China’s silver imports jump to record on retail and solar demand

China’s imports of silver surged to an all-time high in March as demand from retail investors and the country’s massive solar industry pushed purchases well above the seasonal average.

The world’s biggest silver consumer imported around 836 tons last month, extending a strong run of inbound shipments so far this year, according to Chinese customs data on Monday. That compares with a 10-year seasonal average for March of about 306 tons.

Demand was bolstered by retail investors piling into small silver bars, an alternative to pricey gold, and solar manufacturers front-loading production ahead of the removal of the export tax rebates on April 1. The solar industry consumes about a fifth of annual supply, and is overwhelmingly located in China. Still, the high rate of imports is unlikely to endure.

“The explosive imports is definitely not going to sustain,” and future inflows are going to return to normal, said Zijie Wu, a Shenzhen-based analyst at Jinrui Futures Co. “There’s no long-term demand-supply imbalance for silver, given that China’s the world’s biggest silver producer.”

Strong demand pushed Chinese prices well above international benchmarks, prompting traders to ship silver from all over the world to cash in on the arbitrage opportunity. Much of the metal flowed through Hong Kong.

Silver and gold prices have pulled back from their records reached in January as the energy crisis from the Iran war raised concerns about inflation, weighing on non-yielding precious metals. Retail-driven demand, which typically follows strong upward price momentum, has also stalled.

Industrial use in China faces pressure from Beijing’s vow to curb overcapacity in the solar sector, which will likely reduce output, while still-elevated prices could prompt the industry to substitute silver for cheaper base metals.

(By Yihui Xie)