LBMA: Daily Transfers Of Gold, Silver Ounces Decline During May
(Kitco News)- The amount of gold and silver transferred between accounts of London Bullion Market Association members fell during May, the organization reported Monday.
The LBMA releases clearing statistics each month showing the net volume of gold and silver transferred between accounts of members, essentially providing a snapshot of the amount of trading activity.
The average number of gold ounces transferred daily in May decreased month-on-month by 12.6% to 17.9 million ounces, the LBMA said.
The value of those transfers fell by 14.7% daily to $23.4 billion. The daily number of transfers was 2,733, which was 8.5% lower than April, with the clearers settling on average 6,558 ounces per transfer, 4.5% lower month-on-month.
Meanwhile, the volume of silver ounces transferred daily in May decreased by 6.8% from the prior month to 231.9 million ounces.
The value transferred fell 7.6% month-on-month to $3.82 billion. The average number of transfers in May was 931, which was 11.4% lower than the previous month. Clearers settled on average 249,189 ounces per transfer, 5.2% higher than in May.
The average gold/silver price ratio in May was 80.4, compared to 79.1 for April. This measures how many ounces of silver it takes to buy an ounce of gold, with a rising number meaning outperformance by gold, and vice-versa.
The 17.9 million ounces of gold transferred daily in May was down year-on-year, as the May 2017 total was 20.8 million. Silver transfers of 231.9 million ounces daily also fell year-on-year from 265.7 million.
The LBMA also reported that the total amount of physical gold and silver held in the London vaults as of the end of March was 7,780 tonnes and 33,786 tonnes, respectively. As of the end of March, this was valued at $331.2 billion and $17.7 billion. The data includes the physical holdings of eight vaults, including three LBMA clearing members, four security carriers and the Bank of England. The BOE holds gold but not silver.
By Allen SykoraFor Kitco News
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