Hallmarking volumes for the four Assay Offices showed a small increase of 0.7% in the first Quarter of 2010, the first time volumes have been up since the Quarter ending December 2007.
The figures show a continuing shift from gold to silver with 9ct gold volumes 15% down against last year as the gold price soared to a high of over £750 per ounce in early March.
Silver volumes exceeded gold by nearly 600,000 articles in the period, representing an unprecedented 58% of articles hallmarked in the UK.
Considering that silver items weighing less than 7.78 grams do not need to be hallmarked the true amount of silver introduced to the market is well in excess of this and the trend looks likely to continue.
(Courtesy The Anchor)
