Silver has had a "manic-depressive" year, says Tatyana Shumsky in Barron's. Having hit record levels of near $50 an ounce last June, it fell almost 30% in five days. This year it has traded in a range around the $30 mark.
Silver has a "nasty" reputation among investors, given its extreme volatility, says Sterling Smith of Country Hedging. The market is very small and thus prone to big jumps when sentiment turns. To complicate matters further, silver is both an industrial metal and a traditional form of money and store of value, like gold.
While the lacklustre global backdrop implies subdued demand for industrial metals, silver also tends to ape and magnify gold's moves.
Subscribe to MoneyWeek
Subscribe to MoneyWeek today and get your first six magazine issues absolutely FREE
Sign up to Money Morning
Don't miss the latest investment and personal finances news, market analysis, plus money-saving tips with our free twice-daily newsletter
Don't miss the latest investment and personal finances news, market analysis, plus money-saving tips with our free twice-daily newsletter
Gold's prospects remain bright. With "Europe in a seemingly never-ending crisis, China in a slowdown and the US unable to grow consistently", as Danny Esposito of Penny Stock Detectives puts it, yet more money printing seems likely, which bodes well for the monetary metals.
So those with an appetite for risk may want to tuck away some silver, as history suggests it should outrun gold during the yellow metal's next upswing. Investors can track the silver price with the London-listed Physical Silver ETF (PHSP).
-
Saba Capital and Boaz Weinstein respond to investment trustsAs investment trust managers and industry experts accuse Saba of self-motivated opportunism, the hedge fund responds to specific "misleading claims" and sets out its stall
-
How to find top-quality companies with growing dividendsIan Mortimer, portfolio manager of Guinness Global Equity Income Fund, shares where he would put his money for sustainable and growing dividends
