Last week, silver extended its gains for the third consecutive week taking its cue from gold.
The past year’s volatility had many investors reduce demand for sliver, but recent developments have lifted the dual purpose metal to above $30 / oz. With the exception of Monday, spot prices closed above $30 every single day.
For the week, the white metal performed better than gold, and posted a gain in excess of 7.0%, whereas the yellow metal headed to a 1.90% gain. After opening at $30.623, spot prices surged to a six – week high of $32.191 on Friday.
Sliver continued to provide profit – taking opportunities (for long positions) through most of January after hitting a low of $26.10 in late December. A move by the IMF to seek additional funding for the troubled Eurozone nations also helped the commodity rally on improved risk sentiment along with a slide in the greenback.
The January rally has also been supported by sales of silver coins rising 50% above the average monthly sales recorded in 2011. With nearly half of silver demand arising from its industrial use, traders bought the white metal on hopes, the usage improves in the months ahead.
The white metal outshone the yellow metal pulling the gold to silver ratio down to 51.81 from 54.83 the week prior.
