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April 25, 2011 at 08:40 AM
The fever for precious metals still raged Monday as silver recorded gains of more than 5% in early trading, with gold sharing in the dizzying climb as it set yet another new record.
Reuters reported that silver's boost to $49.31 an ounce reached a 31-year high before the metal backed off just a hair to $49.07. Futures were equally manic, with U.S.silver futures rising 8.2% before backing off a bit to $49.11. The unusually large volume sent silver close to record territory, only about $0.50 off its all-time high of $50.35, which it reached on Jan. 18, 1980.
A Hong Kong-based dealer was quoted in the report saying, "Everyone is buying. There is stop-loss buying, as well as a good buying interest from China."
Buyers aren’t just purchasing shares in an ETF, although those holdings have risen substantially as well. They’re after the physical product. A private bank official in India was quoted as saying, "The rally has been great as traders are buying silver like mad. We normally don't import silver on a regular basis, but we imported about 10 tons from last month. Investors are joining in the rally in India to catch on the price appreciation."
Harshad Ajmera, proprietor of Kolkata-based JJ Gold House in India, said in the report, "Everyone wants a piece of silver, right from a cab driver to a professional. It looks like the whole of one billion population is chasing silver."
