Investors bet big on silver for 2018

The underperforming metal for 2017 expected to return 17-20%

Investors have started betting big on silver amid hopes of a sharp upswing in its prices in calendar year 2018 (CY18).

Despite immense potential for an increase, following the improvement in industrial commodities’ prices, silver remained an underperformer in CY17, with a mere 6.3 per cent of returns in dollar terms, and nearly 4 per cent loss in value in rupee terms. By contrast, all asset classes in commodities segments, such as base metals, crude oil, etc, yielded returns of up to 30 per cent.

Considering silver was a weak performer in 2017, leading global investment bank Goldman Sachs forecasts silver to