High silver prices threaten Lucknow’s famed bridal nagra craft - Al Jazeera

AI desk brief

Silver’s rally is squeezing Indian physical demand, with Lucknow’s silver nagra makers and bridal buyers facing sharply higher costs as war-driven price spikes and import curbs push domestic prices to more than 20% above global levels. The article says India depends on imports for over 80% of silver demand and accounts for more than 20% of refined global trade; May’s effective tax hike helped drive silver imports down 87% to $75.6 million, the lowest in over three years.

Global silver prices are cited at about $2,100/kg, versus roughly $2,600/kg in India after tariffs and licensing restrictions, while domestic prices briefly spiked as high as $4,670/kg amid the Iran conflict before easing after the ceasefire. The near-term takeaway is a tighter local market and weaker artisanal/wedding demand in India, even as geopolitical risk and safe-haven flows remain supportive for global precious-metals prices.