The White Pine news. [volume] (Ely, Nev.) 1906-1910, 1909-09-21
TENDENCY
SILVER To RAISE
FAR EAST CONDITIONS ASSUME
MORE FAVORABLE FORM FOR
WHITE METAL-BANKERS OF
CHINA BEST UNDERSTAND 1T.

There appears in the last issue of
the Engineering and Mining Journal
an interesting article on the white
metal and the factors that control
its delivery, In part the article fol-
lows.
For quite a number of years
past as is generally known, the con-
trolling factor in the price OF silver
has peer the demand from the far
east, where silver not only constitutes
the currency, but the main medium
for boarding by the people. For a
series of years the east has absorbed
about ,two-thrids of the yearly silver
production of the world, a sufficient
quantity to make it's taking the dom
mating influence in price. India and
China are the great disorders of sill
yer. and of these two countrys India
itself produces zone of the metal.
China does produce some, although
the quantity is very difficult to
ascertain. The Malay peninsula,
which formerly took a very consid-
cradle quantity in exchange for its
tin, has practically passed out OF the
line of silver buyers in the last three
years, owing to the changes IN its
currency under British rule. Japan,
also, ceased to. be a taker of silver
five or six years ago when 1t adopted
the gold standard. India and CHINA,
therefore, are the ma1nstays or the
silver market.
Owing to short crops for two or
three years Indian buying has been
comparatively small in quantity.
China took less from the general
market for three or four years owing
partly to the disturbances in trade
due to domestic difficulties, and later
to the heavy special disbursements
made during the Japanese war, whirh
were made mainly in silver and which
were provided from other sources.
With the revival of trade, however,
Chinese buying has considerably in
creased.
For the first half of the present
wear, including the shipments from
London-which remains the chief
market where the east does its buy
ing-and those from San Francisco
direct to China, which are compare
lively small, and reducing the values
to their approximate equivalent IN
metal, the exports of silver to the east
were as follows, in ounces:
India, 1908, 40,400, 900; 1909, 81
743,OO0; decrease $4,000. China,
1908, 9,613,0OO; 1909, 17,125,000;
increase. 7.512,000, Total, 1908,
5O,O13 900: 1909, 4~S,S6S,000;
decrease, 1,145,000.
ut will be seer that the total
decrease in the quantity OF silver
sold was comparatively small, only
% per cent. Its direction, however,
showed important changes. The de-
crease in shipments to India was p
per cent, while this year China took 3
per cent more than the comparatively
small quantity which was purchased
in the first half of 1908. These rel
alive quantities furnish some explain
alton of the former price on compar-
ative small change In demand. In
dian purchases are usually made at
the going rate and are influenced
more by the ability of the buyer than
by the price. so long as the latter
does not rise to an extraordinary
level. Chinese bankers, on the other
hand, are very shrewd buyers n
well understand how to manipulate
the market in their W interests, as
has been notably shown during the
present year.
mo greater change appears prob
able in the futur,e although the ten
dency in price is to advance rather
than recede. In addition to the act
ual shipments it is generally be
lieved that the Chinese banks con-
troll considerable reserve stocks IN
London, whoch might be utilized to
make matters very interesting for
SPECTATORS in the metal. This fact,
or belief, has done very much to re-
strain London operators during
recent weeks"