Information Madness

As silver has rallied up, should you be investing in it? The downward pressure on the Dollar and the Euro is making silver into a valuable hedge option. Silver has been leading all the commodities this past year. It has gone up by close to twenty five per cent since the last year. In comparison, gold has only gained only twelve per cent.

When it comes to silver, a mix of investments is advisable. Physical possession in the form of coins and bars is fine as long as the storage and corrosion is taken care of. All precious metals have started picking up in the last quarter of the last year. This happened because of a severe decline when the Euro dropped. There was a lot of margin related selling in silver as well as in other precious metals.

ETFs (Exchange Traded Funds) have also become popular among investors. Tracking of spot silver price from some silver ETFs is difficult. Many silver funds are linked to silver mining companies and the returns are not as strong as the movement of silver. Silver trading accounts track price movement at all times including the spread bets and futures contracts but these can be only handled by experienced investors because of the extreme volatility of silver. This is not recommended for a beginner or an average investor who is trying to diversify his or her portfolio.

Futures contracts are highly liquid and at the end of each contract period, silver can be rolled over at a minimal cost. Investing in silver through futures and options also allows high leverage and helps to take advantage of the short term and medium term price movement.