Dealing with the position of silver on December 1 Messrs. Samual Montagu & Ca. state:—The market has been again off colour. China has been working both ways—selling from that quar-iter preponderating, A fair amount of speculative business has been done, mostly bear covering. America has not been offering—silver, but the Continent has been a free seller and seems likely to be. The Indian Bazaars have been quite inactive. This state of affairs ma; not continue indefinitely, indeed is confidently expected that a large amount of silver will be required for the next settlement steamer duc to leave London just before Christmas.
Should China reverse its attitude and pose as a buyer, when Indian Bazaar purchases are made, the market may become more robust for a while, though it should be borne in mind that without competition permanent improvement of prices is not likely to be maintained.
The plenitude of cash supplies was such that on the 26th instant the' quotation for both spot and forward was fixed at the same figure, viz: 37d.;-the last occasion on which prices were even was July 2 last, when 35}d. was quoted. On the. 28th instant cash silver was quoted at a discount of 4d., a7}. being fixed for cash and 374d. for forward delivery. Cash silver was last at a discount on January 7 this year, when 41}d. was quoted against 4igd. for forward. Prices were again even yesterday, whilst to-day, a demand for covering purposes had the effect of restoring a premium of id. for spot delivery.
The Government of India have sanctioned for exports to all des: tinations 100,000 tons of the balance of the 1921 rice crop.
Text read from the printed page and cleaned; old type leaves the occasional error.