Silver has gone from five something when conservatives took over to nearly twenty dollars right now. I’ve read that the price of silver and Gold is over 70% correlated to the U.S. dollar. In other words when the dollar goes up metals go down and vice versa. Metals perform well during times of great crisis. When you add inflation to the past performance of $48 per ounce and silver could rise well above that figure. A very important point is that 45 percent of all silver mined is used up in industrial uses. It’s used in computers, cells phones, and electrical relays. The majority of that used silver is not recoverable. As countries like China, India, and Vietnam, and regions like Eastern Europe, become more modernized, their demand for silver for industrial uses will increase.
Silver is also used in medicine. One little-known use is as a bactericide, a role silver has filled throughout history. Today, medical devices such as catheters and stethoscopes use silver, and every hospital in the western world uses silver sulfadiazine to prevent infections.
• Silver is scarcer than gold.
Gold is hoarded. It’s estimated that 95 percent of all gold ever mined is still around. The exact opposite is true of silver: An estimated 95 percent of all silver ever mined has been consumed.
45 percent of all silver mined is used up in industrial uses. Jewelry accounts for 28 percent, and 20 percent has been consumed in photography. Only 5 percent is in coins.
• Silver supplies are down.
In 1900, it was estimated that the world had 12 billion ounces of silver. By 1990 it had dropped to 2.2 billion ounces. By 2007, the supply was down to 300 million ounces.
Some of the more pessimistic forecasts estimate that the world will be out of silver in about 10 years. This could be catastrophic to the world economy. In 10 years, silver might have as much of an impact on the world economy as $200-a-barrel oil.
A Safe Haven?
As a precious metal, silver is also money. And as the U.S. dollar drops, gold and silver are seen as a hedge against a loss of value. As more and more people wake up to the reality that their cash is trash, real estate is a gamble, and the stock market is too volatile, silver may be a great safe haven.
If silver does dramatically increase our dollar will become worthless.
Well you do your homework, it all now depends on your guts to pull the trigger or not
If silver was getting as scarce as your numbers say, then I would definitely invest in silver.
However, the problem is that your numbers are so far off. There is no silver shortage – sooner or later that bubble will pop.
At the moment the market is sold out . You may have to wait for delivery . This is for silver in hand . For silver paper ?
The problem with investing with Silver at this point is all the easy money is made.
Everyone who dumped in six months ago will pull their money at any sign of a drop.
This is true of any commodity. When everyone is doing it, its time to look for something else.
Think of Corn. It was the first big mover in grains. Well, if you missed the run-up in Corn, you had a chance in Wheat. Why? Well, if Corn is moving up in price, that means more farmers will flock to it instead of Wheat. Fewer growers means less supply. Price moves up.
Now Corn/Soybeans is a more likely relationship, but you get the idea.
If you missed Corn and then Wheat, then you might still have time for Deere (DE). Why? What do you think all those farmers are going to do with record corn prices? Buy new equipment. Who makes the equipment? Deere.
It’s one big cause/effect. This is why an open mind that can connect all sorts of dots is best. Don’t chase where the money was. Chase where the money is going to go.
I did a killing on Gamestop and ATVI. I bought when they were out of favor, but knew that money had to roll there sometime.
I am looking at all the televisions that will be bought in 2008. I have not decided where that money will go yet. Retailer, suppliers (glass, lcds, etc), related products (cable, satellite).
Sorry for the long lecture, but I think the metals are over and the easy money is gone. They could go higher, but you want the next big thing.
I agree with all of you,Double Eagle is flying quite high as well as Kruger Rand,Sovereign Napoleon and Wernli Helvezia.Palladium (Platinum) is even higher
So Silver would be not bad to buy as investments,just remember to not to expose them in open air cuz they can get darker and you may have to clean them once in a while.
Now 1 gm of Silver is 0.57 CHF = U$d 0.57 (today’s rate)
Few years back Silver was highly required for an industrial purpose.
bye.
I think silver is underrated – the markets now are being played
but if you are in the US then you can still buy (the best size)
10 oz. bars – the best are available at around bullion plus 3 per cent from (see URL) but there is a minimum order for 300 oz which is around 5000 US to get this rate.
Do not buy small bars as the buyer premium is high. Engelhard bars (made in the 80s) and Johnson Matthey are the best and highly prized ones. If you want more dets email me off YA. If you are in the UK buy gold as it is free of VAT. In the US they have just changed the law on ownership and tax on gold eagles. Be very very careful where you buy from.
For silver pricing ( as well as other precious metals) go to http://www.scrapmetalpricesandauctions.com