April 19, 2024

Silver Institute Details Silver Demand and Supply Fundamentals

May 3, 2011 by 6 Comments

According to the  just released World Silver Survey published by the Silver Institute, global investment and fabrication demand were the primary factors that pushed silver prices higher in 2010.  Of major note among the many statistics released by the Institute, is the fact that despite rising prices and increased demand, mine production of silver rose by only 2.5% during 2010.

The Silver Institute survey showed increased demand during 2010 despite a 38% average increase in the price of silver to $20.19.   The increase in silver prices during 2010 was the largest price gain since 1980.

Silver investment, one of the largest categories of silver demand, rose by 40% during 2010 to 279.3 million ounces, almost double the amount for 2009.

The amount of silver held by silver ETFs rose to 582.6 million ounces during 2010, an increase of 114.9 million ounces over 2009.  The largest increase in silver holdings was by the iShares Silver Trust (SLV) which accounted for 40% of the total increase.

Demand for physical silver reached new milestones in 2010.  Silver used in coin and medal production rose by 28% to 101.3 million ounces.  Sales of  U.S. Silver Eagles reached 34.6 million, far ahead of the previous record of 29 million reached in 2009.   Sales of bullion coins by mints in Australia and Canada also hit new highs.  Investors also purchased 55.6 million ounces of silver in the form of bullion bars during 2010.

Silver fabrication demand hit a ten year high of 878.8 million ounces, an increase of almost 13% over 2010.  Industrial applications increased by almost 21% to 487.4 million ounces.  Jewelry increased by 5%, showing the biggest increase in demand since 2003.  Photography was the only category that experienced a decline with usage falling by 6.6 million ounces.

The Silver Institute notes that demand for silver in industrial application is particularly strong in electronics and thermal applications.  New industrial applications using silver are expected to account for an additional 40 million ounces of demand by 2015.    Silver’s unique chemical properties are constantly leading to new industrial demand, one example being the development of products using silver as an antibacterial agent.

The increased demand for silver has encouraged new mine exploration and production.  Nonetheless, despite efforts by mining companies, silver production increased by a very modest 2.5% during 2010 to 753.9 million ounces.  The largest silver producer in 2010 was Mexico, followed by Peru, China, Australia and Chile.

Silver from above ground stocks increased to 142.9 million ounces due to a 14% higher scrap supply, net producer hedging and a significant increase in sales from government stocks to 44.8 million ounces.  The primary seller of government silver stocks was Russia.

Silver has had a recent pullback after extraordinary gains over the previous two years.   Some experts see a buying opportunity.   Michael Haynes, CEO of AMPEX, one of the country’s largest precious metals dealers, commented on the silver pullback in an interview with CNBC.  According to Mr. Haynes “The Middle America, the individual investor across the world is just now beginning to take hold of this concept and they’re not day traders. They’re not looking to buy today and sell this afternoon, sell next week. They have a long time frame; 3 to 5 years. So they’re purchasing this asset, not because they want to make money today, but they are looking at it almost like an insurance policy or a hedge against the rest of their portfolio.”

Filed Under: Silver Tagged With: , , ,

Silver and Gold ETF Holdings Decline Amidst Volatile Trading

April 28, 2011 by Leave a Comment

In a week of volatile precious metals trading, holdings of both the iShares Silver Trust (SLV) and the SPDR Gold Shares Trust (GLD) saw modest declines.

The holdings of the SLV declined by 130.49 tonnes or 1.2% from last week to 11,053.20 tonnes.  Looking at the daily changes, however, provides a a better indication of the volatility in SLV holdings during the week.

The holdings of the SLV hit an all time record high amount of 11,390.06 tonnes on Monday April 25th.  The substantial decline of 336.86 tonnes over the following two days mirrors the volatile price action of the SLV, which declined more than $2 on Tuesday before recovering to all time  highs at Wednesday’s closing price.

SLV - COURTESY YAHOO FINANCE

The SLV currently holds 355.4 million ounces of silver valued at $16.1 billion.  The SLV is currently the largest silver ETF and has seen tremendous growth in holdings since the Trust’s inception in April 2006, when it held a mere 653.17 tonnes valued at $263.5 million.  According to the Silver Institute, at the end of the first quarter 2011, total holdings held by all silver ETFs was 612 million ounces.

Despite the tremendous appreciation of the SLV, the silver market remains a relatively small market which leads to speculation that silver prices are being manipulated.  Volatility in silver trading over the past week was enhanced by rumors of massive short positions by traders, attempts to corner the market by larger players, and the inability to deliver physical silver on futures contracts.

