On June 11th, the main Shanghai Silver Futures (AG.SHF) reported a price of 15.42 yuan per gram, compared to around 32.4 yuan per gram at the end of January, marking a significant drop. Some investors suffered losses of 700,000 yuan, prompting them to exit the market.
According to data from East Money on June 11th, the lowest reported price for the main contract was 15.42 yuan per gram, slashing the price nearly in half from around 32.4 yuan per gram at the end of January. Zhang Qiang (pseudonym), a silver wholesaler in Beijing, revealed on June 10th: “Within our circle, many have suffered losses reaching seven figures, the kind of torment that is indescribable.”
As reported by China News Agency’s Economic Observer on June 11th, Zhang Qiang mentioned that the price of Shanghai Silver was around 11 yuan per gram as recently as September last year. When the price of silver per gram exceeded 20 yuan, a large number of retail investors entered the market, causing a surge in the market premium for silver. At times, he could sell hundreds of kilograms of silver (bars and sheets) in a day. Not only did average people invest, but many in the industry also hoarded a considerable amount of silver. However, since mid-May this year, the silver market has rapidly reversed, with prices plummeting, profits shrinking rapidly on paper, ultimately leading to losses. One of his clients experienced losses of around 700,000 yuan by June 10th.
“In this market cycle, those who have made the most and lost the worst are those of us who hold physical goods,” Zhang Qiang said.
Bai Ming (pseudonym), a silver wholesaler at Beijing Tianya Jewelry City, who still has a substantial amount of physical goods on hand, said that the price of silver has been falling continuously these days, losing tens of thousands of yuan every day. “Anxious every day, even my legs feel weak when walking,” he said. Moreover, over the past month, there have been very few buyers for silver, the first time he has experienced such a market trend in his ten-year career.
Ms. Li, a retail investor, bought 6,000 grams of silver bars at 23 yuan per gram and 5,000 grams at 27 yuan per gram at the beginning of this year. However, with the continuous decline in silver prices, Ms. Li’s position went from a high almost 200,000 yuan profit to a complete loss, ultimately liquidating all her silver bars at 16 yuan per gram, resulting in a loss of nearly 100,000 yuan.
Qiu Rui, Senior Vice President of the Research and Development Department at Oriental Gold Sincere, reminded investors that the current silver price still remains in a highly volatile and weakly stable range, with high risks associated with chasing after declines and blind bottom fishing.
Public data indicates that the Shanghai Silver main contract refers to the contract with the largest trading volume, the most positions held, and the best liquidity among all silver futures contracts on the Shanghai Futures Exchange (SHFE).