Silver import could fall to 5-year low as note ban hits demand

Purchases from overseas plunged 60% to about 3,000 tonnes last year & would contract further in 2017

Silver import by India, one of the world’s top buyers, will probably shrink this year to the lowest since 2012 as the government cracks down on undisclosed money, farmers struggle for cash and stockpiles remain ample.

According to Chirag Sheth, an analyst at Metals Focus, an independent precious metals research firm in Mumbai, purchases from overseas plunged 60 per cent to about 3,000 tonnes last year and would contract further in 2017.

Demand for jewellery has suffered after Prime Minister Narendra Modi scrapped high denomination notes in November last year to clamp down on the black market and bring more