Silver — forecasts 2016. Silver posts longest slump in 8 months. Citigroup flags risks. Money managers increased their net-long positionson silver to record levels. The forecast for silver by Citigroup: the silver prices will decline in the second half of 2016. Silver prices decline for 4 consecutive trading session, which was the longest slump in prices in 8 months.Citigroup in the forecast on silver claims that demand for the metal from investors in the second half of 2016 may be reduced. “While funds have boosted their net-long positions on silver futures and options to a record as prices surged this year, “performance anxiety and profit-taking ahead of the summer holiday season may deter money managers from adding fresh longs,” Citigroup said in its forecast for silver in 2016. Limited gains in gold may also weigh on silver, the bank said.As of Monday, silver has already climbed 45 percent this year, outpacing gold's advance (26 percent), showing the best return of 22 raw materials on the Bloomberg Commodity Index.mounting concerns about slowing global economic growth have boosted demand for precious metals, which investors began to consider as assets in which you can save the cost of their investment. “The year-to-date silver price rally already appears to be stalling," Citigroup analysts including Heath Jansen and David Wilson, wrote in the report.“We caution against any further silver price optimism in the second half of 2016.”As of 23:15 (MSK) July 20, quotations of silver futures contracts (Comex) decreased by 3.11% to a mark of 19.385 USD an ounce. On Tuesday, one ounce of gold can be bought for 66.85 ounces of silver, while in February it was possible to buy 83.84 ounces of silver (7-year high of this relative indicator was achieved in February).
Quotations of gold futures contracts for delivery in August fell 1.44% to the level of 1,313.10 dollars an ounce (Comex).