FX.co ★ London's silver holdings decline

According to the data provided by the London Bullion Market Association (LBMA), holdings of physical silver held in London vaults decreased sharply in October to 26,502 tonnes which is lower by 2.2% compared to the previous month. The value of holdings stood at $16.3 billion which is about 883,417 silver bars.

"This is the lowest amount of silver held in the vaults since reporting started in July 2016," the LBMA said in its report.

The drop in silver holdings is explained by strong demand for the physical metal. "The decline reflected the ongoing strength of coin and bar demand, especially in the key US and German markets," Philip Newman, the Managing Director at Metal Focus, said.

High demand is coming from India which is partly responsible for low silver inventories. "Indian October imports appear to have still been sizeable, albeit considerably lower than September's near record high of 1,700t. The lower total for October may reflect the impact on the Indian market of higher rupee prices earlier last month," Newman said. "Our Mumbai team noted that silver demand eased somewhat during Diwali, in contrast to gold, which enjoyed double-digit gains during the festival."

At the same time, the amount of gold also dropped to 9,308 tonnes, down from September values. Gold held in the vaults was valued at $490.5 billion which is approximately 744,662 gold bars.

LBMA's statistics include the holdings of the London commercial vaults and the Bank of England's gold holdings. The UK's central bank does not hold any silver.

MKS PAMP's head of metals strategy Nicky Shiels said that silver is well positioned for some upside in prices.

On Tuesday, the price of silver reached its highest value in more than four months. Thus, Comex silver futures for December were last seen trading at $21.65, having gained 3.49% in a day. In the spot market, silver is trading at $21.642.

Both gold and silver prices were boosted by rapid profit taking on short positions in the futures market as well as by rising demand for safe-haven assets amid a sell-off in the crypto market.