an investment since 2006, the report says. The report was produced by the consultancy CPM Group. The dollar value of the silver market, which includes trading volumes on the major futures and options exchanges and clearing volumes of the London over –the-counter market, combined with newly refined silver supply, stood at $5.1 billion in 2013, the report says. At the close of 2013, at least 2.3 billion ounces of silver were held in bars and coins around the world, according to the report. “Even in these days of precious metal price volatility, we are seeing areas of growth within the silver investment arena,” says Michael DiRienzo, executive director of the Silver Institute. “This year’s progression in silver exchange-traded funds, for example, suggests that investors are very keen to acquire and hold the white metal.”
