SILVER

In accordance with the regulations of Silver traded on COMEX.

Introduce

Silver is the metal with the highest electrical and thermal conductivity of all metals. Silver is a precious metal with long-lasting value. In addition to being used as jewelry, money and household utensils, silver is also an important metal used in industry as conductors, mirrors, and electrolytes; disinfectant…
Silver futures contracts are traded on the Comex exchange. In Vietnam, while gold trading is not yet permitted, silver is an equally attractive alternative tradable precious metal.

Figure 1: Silver bars are engraved with brand,  number, information on weight, purity

Characteristics

Silver is a highly polished, iridescent white metal that is found in nature in its pure form or in alloys and mineral forms. Silver is the best conductor of electricity, but because of its high cost, it is not used in electrical conductors like copper.
80% of the world's silver is used for industrial purposes as a conductor in electronic components and insulation on glass
The basic sources of silver are the minerals containing copper, copper nickel, gold, thread, zinc. Silver is also produced in the process of purifying copper by electrolysis
Silver bars are produced by mining companies with a purity rate of 93-97%, then they are sent to refineries for purification, and finally to silver manufacturing companies. Trading standard silver must meet 99.9% purity or must be in one of the marks accepted by the Exchange.

Production and import and export

In 2017, the world produced 38,223 tons. Mexico is the largest silver producer in the world. This country owns the largest silver mines in the world such as Penasquito, Pitarrilla or Fresnillo mine. The Penasquito mine is a polymetallic mine containing gold, silver, lead, and zinc. The mine is owned by the Goldcorp corporation, mining started in 2010. In addition, the Fresnillo mine is the world's largest silver producer.
Pero is also home to one of the world's largest silver mines, the Antamina mine, located 200km from the city of Huaraz. Silver and lead are by-products obtained by copper-zinc production. Other mines include the Arcata mine, the Berenguela mine.
China is the third largest silver producer in the world. The country is also one of the top silver consumers in the world.

Figure 1: Group of countries producing the most silver in the world in 2017. Source: Wikipedia
In terms of imports and exports, the commercial value of silver traded in 2018 was $18.5 billion.
Asia is the largest exporter of silver in the world. In which, Hong Kong exports the most silver, worth about 2.15 billion USD. In addition, there are other countries such as Korea, Japan, and China. Mexico is the second largest exporter of silver with a value of about 1.98 billion USD, accounting for about 11%.
In terms of imports, the United States is the largest importer, worth about $3.8 billion, accounting for about 21%. Followed by India and Great Britain.

Figure 2: Top silver exporting countries in 2018

Figure 3: Countries that import the most silver in 2018

Factors affecting the price of silver

* World economic and political situation
* Political situation in silver mining, import and export countries