LBMA: Gold Ounces Transferred Daily Up Sharply In February; Silver Volume Lower

(Kitco News) - The amount of gold transferred between accounts of London Bullion Market Association members rose during February, although the silver volume declined, the organization reported Thursday.

The LBMA releases clearing statistics each month showing the net volume of gold and silver transferred between accounts of members, essentially providing a snapshot of the amount of trading activity.

After subdued activity in January, the average volume of ounces transferred daily was up by 13% during February to 21.1 million, the highest February average in seven years, the LBMA said.

Gold averaged $1,200 an ounce during the month, up 9.3% from January. The value of gold transferred daily increased by 23.5% to $25.3 billion, the most since January 2015. The number of transfers was up by 16.4% to 3,077, while the number of ounces per transfer fell by 3% to 6,851.

Meanwhile, the LBMA described demand for silver during February as subdued, with the average volume of ounces transferred down by nearly 10% to 140.9 million.

The average silver price for the month rose 7.5% to $15.07. The value of ounces transferred was down 2.9% to $2.12 billion daily. The number of transfers was flat at 674, with the clearers settling on average 209,140 ounces per transfer, down 9.4% on the previous month.

The 21.1 million ounces of gold transferred daily last month was also up year-on-year, as the February 2015 total was 17.8 million. Silver transfers of 140.9 million ounces daily were also down year-on-year from 142.6 million.

By Allen Sykora of Kitco News; asykora@kitco.com