The recent volatility in silver is likely to continue as additional players are drawn into one of the hottest markets of 2011 and wide price swings may become the norm over the short term.

For long term  investors, the fundamentals of the silver market should overweight any short term volatility.  Sales of Silver Eagles by the US Mint in the first quarter of 2011 was 37% higher than the previous year reflecting continuing investor demand.

GLD and SLV Holdings (metric tonnes)

April27-2011 Weekly Change YTD Change
GLD 1,229.64 -0.61 -51.08
SLV 11,053.20 -130.49 +131.63

Gold holdings in the GLD declined modestly by 0.61 tonnes after an increase of 17.29 tonnes for the previous week.  The current holdings of the GLD amount to 39.5 million ounces of gold valued at $59.7 billion.

Gold hit another all time high today, recently trading at $1,531.  The Federal Reserve ignited a sharp rally in gold and silver after releasing details of this week’s FOMC meeting. The precious metal markets moved higher after the Federal Reserve said it would continue super aggressive monetary policies despite the June wind down of QE2.  The Fed indicated that it would not reduce the size of its balance sheet and would leave short term interest rates at zero.

The Fed also left the door open to future unconventional policy moves if deemed necessary.  Since the Fed cannot move rates below zero, any additional “unconventional easing” would almost certainly mean additional money printing by the Fed.   The US dollar traded lower on Fed comments and is now threatening to break to new all time lows.



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iShares Silver Trust and SPDR Gold Trust Holdings Increase As Worries Over Paper Money Grow

April 21, 2011 by Leave a Comment

Both the iShares Silver Trust (SLV) and the SPDR Gold Shares Trust (GLD) saw holdings jump on the week as precious metal prices continued to climb.

The holding of the SLV increased by a substantial 213.98 tonnes over the past week after posting a decline of 192.74 tonnes in the previous week.  The all time record holdings of the SLV was reached on April 11, 2011, at 11,242.89 tonnes.

Strong investment and fundamental demand for silver continued to push silver prices higher with the London PM Fix Price for silver closing yesterday at $44.79, up from $40.22 a week ago.

While some analysts worry about the “inflation” in silver prices, the world’s most successful investor is worried about dollar inflation.  Warren Buffet – “We’re following policies that will lead to a lot of inflation down the road unless changes are made”.  The U.S. can’t “run the kind of deficits we’re running and other policies…without it being enormously inflationary”.

The SLV currently holds 359.6 million ounces of silver bullion valued at $16.1 billion.  The SLV has seen seen an astonishing increase in the value of its holdings.  At the Trust’s inception in April 2006, silver holdings of 653.17 tonnes were valued at $263.5 million.

GLD and SLV Holdings (metric tonnes)

20-April-2011 Weekly Change YTD Change
GLD 1,230.25 +17.29 -50.47
SLV 11,183.69 +213.98 +262.12

Gold holdings of the SPDR Gold Shares Trust increased on the week by 17.29 tonnes to a total of 1,230.25 tonnes, after an increase of 7.49 tonnes in the previous week.  The GLD now holds a total of 39.6 million ounces of gold valued at $59.4 billion.

Gold continued to gain this past week and, as measured by the London PM Fix Price, closed yesterday at an all time high of $1,501.00.  Gold has gained $43.50 over the past week and since the beginning of the month is up $83 per ounce or 5.8%.

The price gains in gold continue to confound the numerous skeptics of the golden metal who can’t understand why gold is going up in the absence of high rates of inflation.  Perhaps the skeptics should pay attention to the increasingly vocal concerns by governments holding large reserves of U.S. dollars and whose economies are being harmed by the flood of rapidly depreciating U.S. dollars.

COLLAPSING US DOLLAR - COURTESY STOCKCHARTS.COM

Nyet to diplomacy. In extremely blunt remarks, Russian Prime Minister Vladimir Putin, commenting after the S&P downgrade on the U.S. debt outlook, said:  “Look at their (the U.S.) trade balance, their debt and budget.  They turn on the printing presses and flood the entire dollar zone – in other words, the whole world, with government bonds.  There is no way we will act this way anytime soon.  We don’t have the luxury of such hooliganism”.   Nor is Mr. Putin simply talking tough – the Russian government is also acting to protect its financial interests by reducing their holdings of U.S. treasury debt.  Russia, the world’s third largest holder of U.S. debt has been greatly reducing its dollar holdings this year.

