New-York tribune., 1917-07-24
London Purchases
Are Feature of
Silver Market
Check on Exports to India
Causes Prices to Ease
Figures on Production

Wall Street dealers in gold and silver
bullion expressed the opinion yester-
day that within the next few weeks
considerable increase in the purchases
of bar silver for British account might
be expected. London has been in the
market for silver right along of late,
but has been outbid by the Far East,
India and China having been will
ing to pay higher price for the metal
offered. Last year England bought S4l,-
O92,O0O worth of silver.
The fact that Great Britain has placed
an artificial check on the movement of
silver from the United States TO India
has become the principal controlling
factor in the market at the present.
Last week, following the British Treas
ury's action in arranging for the gov
ernment to acquire all silver on its
arrival in India, London bought $4,000
ounces of the metal in this market.
Purchases this week are expected to
be made on even a larger scale. The
price of silver is now about 3 cents
under the high record price of 81A
cents. made a fortnight ago. Iester-
day bar silver rose Il of a cent an
ounce, to 1875 cents.
L. S. Leads Production
A compilation made by the National
City Bank shows that the silver pro-
duction of the United States is now
double that of Mexico and three times
that Of Canada, which holds third rank
among the silver producing countries
of the world.
OF the l72,Ss3,OOO ounces of silver
produced in the world in 1915 the
United States contributed 72,893,00O
ounces, or ~ per cent of the total
while twenty years ago, in 1895, this
country produced but 81 per cent OF
the world total, which in that year was
157,06l,0 900 ounces. In that twenty
year period, 1896 to 1916, the produc.
ton of the United States has increased
about 100000 ounces, while that OF
other parts of the world has increased
but about 100000 ounces.
The worlds chief producers of silver
are the United States, Mexico, Canada
Peru, Japan, Spain, Australia and
Chile, in the order named. the United
States having produced in 1915, for
which figures of all countries are avail
able. 74,961,000 ounces; Mexico, 3d.
$40, 900; Canada, 100000; Peru, g.
400 900; Japan, 5,O80,000; Spain, A.
500 1000; Australia, 3,327O0O; world
total, 179,574,00O. In 1916. for which
returns are not yet available for many
of the smaller countries, the produc-
tion of the United States was 1854
900 ounces; Mexico, 35,000,000; Can
ada, 25,500,000, and the worlds total
172,3S4,000 ounces.
Distribution of Surplus
In the distribution of our surplus
silver a large proportion goes to
Europe, the remainder chiefly to the
Orient. In the fiscal year 1916, the
latest for which complete figures are
now available, we exported S53,l72,OOO
worth of silver, Of which Sal ,032,0OO
went to England SS,240, 900 to China
and Hong Kong and Sl,3S5,000 to South
America. We also exported in that
year $6,420,00 worth of foreign silver
out of a total Of S34 4,154,00 worth sent
to us, chiefly from our near neighbors
Mexico, South America and Canada
part of it coming in the form of ore
and part as refined bullion. Most
of this is sent to us because of our
superior smelling and refining facilities
and also because the United States, as
the worlds largest producer of silver
has special facilities for marketing
that product in other parts of the
l.
which eleven months figures are now
available. the value of silver exported
was about S75, 100000, slightly exceed
ing in value that of any earlier year
The exports of 1917 are thus about
sos zoo, 900 in excess of 1918, about
one-half of this increase having gone
to Europe and the remainder TO the
Orient.
War Curtails Output
World production Of silver has ma
terially declined since the beginning Of
the war. The total outpdt in 1918, the
year Immediately preceding the war,
was 3,900,0 ounces, but dropped to
100 ,626, 900 in 1914, 79,574,000 in 1915
and 172,3s4,000 in 1916. the decline
occurring in countries other than the
United States, our own production hav-
ing been in 1918, 66,SO2,OOO ounces; in
1914, 72.455,OOO; in 1915, 1000,
and in 1916, 72,Ss4,000 ounces.
Nearly one-half of the worlds pro-
duction of silver prior to the war was
used in the arts and industries, the
Director of the Mint having estimated
the consumption for arts and indus
tries in 1912 at 97,000,000 ounces out
of a total production in that year OF
$4,000, 900 ounces. At present, accord
ing TO current reports, the countries
at war are increasing materially their
coinage of silver, partly TO take the
place of goli being withdrawn from
circulation for other purposes, and in
part to accompany the issues Of nom
metallic currency, which have been
made necessary by the demands OF the
war. Meantime, however. the demands
of the Orient are also apparently in
creasing, since our own exports OF
silver to the Orient in the fiscal year
1917 will probably aggregate $4,000
600. against approximately 100000
l.