Silver Stockpile Slump in China Poses New Risk to a Hot Market

The global silver market faces a fresh risk after Chinese stockpiles sank to the lowest in a decade, with a huge volume recently shipped to London to ease a squeeze that drove prices to a record.

Inventories in warehouses linked to the Shanghai Futures Exchange recently hit the lowest level since 2015, while Shanghai Gold Exchange volumes are back to the smallest in more than nine years, according to bourse and brokerage data. The drawdowns came after Chinese exports of the precious metal surged to more than 660 tons in October, the highest volume on record.