STUDY SHOWS ONLY LIMITED OPTIMISM FOR SILVER Silver looks "unlikely to break out of gold and platinum's shadow" in the near future, although this year is likely to see demand increasing at a faster rate than supply, a study by Credit Suisse said. The study predicted demand rising by 300 tonnes to 13,200 tonnes this year, against a 50 tonne increase in supply to 14,050 tonnes. This should cut the global oversupply to 850 tonnes from last year's provisional 1,100 tonnes. The study noted that the effects of last year's lower prices were having a dampening effect on total supply, which was now back down to around levels of a decade ago. However, the study said that primary production, likely to reach 10,000 tonnes this year against a provisional 9,950 in 1986, is relatively insensitive to price falls. Around a third of silver production comes from heavily indebted Mexico and Peru. Price-sensitivity is also reduced by the fact that the majority of silver is a by-product of other mining activity.