Post says Silver Wheaton, others ride high on silver

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Tuesday January 29 2008 - In the News

Also Pan American Silver Corp (C:PAA) In the News
Also ECU Silver Mining Inc (C:ECU) In the News
Also First Quantum Minerals Ltd (C:FM) In the News

The Financial Post reports in its Tuesday edition that many experts believe silver could outperform gold in the months ahead. The Post's Peter Koven writes that silver prices closed Monday at $16.72 an ounce, marking a 12-per-cent gain this month, and a 40-per-cent gain in the past five months. Silver prices generally track gold closely, with gold trading at about 50 to 60 times silver. Like gold, investor demand for silver has been on the rise, especially since the silver exchange-traded fund started trading in April of 2006. That is the single-most important driver behind the high price. The most important industrial use of silver is non-digital photography, and that market has shrunk rapidly in recent years. However, silver is used increasingly as a superconductor in a broad range of industries. The ETF now holds nearly 150 million ounces of silver on its own. There is also a small handful of pure-play silver equities that have generated plenty of attention from investors and analysts, including Silver Wheaton, Pan American Silver, ECU Silver Mining and First Majestic Silver. The pure-play silver companies tend to trade at a slight premium to gold companies simply because there are fewer of them.