Silver as an investment

Silver may be used as an investment like other precious metals. It has been regarded as a form of money and store of value for more than 4,000 years, although it lost its role as legal tender in developed countries when the use of the silver standard came to a final end in 1935. In 2009, the main demand for silver was for industrial applications (40%), jewelry, bullion coins, and exchange-traded products. 

The price of silver is driven by speculation and supply and demand, like most commodities. The price of silver is notoriously volatile compared to that of gold because of the smaller market, lower market liquidity and demand fluctuations between industrial and store value uses. At times, this can cause wide-ranging valuations in the market, creating volatility.

The gold/silver ratio is the oldest continuously tracked exchange rate in history. In Roman times, the price ratio was set at 12 (or 12.5) to 1. In 1792, the gold/silver price ratio was fixed by law in the United States at 15:1, which meant that one troy ounce of gold was worth 15 troy ounces of silver; a ratio of 15.5:1 was enacted in France in 1803. The average gold/silver price ratio during the 20th century, however, was 47:1. 

The price of silver has risen fairly steeply since September 2005, being initially around $7 per troy ounce. As of March 2008, it hovered around $20 per troy ounce. However, the price of silver plummeted 58% in October 2008, along with other metals and commodities, due to the effects of the credit crunch. By April 2011, silver had rebounded to reach a 31-year high at $49.21 per ounce on April 29, 2011 due to concerns about monetary inflation and the solvency of governments in the developed world, particularly in the Eurozone.

The price of silver is influenced by a variety of factors.

The silver market is considerably smaller than the gold market. The London gold bullion market turns over 18 times more monetary value than silver. This allows a large trader or investor to influence the silver price either positively or negatively.

Due to the properties of silver, it has a major role in the manufacturing of photovoltaics, RoHS compliant solder, clothing, and medical uses. Other new applications for silver include RFID tags, wood preservatives, water purification and food hygiene. Data from 2010 reveals that a majority of silver is being used for industry (487.4 million ounces), jewelry (167.0 million ounces), and investments (101.3 million ounces).

Silver, like all precious metals, may be used as a hedge against inflation, deflation or devaluation. 

1979–1980

Silver Thursday

In part due to the actions of the Hunt Brothers (Nelson Bunker Hunt, William Herbert Hunt, and Lamar Hunt), the price for silver Good Delivery Bars jumped from about $6 per troy ounce to a record high of $49.45 per troy ounce on January 18, 1980, representing an increase of 724%. The highest price of physical silver is hard to determine, but based on the price of common silver coins, it peaked at about $40/oz.

On January 7, 1980, in response to the Hunts' accumulation, the Commodity Exchange (COMEX) suddenly adopted "Silver Rule 7", placing heavy restrictions on the purchase of the commodity on margin, causing massive liquidations and enormous downward pressure on the price. The Hunt brothers had borrowed heavily to finance their purchases, and as the price began to fall again, dropping over 50% in just four days due to the sudden forced liquidation of margin positions, they became unable to meet their obligations, causing further panic in the precious metal markets.

2010–2011

There was such immense risk to the world economy that investors drove the prices up by buying defensive commodities (e.g. silver or gold). When the short-term risks were believed to have subsided, many investors reallocated their assets back into yielding (dividend or interest) investments such as stocks or bonds.

The 2011 United States debt ceiling crisis was a major factor in the rise of silver prices. The 2010, U.S., midterm elections highlighted policy differences between President Obama vs. the Tea Party movement. The price of silver concurrently rose from $17 to $30 as the elections approached. In late 2010 and 2011, silver found a "new normal" between $25 and $30.

In 2011, Republicans in Congress demanded deficit reduction be part of legislation raising the nation's debt-ceiling. The resulting contention was resolved on 2 August 2011 by the Budget Control Act of 2011.

During the first few months of 2011, Moody's and S&P both downgraded the outlook on US finances; this was a major shock to the financial world and resulted in silver's climb to $50.

On April 18, 2011, U.S.-based rating agency S&P issued a "negative" outlook on the U.S.'s "AAA" (highest quality) sovereign-debt rating for the first time since the rating agency began in 1860, indicating there was a one-in-three chance of an outright reduction in the rating over the next two years.

On April 25, 2011, silver traded $49.80 per ounce in the New York spot market.

On August 5, 2011, S&P issued the first ever downgrade in the federal government's credit rating, citing their April warnings, the difficulty of bridging the parties and that the resulting agreement fell well short of the hoped-for comprehensive 'grand bargain'.  The credit downgrade and debt ceiling debacle contributed to the Dow Jones Industrial Average falling nearly 2,000 points in late July and August. Following the downgrade itself, the DJIA had one of its worst days in history and fell 635 points on August 8.

Then as it became likely that U.S. Secretary of Treasury Timothy Geithner would order the treasury to use extraordinary measures to delay the crisis, silver settled back at $35. As the debacle continued during the summer, silver moved in the range of $33 to $43.

As it became clear that the "financial apocalypse" would be delayed by late summer, many investors dumped silver and commodities and moved back into U.S. equities. The price of silver quickly went back to $30 and declined below 2010 levels in the next few years.

Gold vs Silver

· Half of all silver is used in heavy industry and high technology, including smartphones, tablets, automobile electrical systems, solar-panel cells and many other products and applications.

· The volatility in silver prices can be two to three times greater than that of gold on a given day, experienced traders may benefit.

· Silver can be considered a good portfolio diversifier with moderately weak positive correlation to stocks, bonds and commodities.

· Per ounce, silver tends to be cheaper than gold, making it more accessible to small retail investors who wish to own the precious metals as physical assets.