China and India demand for gold and silver soaring

China and India are the largest silver marketplaces globally.Demand for gold from India , the world's largest buyer of the precious metal is projected to exceed 1,200 metric tons by 2020, according to the World Gold Council .In 2009, China bought more gold than India, making it the world's top consumer. China pipped South Africa in 2007 as the world's largest gold producer .Chinese demand for silver has quadrupled in 2010 .In 2010, China imported an unprecedented 14 percent of global silver as the demand for silver has been growing in the country. Till last year, China has been historically been a net exporter of silver. China is the largest gold producer but requires so much of the precious metal (in addition to what it already mines) that it imported more than 209 tonnes during the first 10 months of 2010.Since 2003, Beijing has been buying most of the gold excavated and refined locally.Today, China has more than 1,000 tonnes in its official vaults, up 75% in six years. Its gold reserves are now the fifth-largest among national central banks after the US, Germany, France and Italy.Most of the 1.3 billion people in China only began to acquire and own gold in 2003 as gold ownership was banned from 1945 to 2003. The gold market was liberalized in 2003 .The World Gold Council stated that Indian households are presently in possession of more than 18,000 tons of gold, which represents the world's largest stockpile.
Eric Sprott, of Sprott Asset Management, reported having difficulty locating enough silver bullion for his new silver fund said : "Frankly, we are concerned about the illiquidity in the physical silver market. We believe the delays involved in the delivery of physical silver to the Trust highlight the disconnect that exists between the paper and physical markets for silver."
Today the Industrial Silver Demand at 18-year High
The Chinese government is actively encouraging their people to buy physical gold and silver instead of putting their money into real estate.paper silver is not silver, its fiat silver. Properly secured physical silver is real money. Whether its the 90% coins, sterling silverware, or bullion, its all good. silver is becoming rarer than gold, people just don't know it. With its industrial use as a consumed precious metal, it has the potential to surpass gold in value
Gold is not consumed in industry at the same rate silver is because:
1) Silver is better at conducting electricity

2) Silver has a better thermal transfer rate than gold

3) Silver is a better reflector of light than gold.

4) Silver is a better catalyst than gold

Has nothing to do with high price, Gold is a lousy industrial metal. If gold cost less than silver, Silver would still be used in much greater numbers than gold.
. Silver can usually replace gold, gold can not substitute for silver, or it can but causes the product to be inferior.