China silver fund plunges after string of moves to quell frenzy

THE value of China’s only pure-play silver fund plunged by its maximum daily limit of 10 per cent on Thursday (Dec 25), ending a frenzied bull run that had prompted its manager to issue a rare series of warnings.

The abrupt decline in the UBS SDIC Silver Futures Fund LOF follows weeks of gains, flagged as “unsustainable” by the fund’s manager, fuelled by rising global interest in precious metals. Spot silver hit a record high of US$72.70 an ounce on Wednesday and is on track for its best annual performance since 1979.

After the fund hit its upward limit of 10 per cent for three straight days this week, UBS SDIC Fund Management tightened the rules on Wednesday evening. New subscriptions to Class C shares, typically the preferred vehicle for short-term investments, will be limited from Dec 26 to 100 yuan (S$18.26), down from 500 yuan, the fund manager said in a statement on its website.

UBS SDIC also repeated multiple earlier warnings that the fund’s high premium over the value of its underlying assets, silver contracts on the Shanghai Futures Exchange, posed a danger of steep losses should silver futures reverse.

Silver has been at the centre of intense investor interest in precious metals, with the spectacular rally in the global spot price gaining further momentum from a historic short squeeze in October. Gold, platinum and palladium have spiked too, and other Chinese funds linked to the metals have also seen big gains and warnings to investors.

The silver fund has gained nearly 220 per cent this year, compared with a roughly 128 per cent increase in Shanghai-traded silver futures. By Wednesday, the premium over the underlying asset stood at nearly 62 per cent, up from 7 per cent at the start of this month. That level should fall on Thursday as the fund’s value sank and futures extended gains.

UBS SDIC declined to comment. BLOOMBERG