China, the world’s largest holder of U.S. dollars totaling a massive $3 trillion, has been expressing its frustrations and concerns with U.S. monetary policy for years.  A plunging US dollar reduces the value of US debt held by China.  To offset the losses from holdings US paper assets, China has been reducing its holdings of U.S. dollars and buying physical assets worldwide.  China also took major steps this week to gradually implement full convertibility of the yuan in world markets which would allow it to hold fewer US dollars.

Governments worldwide are taking major steps to reduce loss exposure from holding US dollars that can be printed in the trillions by the U.S. Federal Reserve.  In another sign of disgust towards U.S. fiscal and monetary policies,  Brazil, Russia, India, China, and South Africa recently agreed to use their own currencies among themselves instead of the U.S. dollar.

The result of ultra loose U.S. monetary policies, huge budget deficits and money printing by the Federal Reserve have all contributed to the flight to wealth preservation as reflected by a collapsing US dollar and skyrocketing precious metals prices.

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iShares Silver Trust Holdings Decline

April 14, 2011 by Leave a Comment

The iShares Silver Trust (SLV) saw silver holdings slump on the week while holdings of the SPDR Gold Shares Trust (GLD) increased.

SLV holdings dropped by 192.74 tonnes on the week after adding 22.93 tonnes in the previous week.  Total holdings of the SLV amount to 10,969.71 tonnes or 352.7 million ounces of silver valued at $14.2 billion.  There is not always a direct correlation between the movement in silver prices and the amount of silver held by the trust.  For example, the total silver holdings of the SLV have increased by only .4% since the start of the year, while silver prices have increased by 32% over the same period.

There is a direct correlation between the price of the SLV and the price of silver.  The iShares Silver Trust was structured to track the price movement in silver bullion and it has achieved that result.  Since the inception of the SLV in April 2006, the annualized total return of the SLV has been 25.17% compared to an annualized total return for silver of 25.79%, the difference being primarily attributable to sponsor fees of .5% a year.

GLD and SLV Holdings (metric tonnes)

13-April-2011 Weekly Change YTD Change
GLD 1,212.96 +7.49 -67.76
SLV 10,969.71 -192.74 +48.14

The SLV has experienced a huge long term increase in silver holdings based on investor demand.  Since the inception of the trust in April 2006, total holdings of the SLV have exploded by almost 1,600% from 653.17 tonnes to the current total of 10,969.71 tonnes.

Silver experienced price volatility during the past week but ended up $.59 per ounce at Wednesday’s close from the prior week.  Earlier in the week, silver saw a brief pullback from its highs as investors took profits in the commodity sector.  In addition, the silver market was spooked by word of an investor taking a large bearish options position in the May SLV put contracts.

SLV - COURTESY YAHOO FINANCE

Holdings of the GLD increased by 7.49 tonnes on the week.  The GLD currently holds 1,212.96 tonnes or 39.0 million ounces of gold valued at $56.8 billion.  As measured by the London PM Fix Price, gold declined by a modest $4 per ounce from its April 6th closing price.

GFMS,  a prestigious metals consulting firm based in London,  issued a bullish forecast for gold prices during 2011.  Barring a major rise in interest rates or a strong rally in the US dollar, GFMS is predicting that gold will reach $1,600 per ounce by the end of the year.  GFMS based its bullish forecast on very easy monetary policies, surging rates of inflation in Asian economies and continuing investment demand for gold.

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iShares Silver Trust Holdings Reach Record High As Gold and Silver Hit New Highs

April 7, 2011 by Leave a Comment

Silver holdings of the iShares Silver Trust (SLV) jumped to another new record high this week while holdings of the SPDR Gold Shares Trust (GLD) dropped slightly.

The SLV holdings increased by 22.93 tonnes to surpass last week’s record high.  Holdings of the SLV now total 11,162.45 tonnes or 358.9 million ounces of silver valued at $14.2 billion.  Since silver began its nonstop advance in late January, holdings of the SLV have increased by a substantial 757.28 tonnes.

GLD and SLV Holdings (metric tonnes)

6-April-2011 Weekly Change YTD Change
GLD 1,205.47 -6.37 -75.25
SLV 11,162.45 +22.93 +240.88

The London Fix Price for silver increased by $2.10 (5.6%) over the past week, closing today just below $40 at $39.63.  The price of silver has now reached levels last seen 31 years ago in 1980.  Patient silver investors who took the opportunity to increase holdings when the metal was below $10 per ounce are now enjoying the profit of patience.

