Upside for silver jewelry demand in 2021!
The digital boom in India, to benefit online jewelry sales! Looking ahead to 2021, we expect to see a healthy double-digit gain although that is set against 2020’s low level. The forecast upside for silver jewelry demand next year will likely be constrained by our expectation of yet higher silver prices. Furthermore, the anticipated economic recovery may be pushed further out as the pandemic could take longer to be meaningfully controlled in India. This in turn could, to some extent, weigh on consumer sentiment next year. The Longer Term Outlook: As mentioned earlier, silver jewelry sales are dominated by price-sensitive rural India and record high rupee prices are likely to weigh on demand in 2021. To offset the impact of this, jewelry fabricators and especially those in the largest segment that focuses on traditional jewelry (such as leg chains and toe rings) will likely choose to reduce purity or promote lighter pieces, thereby reducing silver demand in weight terms. To an e