Silver still selling

Press, 29 March 1980, Page 6

Silver still selling

The price of silver may have rocketed, but people are still buying. Alexander Plating, Ltd, the only big Silver-plating firm dealing in household items in Christchurch, has reported a steady increase in custom that began before silver reached its highest price.

One effect of higher prices may have been to encourage people to replate old items rather than buy new ones. But the manager (Mr A. C. Simmons) said that his trade in new silverware was just as busy as the replating. ‘fit’s all busy,, the trade’s improved,” he said. Silver-plating firms bought their silver in sheets, but the prices were roughly comparable with the granule

silver that precious metal | distributors dealt in. In August, 1978, Alexander Plating bought its silver for $lB3 a kilogram. By January, 1980, the price had risen to $lBOO. Silver-platers and electroplaters bought their silver in bulk and kept in stock, Mr Simmons said. So the effect of the recent drops in the price Of Silver could not be known until stocks were replenished in the ensuing months. Mr Simmons said it was hard to disduss price fluctuations in his work, for every item was unique. When his firm received its next supply of silver sheeting, prices would be decided in a very “personal” way with the bigger customers.' A distributor, Engelhard

Industries, reported that fine silver granule, on yesterday’s • market, -sold for $623.90 a kilogram. Sterling Silver granule fetched $592.80. Big electro-plating companies, some of whom also did commercial silver-plat-ing, said that the fluctuations had not affected them greatly. Their traditional customers had remained loyal.

Armstrong and Farr, Ltd, reported its prices had risen with the price of silver. But it was still using old silver stocks. “The next lot we buy, we will have t<s think about adjusting our prices again,”! said the manager (Mr P. W. Armstrong).