The astonishing rally in silver prices since late last August has resulted in a gain of 114% for the SLV.  Profits from owning the ProShares Ultra Silver ETF (which does not hold physical silver) have been even more dramatic for silver bulls with a gain of over 400% since last August.

Despite the large price gains in silver since late January, we have not yet witnessed a large volume price spike as was seen in early November 2010 which lead to a 3 month price consolidation.  The next logical resistance level for silver would be on its approach to $50.  Besides the psychological resistance of round numbers, the all time high of silver is $48.70 reached in January 1980.

SLV - COURTESY STOCKCHARTS.COM

Holdings of the GLD declined by 6.37 tonnes on the week, bringing the decline in gold bullion holdings to 75.25 tonnes since the beginning of the year.  The all time record holdings of the GLD reached 1,320.47 tonnes on June 29, 2010.  The SPDR Gold Shares Trust (GLD) now holds a total of 38.8 million ounces of gold valued at $56.6 billion.

The price of gold, as measured by the closing London PM Fix Price hit an all time high today of $1,461.50 and has now broken through resistance at the $1,450 level.  Many analysts are now targeting $1,500 as their next price objective.  Fundamentals favoring the gold market continue to be strong, especially as the U.S. continues inexorably towards a debt crisis at some point in the future (see Gold and Silver Soar As Budget Fiasco Sends Wrong Message to U.S. Creditors).

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iShares Silver Trust Holdings Continue Higher, as SPDR Gold Shares Trust Holdings Decline

March 24, 2011 by Leave a Comment

The holdings of the iShares Silver Trust (SLV) increased on the week while holdings of the SPDR Gold Shares Trust (GLD) declined slightly.

Holdings in the SLV increased by 15.18 tonnes from the previous week.  Since March 1st, the Silver Trust has seen a net increase in holdings of 266.71 tonnes and a year to date increase of 38.82 tonnes.  The SLV now holds 352.4 million ounces of silver valued at $12.9 billion.

Silver hit a 31 year price high today, continuing a strong rally that began in late January.  In recent trading, silver was $37.34 per ounce.

At the inception of the iShares Silver Trust in April 2006, the SLV held 653.17 tonnes of silver valued at $263.5 million.  The SLV has been extremely popular with investors as the price of silver has steadily increased since 2006.  In addition, the establishment of the SLV has attracted many investors who would otherwise be disinclined to own silver considering the inconvenience and costs of taking physical delivery.

GLD and SLV Holdings (metric tonnes)

23-March-11 Weekly Change YTD Change
GLD 1,214.87 -2.43 -65.85
SLV 10,960.39 +15.18 +38.82

The price of the SLV hit a new all time high yesterday closing at $36.47, up $.93 on the day.  The move upward continued today in early trading, before a pull back erased the day’s gains. The SLV has gained over $10 since late January providing silver investors with a solid 38% gain.  Since the inception of the Silver Trust in 2006, the SLV has almost tripled.

Holdings of the SPDR Gold Shares Trust (GLD) declined modestly on the week by 2.43 tonnes.  The GLD has seen a year to date decline in its holdings of 65.85 tonnes.  The GLD currently holds 39.1 million ounces of gold valued at $56.2 billion.

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iShares Silver Trust Hits New All Time High

March 23, 2011 by Leave a Comment

During Wednesday trading, the iShares Silver Trust (SLV) reached an all time high price.  At the time of this post, shares were trading up 78 cents to $36.32, which exceeds the previous high of $35.27 reached in early March.

The SLV saw a month long correction in January with the price declining from $30 to $26, which brought the SLV below its 50 day moving average.  The losses on the brief pullback in January were quickly regained and the SLV powered on to new highs by mid February.  The SLV has now jumped more than $10 from its January low, for a gain of over 38% in less than two months.

SLV - COURTESY STOCKCHARTS.COM

Ownership of the SLV gives an investor an undivided, fractional ownership in the physical silver held by the iShares Silver Trust.  The price of the SLV is structured to reflect the underlying price movement in silver.  The gain or loss on the SLV should very closely track the price of one ounce of silver. Over 97% of the Trust’s net asset value is based on physical silver held by the Trust.

The Silver Trust currently holds over 352 million ounces of silver worth $12.7 billion.   Assets of the SLV have grown steadily since the inception of the Trust in April 2006.  The SLV has become extremely popular with investors seeking to establish a position in silver without the costs and risks of taking physical possession of the metal.  Due to the manner in which the Trust is structured, premiums and discounts to the net asset value during the trading day are typically less than 1%.

