U.S. may halt silver sales

Press, 9 December 1981, Page 29

U.S. may halt silver sales

PA Washington The U.S. Senate has voted to stop sales of silver from the country's military stockpile which have been denounced by silver-producing nations such as Peru and Mexico. The vote caused active buying in New York and silver prices have risen to U.S. $8.87 an ounce for metal delivered in March. The Peruvian Embassy said in a statement that silver prices had plummeted to unprofitable levels because of the U.S. auctions, damaging the economies of developing countries producing the metal. The Senate approved an amendment to the defenceappropriations bill opposing the sales. It was moved by Senator James McClure of Idaho, the biggest silver-pro-ducing U.S. state. The amendment required the Government to send to Congress by July a study on the need for the sales and alternative ways of selling the metal, such as in coins or

as a silver-backed debenture. Mr McClure was optimistic the House of Representatives would agree to a similar amendment when the bill is considered by a joint committee from the Senate and the House. After the vote, Mr McClure, other members of the Idaho congressional delegation, and representatives of Peru and Mexico held a news conference to denounce the silver sales, which began in October. In a letter to President Reagan, the Idaho congressional delegation asked that the auctions be halted immediately because of depressed prices. “The world silver market is . oversupplied, and this situation has been accentuated by continued sales of silver from our nation’s stategic stockpile,” they said. The Government has sold three million ounces of silver and has used the money to cut the budget deficit and buy other vital commodities for the stockpile.