Silver Rates Could Soon Fall Faster Than Gold in Pakistan After Latest Crisis in India

Silver rates in Pakistan could become an indirect beneficiary of India’s market crisis as New Delhi has decided to restrict imports of the precious metal to avert the current economic crisis faced by the country.

Islamabad has placed an official ban on all imports from India for a while now, so the new restrictions on silver may help ease market pressure in Pakistan, a local trader said in a text to ProPakistani.

India has placed imports of silver bars and other refined silver products under a restricted category, tightening controls on one of the country’s most widely used precious metals, according to an official government order.

The move applies to 99.9 percent purity silver bars and semi-manufactured silver, including products under HS codes 71069221 and 71069229.

Imports will no longer be freely allowed and will instead require prior government approval, shifting the system from open import access to a licensing-based regime. People sending silver to Pakistan could benefit.

India meets the majority of its silver demand through overseas supply, so restricted imports will make silver rare in India but better priced in recovering economies like Pakistan, the trader added.

Overall, traders and industry participants anticipate that this could lead to balanced premiums compared to international prices. This means that silver will cost more in India but comparatively less in other South Asian countries where the law remains flexible on trade of the precious metal.

India so far remains one of the world’s largest consumers of silver.