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May
08
2021

Silver Investment Demand Explosion and Other Silver News
Peter Schiff

Silver investment demand surged in 2020 in the midst of the coronavirus pandemic, according to the feature story in the most recent edition of the Silver Institute’s Silver News.

Holdings in silver-backed ETFs tripled last year, surpassing 1 billion ounces for the first time. Meanwhile, investment in physical silver also saw a healthy increase. Silver coin and silver bar purchases grew 8% to 200.5 million ounces in 2020.

Strong investment demand wasn’t enough to offset tanking industrial demand. Overall silver demand fell by 10% during the year. Nevertheless, the average annual silver price was up 27% from 2019, and we saw signs of recovery in the industrial sector late in the year.

The effects on silver demand from the pandemic weren’t universal. While India was down 29%, and Europe and China each were 8% lower, modest overall gains in demand were seen in North America and Taiwan at plus 2% each, followed by a 1% increase in Japan. Demand for silver in the solar energy sector grew 2% to 101 million ounces last year.

Silver supply dipped in 2020, led by global mine production registering its fourth consecutive annual decline, its most significant drop of the last decade.

According to the Silver Institute report, the outlook for 2021 indicates that all segments of silver demand are expected to rise, offsetting the projected increase in mine production and silver scrap supply.

The latest edition of Silver News also highlights some other fascinating technological advances utilizing the white metal along with some developments in the silver market. Here are some highlights.

• Silver has facilitated a breakthrough in flexible body sensors. “Hydrogel” is a soft, flexible, lightweight and stretchable material that fits the contours of the body. It can be made electrically conductive when infused with silver particles. This could lead to more accurate sensors for heart monitoring and other medical applications.
  
  
• How about a pen that never runs out of ink? Inventors of the ForeverPen make their writing instrument tip from a silver composite that, instead of leaving behind ink, or, in the case of a pencil, graphite, the ForeverPen oxidizes the writing surface and leaves a mark. The developers, who are seeking backers on Kickstarter, say that the pen never runs out of its ability to write; in essence, it will write forever.
  
  
• Silver may be able to help cut COVID-19 testing time while maintaining high accuracy.
  
  
• A multinational group of scientists has developed a flexible film based on silver nanoparticles that can be used to detect pesticides on agricultural products in minutes. It can even be used to identify pesticides on fruits and vegetables using a handheld device at the point of sale, such as in supermarkets.

Peter is an economic forecaster and investment advisor influenced by the free-market Austrian School of economics. He is one of the few forecasters who accurately and publicly predicted the 2007 housing market collapse and subsequent 2008 financial crisis. His latest best-selling book, The Real Crash: America’s Coming Bankruptcy – How to Save Yourself and Your Country, warns that the 2008 crisis was just the prelude to a larger sovereign debt crisis in the United States that may lead to a collapse of the US dollar. Peter recommends long-term investment in foreign markets with sound fiscal policies, as well as global commodities including buying gold, silver and other physical precious metals.

Peter Schiff’s investment career began with Shearson Lehman Brothers in the early 1990s. In 1996, he and a partner started Euro Pacific Capital in Los Angeles, later moving the headquarters to Connecticut. The firm has since expanded, with offices in Scottsdale, Arizona, Boca Raton, Florida, Newport Beach, California, Los Angeles and New York City. Euro Pacific Capital’s investment strategy focuses on long-term wealth savings in the face of a declining US dollar with an emphasis on emerging market and commodity-focused investments.

Peter is best known for accurately forecasting the 2008 financial crisis. During a Fox News debate in December 2006, Schiff said, “What’s going to happen in 2007 is that real estate prices are going to come crashing back down to Earth.” Business news journals reported that Schiff accurately predicted the crisis, while “nearly all [macroeconomists] failed to foresee the recession despite plenty of warning signs.”

Peter has also worked in the political arena, first serving as an economic advisor for Ron Paul’s 2008 presidential campaign and later running for United States Senate in Connecticut in 2010 as a Republican. Politically, he leans Libertarian, with an emphasis on fiscal conservatism.

Peter started SchiffGold in 2010 after recommending for decades that investors allocate 10-20% of their portfolios to physical precious metals. Peter became concerned that some of his Euro Pacific Capital clients were being misled into purchasing overpriced “numismatic” gold and silver products from gold dealers with unsavory business practices. Peter started SchiffGold to provide a trustworthy alternative that would sell only the most liquid physical bullion products at the lowest possible prices. SchiffGold is backed by Peter Schiff’s Guarantee that it will only sell the most liquid physical bullion products at the lowest possible prices.

Peter’s expertise on money, economic theory, and international investing makes him a highly sought after as a speaker and analyst. He has been quoted and interviewed hundreds of times by media outlets around the world, including The Wall Street Journal, Barron’s, Die Zeit, Tokyo Shinbun, South China Morning Post, Investor’s Business Daily, The Financial Times, The New York Times, The Los Angeles Times, and The Washington Post. He regularly appears on CNBC, CNN, CBC, Al Jazeera, Fox News, and Fox Business Network.

 

www.europac.com