Investors have seen huge returns on their investment in the iShares Silver Trust.   Last year the SLV rose 79.4%.  Year to date the SLV is up 18.6%.  Since inception of the Silver Trust in April 2006, the net asset value of the SLV has almost tripled from its initial price of  $12.55.   A $5,000 investment in the SLV in April of 2006 is now valued at $14,455.

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iShares Silver Trust Holdings Decline, SPDR Gold Shares Trust Holdings Unchanged

March 16, 2011 by Leave a Comment

Holdings of silver in the iShares Silver Trust (SLV) declined slightly on the week, while holdings in the SPDR  Gold Shares Trust (GLD) remained unchanged.

Silver holdings declined by a modest 28.85 tonnes since last week, after seeing increases of 209.54 tonnes and 189.29 tonnes in the previous two weeks.  The year to date holdings in the SLV have increased by 23.64 tonnes.  The value of silver held is valued now $12.22 billion based on holdings of 351.9 million ounces of silver.

Despite collapsing stock markets, a devastating earthquake in Japan, increased turmoil in the Middle East and a wild escalation of money printing by the Bank of Japan, gold and silver moved lower over the past week calling into question the safe haven status of precious metals.

After a huge run up in the price of silver over the past year, it is not unusual to see a correction in prices.  Since consolidating in January, silver prices had run up almost 40% over the past two months from $26 to $36 per ounce.  Aside from normal profit taking after such a huge increase, some of the selling pressure in silver may be due to margin calls.  Investors who have leveraged positions in the market may be liquidating positions to reduce overall exposure until markets stabilize.

Another factor that has ironically made the precious metals markets more volatile is the manner in which the SLV and GLD are structured.   Fast rising prices of gold and silver attract speculators who do not have a long term commitment.  The SLV and GLD allow effective ownership of the metals without the cost and inconvenience of taking physical positions.  Although speculative purchases help to push prices up, the opposite will occur when the fast money crowd decides to take profits at the first sign of price weakness.  Since last week, the price of silver based on the London Fix price, has declined by $1.44 or 4%.

SLV - courtesy yahoo finance

Asian stock futures are down virtually across the board as the situation in Japan deteriorates and spot gold and silver prices are also showing declines.

GLD and SLV Holdings (metric tonnes)

16-March-11 Weekly Change YTD Change
GLD 1,217.30 +0.00 -63.42
SLV 10,945.21 -28.85 +23.64

Holdings in the SPDR  Gold Shares Trust (GLD) remained unchanged from the prior week at 1,217.30 tonnes with a year to date decline of 63.42 tonnes. The GLD currently holds 39.14 million ounces of gold valued at $54.86 billion.

Gold has been unable to mount a strong rally since hitting an all time intraday price of $1,440 in early March.  It may be just a question of time before gold resumes rallying based on continued weakness in the U.S. dollar and virtually unlimited money printing operations by central banks worldwide.  The supply of currencies can be increased with virtually no limit as sovereign governments bump up against the limits of debt expansion.  The supply of gold and silver is limited and will always hold intrinsic value without counter party risk.  The choice will become apparent to more investors as economic conditions continue to deteriorate.

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iShares Silver Trust Holdings Continue to Skyrocket

March 9, 2011 by Leave a Comment

Silver holdings in the iShares Silver Trust (SLV) continued to skyrocket, while holdings of gold in the SPDR Gold Shares Trust (GLD) experienced a modest increase.

The iShares Silver Trust (SLV) holdings increased by 209.54 tonnes in the latest week.  The prior two weeks have seen increases of 189.29 tonnes and 164 tonnes.  Total holdings of the SLV are now 52.49 tonnes higher than at the beginning of the year.  The SLV holds 352.8 million ounces of silver valued at $12.76 billion.

The holdings of silver in the iShares Silver Trust have now exceeded peak holdings reached at the beginning of the year.  Silver has moved relentlessly higher in price since last August.  After a brief price correction in January which brought silver down to the $26 level, silver prices have exploded to more than $36 per ounce, a gain of 38% in less than two months.

Given the huge run up in the price of silver, it is not surprising to see holdings of the SLV increase dramatically.  The SLV is a proxy for investors who chose to invest in silver without the cost and inconvenience of holding physical silver.  Purchasing the SLV allows an investor to take an immediate position in silver and without the markups associated with physically purchasing bars or coins.

