silver price
-
5 Factors That Will Push Silver to $250 an Ounce
All bull markets go through periods of consolidations and corrections. And precious metals are no exception.
There has been plenty about gold's swan dive, but less talk about silver. And at this point there's more potential for silver than gold...significantly more.
Because the global silver market is relatively small, silver prices tend to be more volatile; the pounding selloff we witnessed in silver this past month is a testament to that fact. But volatility works both ways, so when silver rises, its price can explode higher.
That's exactly what happened in April 2011, when silver prices rose by 170% in the space of just 7 months. That's why silver investors say investing in silver is like buying "gold on steroids."
And right now, it looks like the silver market is on the cusp of doing the same thing all over again. According to our research, the next stop could be $40 by year's end, and $60 by the end of 2014. And much higher after that.
Here are five key factors that will drive silver higher - significantly higher - in coming years.
-
Investing in Silver: Price Rally Gets Legs
In a week chock-full of potentially bullish news for those of us investing in silver, we weren't disappointed. Silver prices enjoyed a solid rise this week.
Silver prices hit six-month highs Friday and headed for a 2.5% weekly rise.
Investor interest has piqued after months on the sidelines and just in the last month, silver prices jumped more than 20%.
Believe it not, its gains have outpaced gold's rise - which hasn't been too shabby with its own 10% increase in the same time period.
Silver ETFs have also soared during this time. The iSharesSilver Trust ETF (NYSE: SLV) is up 24.2% to $33.38, outpacing the 10.7% rise in SPDR GoldTrust ETF (NYSE: GLD), which is up to about $171.00.
But why does it seem like few people have noticed the silver bull party?
ETF Daily News wrote that silver's "move has been gradual and steady, as opposed to a number of days withhigh movement. Over that same time period, gold has jumped by about 9.5% with about 100 times the attention from analysts and investors around the world."
Silver's recent volatility, which is always more so than its fellow precious metal gold, is another reason for its outperformance. The price ratio between the two precious metals since mid-August has moved about 10% in silver's favor.
Even more interesting, since the beginning of the year, silver has outperformed gold - this is a first.
But anyone considering investing in silver could perk up to the white metal now that the U.S. Federal Reserve has given commodities more reason to shine.
To continue reading, please click here... -
Invest in Silver Before Prices Climb Higher
Silver prices are up this week on hopes of a third round of quantitative easing, or QE3, reaching their highest level in four months.
U.S. Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke on Friday hinted at further central bank action and silver prices jumped more than 3%. They've continued climbing this week to over $32 an ounce.
Speaking at the annual Jackson Hole, WY economic symposium, Bernanke expressed concern about the U.S. labor market stagnation and said yes, he is open to more quantitative easing to assist the economic recovery.
Details weren't included but it didn't matter: Bernanke said the magic words.
Silver has jumped on the bull train thanks to inflation concerns and talks of quantitative easing by central banks. Buyers increased in volume after the Aug. 22 release of Federal Reserve minutes, extending a rally that had been kicked off by signs of European solidarity.
It's not just U.S. news that's keeping the run going. German officials, including Chancellor Angela Merkel, are starting to sing a different tune for the European Central Bank's (ECB) stimulus activities. This may help reduce borrowing costs for debt-ridden Eurozone nations.
All these signs are reasons to load up on metals before prices take off higher.
"From now on, this is a dip-buying market," David Govett, head of precious metals at the brokerage Marex Spectron, told The Financial Times. "Yes, there will be setbacks along the way, but fundamentally the market is now in bull mode."
To continue reading, please click here... -
Gold Prices Await Big News from Bernanke
Gold prices are desperately waiting for bullish news from the Federal Reserve this week after slipping from last week's gains.
Last week, gold woke up from its sleepy August and increased 3.5%. It saw its greatest one-week jump since January and gold exchange-traded funds (ETFs) followed in its footsteps by reaching four-month highs and breaking 200-day moving averages.
These jumps came in response to the Federal Open Market Committee (FOMC) meeting minutes that suggested the need for more stimulus and some sort of quantitative easing. The report release extended the recent precious metals rally initiated by European Central Bank President Mario Draghi, who pledged his commitment to keep the Eurozone in place.
Gold prices on Monday fell from last week's high of $1,674.28 to $1,671.80, and have continued that decline this week. The most actively traded contract for December delivery was down Thursday morning by $1.10, or 0.1%, to $1,661.90 per ounce.
So what happened to dampen last week's enthusiasm for gold?Europe, China Pound Gold Prices
News from abroad knocked down some of the gold price optimism.
Germany's Ifo Institute announced Monday that its business sentiment declined for a fourth consecutive month in August to 102.3; this came in lower than the 102.6 estimates and July's revised 103.2 figure.
To continue reading, please click here...
-
CFTC’s Chilton Assures Silver Price Manipulation Probe Not Over
A report Monday that the Commodities Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) would drop its four-year-old probe on silver price manipulation may have been premature.
According to The Financial Times, the CFTC was supposedly unable to find enough evidence to support the claims after reviewing 100,000 pages of documents and interviews. But Bloomberg News reported today (Wednesday) that CFTC Commissioner Bart Chilton said silver price manipulation did occur, and he's intent to find it.
"I continue to believe, consistent with my previous statements and information from the public, that there have been devious efforts related to moving the price of silver," Chilton wrote to Bloomberg. "There have also been silver and gold market anomalies outside of the silver investigate window that have raised, and continue to raise, market concerns."
To continue reading, please click here... -
Buy, Sell or Hold: Hecla Mining Co.'s (NYSE:HL) Silver Moment
Shares of Hecla Mining Co. (NYSE:HL) have been beaten up during what should be extremely bullish conditions for the largest silver miner in the United States.
I think that presents some value for investors willing to take a contrarian view.
As I write this, Hecla Mining is down 50% in the past 52 weeks. I honestly find this situation a headscratcher − especially in light of where silver prices may be headed.
What's more, the company is sitting on a horde of cash and carries no net debt. This means the company is stable and able to function without access to capital markets.
As an investor, I consider this situation nearly bulletproof.
Notice that I said "nearly" - not completely.
There is one thing that can severely damage a company with a solid balance sheet. It is called lawsuits.
Unfortunately for Hecla, they had a bad 2011 in that regard.
The company had two fatal accidents at a producing mine with an additional third event that injured seven more workers.
These events caused the Mine Safety and Health Administration ( MSHA) to close the shaft in question and require the removal of built-up material before Hecla can resume operations.
Known as the Lucky Friday mine, it may be shut down throughout 2012.
In the aftermath, a specific group of investors became so angry with management's disclosures relating to these fatal accidents that they filed suit.
This bad luck streak in the mines and in the courtrooms has hammered the stock price to a point I now find cheap, even considering the potentially damaging lawsuits.
In short, when I look at Hecla Mining today, I see value investing is at its best.
I love to find an out-of-favor stock where the fundamentals are still strong and the company is already profitable.
To continue reading, please click here...
