Silver Was Our Best Bet

Our editorial team was unanimous in expecting the precious metal markets to start this week in a seriously upbeat mood. Silver was our bet for outperforming gold, platinum and other PGMs after the expected profit taking at the end of last week turned out not to be as severe as we thought. Read more

Silver Takes A Back Seat

Instead of slavishly following the price of gold in its usual historic way, silver has taken a back seat in the last few weeks.

As has been oft repeated on these pages, the gold/silver ratio has averaged well below 60 in earlier times and, for about the last year or so has wavered around 65 and encouragingly been declining as both metals reached new highs, in silver’s case for the last twenty years and longer.

Now we see the ratio at over seventy despite gold holding its own so what is going on? Read more

Golden Opportunity To Buy Silver Dips

The fall in gold and silver due in the main to the strengthening dollar and weakening oil price is offering a “golden” opportunity for us to see some action this day and buy the silver dips.

Sorry about the very obvious pun but we thought we should tell you that we have placed a day order for SLV Jan 2010 $17 call (SLVAQ) at $0.90 a contract. Read more

Silver To Fly To the Moon?

Much has been written about silver in the last few days that if only half factual should as good as guarantee that silver price will fly to the moon before very long.

We read, for example, that about five billion ounces of gold-silver-set/”>gold is present above ground in the world with a value today of circa five trillion US dollars whereas today there is only one billion ounces of silver left worth only circa seventeen billion US dollars. Read more

Is Now The Time To Invest In Silver?

Since the beginning of August gold“>spot gold has stayed within a $36 range, less than a 4 % movement between peak and trough. That this has been due to factors such as Indian jewelry demand falling while China has increased its buying, a more or less range bound dollar and oil also staying more or less around the $70 a barrel mark is undeniable. Read more

Will Silver Regain $15.00 An Ounce Soon?

Silver hit $15.07 an ounce last week while at the same time the gold/silver ratio »”>gold/silver ratio dropped below 65. At the time this looked like good news for a bullish run for the metal up to $16.

Even most technical analysts were of the opinion that there were strong indications that the upward momentum would continue although with some reservations that there might be some resistance encountered in the $15 – $15.50 range. Read more

Downward Pressure On Silver And Gold Spot Prices

The continuing rise in equity markets and the current slowdown in inflation are putting downward pressure on silver and gold spot prices despite the general long-term optimism for both metals remaining in place.

Demand for both metals has weakened as US consumer prices have fallen undermining the metals safe haven status. Read more

What Is Happening To World Silver Demand?

World silver mine production rose by 4% in 2007 to 670.6  million troy ounces.

Total world demand for silver rose fell to 894 .5 million troy ounce from 913.7 million troy ounces in 2006 continuing the significant excess of demand over supply.

• Usage in industrial applications in 2007 amounted to 455.3 million troy ounces, an increase of 30.5 mt ounces over 2006.
  

• Demand in the silver jewelry and silverware sectors fell in 2007 by 5.3 mt ounces to 222.2 mt ounces.
  

• Photographic demand continued to fall in 2007 to a total of 128.3 mt ounces, a drop of 15.7 mt ounces from the previous year.

• Coins and medals make up the balance of demand with little change year on year at 37.8 mt ounces in 2007.

• Recycling of old and new scrap accounts for a substantial amount of silver becoming available annually. Read more

Is Gold /Silver Ratio Important?

One of the effects of a financial crisis in the past has often been a narrowing of the gold/silver price ratio.

In what is promising to be a recession equal or worse than the thirties, that ratio is now running true to form.

As the crisis deepens can we reasonably expect the ratio to continue to narrow, meaning that if gold continues its bull run, as is now the consensus opinion of analysts, then will silver climb faster percentage wise than its yellow metal cousin? Read more

Why Are Indian Investors Attracted To Silver?

The world’s biggest silver ETF, the iShares Silver Trust has holdings of the metal at an all time high of nearly seven thousand six hundred tonnes, up by more than 10 % already this year.

Drivers of silvers’ strength are said to be Indian investors attracted to silver as a less costly store of value than gold and the buying activity of fund managers.

Last year saw gold gain over 5% while silver fell out of favour with a fall of near 24% over the same period.  Now it looks like silver has regained the comfort zone above $13 an ounce with there are indications that it can move onward from here. Read more

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