The annual expense ratio of the SLV is only 0.5% compared to common markups of 5% to 10% when purchasing physical bullion or coins from a dealer.  The SLV has been wildly popular with investors since it was launched and has provided huge returns to patient investors.   The SLV has risen from below $10 in October 2008 to its closing price today of $35.27 for a gain of over 250%.  A purchase of a thousand shares of the SLV at the low of $9.13 in October 2008 would have resulted in profits of $26,140.

SLV - Yahoo Finance

It has been over 30 years since silver hit its all time high price of $48.70 in January 1980.  Huge investment and industrial demand as well as physical shortages of silver are all factors that could easily push silver to a new all time high.  Silver has been making up for lost time and has dramatically outperformed the price movement in gold.  A reversion to the centuries old gold silver ratio could easily push silver prices towards the $100 per ounce level.

GLD and SLV Holdings (metric tonnes)

9-March-11 Weekly Change YTD Change
GLD 1,217.30 +6.34 -63.42
SLV 10,974.06 +209.54 +52.49

Holdings in the SPDR Gold Shares Trust (GLD) saw a jump in holdings of nearly 7 tonnes on Monday of this week, which is the largest increase in daily holdings seen in the past two months.  The GLD increased holdings by over 6 tonnes for the week after modest declines in the previous two weeks.   Total GLD holdings are still lower than the beginning of the year by 63.42 tonnes.  The GLD currently holds 39.14 million ounces of gold valued at almost $56 billion.

Since its launch in November 2004 when gold was trading at $445 per ounce, the GLD has been an extremely profitable investment.  As the price of silver broke out and hit new highs, gold has still not decisively broken through its trading range in the low $1400’s.   Gold made a strong move up from $1150 last August and has been consolidating sideways since breaching the $1400 level.

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iShares Silver Trust Holdings Increase Sharply

March 3, 2011 by 1 Comment

The iShares Silver Trust (SLV) continued to add large amounts of silver to its holdings while the SPDR Gold Shares Trust (GLD) experienced another small decline in holdings.

Holdings in the GLD declined by 7.28 tonnes compared to a decline of 5.77 tonnes in the previous week.  Total holdings have declined by 5.5% or 69.76 tonnes since the start of the year.  The GLD currently holds 1,210.96 tonnes or 38.93 million ounces of gold valued at $55.9 billion.

The price of the GLD has traded as low as $128 since last October after running up from approximately $110 from the start of 2010.   The GLD hit new highs yesterday at $140.55 before closing at $139.92 reflecting the new all time high in gold prices.  Gold settled at $1437.20 for March delivery on the Comex division of the New York Mercantile Exchange.

GLD - COURTESY STOCKCHARTS.COM

The GLD is structured to allow investors a means of investing in gold without taking physical delivery and to buy or sell that interest by trading the GLD shares on a regulated stock exchange.  The GLD has been wildly successful since its start by allowing widespread beneficial ownership of gold bullion without the costs involved in physical delivery such as insurance and storage.  The GLD has facilitated gold ownership by both large and small investors by supplying liquidity to the market and ease of ownership.

GLD and SLV Holdings (metric tonnes)

2-March-11 Weekly Change YTD Change
GLD 1,210.96 -7.28 -69.76
SLV 10,764.52 +189.29 -157.05

Holdings in the iShares Silver Trust (SLV) increased by 189.29 tonnes over the past week compared to an increase in the previous week of 164.0  tonnes.  The year to date decline of 157.05 tonnes represents a 1.4% drop in silver holdings since the beginning of the year.  The value of the SLV and GLD are structured to reflect the underlying price of gold and silver but an increase in precious metal prices may not necessarily result in greater gold or silver holdings by the Trusts.

The price of SLV hit an all time high yesterday as March silver prices reached a 31-year high of $34.93 per ounce.  As the credit worthiness of many sovereign nations continues to decline, investors continue to see gold and silver as a viable alternative to currencies as a store of value.

The all time high for silver was $48.70 reached in January 1980.

Since last August, silver has dramatically outperformed gold in price appreciation.  Silver has soared over 92% since last August while the price of gold has increased by only 22%.  This dramatic out performance of silver over gold has resulted in the gold silver ratio declining from a multi decade average of 60 to the current level of 41.  Some observers see the decline in the gold silver ratio as an omen for a price pullback in silver while others view it as a fundamental demand shift indicating further sustained price gains for silver.

SLV - COURTESY YAHOO FINANCE

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