Investors Show Love for Precious Metals in 2009

Investors have been buying up precious metals during the economic slump but which metal will top the others? You may be surprised to learn the answer.

You have likely heard the news that gold is over $1,000 an ounce and is only going up but did you know that silver has actually been the precious metal to beat this year? Silver has outperformed gold this year 3-to-1. Anyone with a significant amount of their portfolio invested in silver can look forward to good times in the near future.

Precious metals are the best type of investment to make for the future and gold has long been seen as the metal on top but now has to compete with a new contender.

During the Gold Forum industry gathering, Dennis Wheeler, the silver producer’s chairman, said “In the wake of this (financial) hurricane, this is a new golden age for us.”

He went on to say that investors who are buying silver are doing so as a safe haven investment against inflation and the recession, a title which gold has held for a very long time. In fact, investors are so keen on buying up all the silver that there is a strain on global silver supplies.

“We continue to see a deficit of about 100 million ounces for silver this year and it is continuing.”

If the global deficient continues to grow we may soon be seeing infomercials and commercials from dealers offering to buy our scrap silver instead of our old, unused and unwanted scrap gold. Currently, silver is used in many electronic appliances and even batteries. Silver is also in demand for many other uses including solar energy, photography and medical uses. There will always be a high demand for silver and that demand seems to be increasing as investors turn towards the precious metal.

While both gold and silver have seen significant advances in their price this year, gold has only risen around 15 percent while silver is up 50 percent.

“The number one performer this year has been silver. Silver has outperformed gold three-to-one,” said Wheeler.

The question now is why is silver doing so much better than gold, platinum and all of the other precious metals? How long are we going to see these market conditions?

“We are seeing the beginnings of a new sustainable global silver market. Clearly investors were driving the market this year.”