Gold-Silver Ratio, May 14 -- The gold-silver ratio has witnessed sharp swings so far this year amid heightened volatility in precious metal prices, with the ratio slipping below the key 55 mark on Thursday, 14 May, which reflects silver's recent outperformance against gold.

The decline in the ratio comes after the government raised effective import duties on both metals to 15% from 6%, targeting a widening import bill and geopolitical pressure stemming from the West Asia crisis.

"World Gold Council data indicates that each 1% duty increase reduces consumer gold demand by roughly 6.4 tonnes - meaning the cumulative 9-percentage-point increase could suppress annual demand by approximately 57 tonnes. The steeper duty structure also risks r...