Silver Surges for Second Straight Week

Silver rallied for a second straight week after plunging nearly 20% during the three prior weeks.

New York silver futures surged ahead 6.3% since last Friday while the fix in London boosted the metal by 4.0% during the same time period.

For the most part, and as imparted last week, silver has been following gold’s direction which in turn has headed opposite of the U.S. dollar.

For the week, New York silver futures for March delivery ended at $16.413 an ounce, soaring 97 cents. London silver was fixed at $15.95 an ounce, jumping 62 cents.

Commodity Online reports Friday in an article entitled Silver caught in gold/dollar play: "For several months silver has tracked the gold/dollar play; as the US dollar has weakened the gold price has strengthened. But fears over the strength of global economic recovery and EU member state debt burdens has led to a dash for cash not seen since the peak of the financial crisis. We see little else to preoccupy the markets in the short term, and expect silver prices to be extremely volatile on the ebbs and flows of positive and negative data."

London precious metal weekly prices follow:

London Fix Precious Metal Prices
	Gold		Silver	Platinum		Palladium
	AM	PM		AM	PM	AM	PM
2/12/2010	1078.25	1082.00	15.33	1513.00	1505.00	414.00	416.00
2/19/2010	1107.00	1112.75	15.95	1506.00	1513.00	428.00	435.00

 

Weekly Bullion Prices
	Up	Down	% Change	Gain/Loss
Silver	X		4.0%	$0.62
Gold	X		2.8%	$30.75
Platinum	X		0.5%	$8.00
Palladium	X		4.6%	$19.00

 

These articles offer precious metals and silver coin news, or related business articles:

• Gold futures finish week higher – MarketWatch
  Gold futures reversed Friday losses to finish the week higher after U.S. inflation data for January proved tamer than expected and as traders offered a positive take on the Federal Reserve’s step toward normalized lending …

• Gold up as investors seek refuge in the bullion – Reuters
  Gold prices rose on Friday, reversing early losses fueled by a stronger dollar, as investors bought the metal to hedge against currencies’ volatility and debt default risks in Europe …

• Five Finger Discount No More – Jon Nadler, Kitco
  New York spot metals dealings opened the final session of the week in the mixed fashion this morning. Gold was lower by $0.20 per ounce, quoted at $1107.90 as against a somewhat milder than last night 0.10 advance in the US dollar on the trade-weighted index (last seen at 81.04 ) and a euro quoted at 1.352 (having dipped to under 1.35 overnight). Peculiar headline of the morning: “World Gold Council Welcomes IMF Gold Sales.” Book-squaring will keep things simmering along for the rest of the day. Silver started the session with a 15-cent gain, quoted at $16.00 per ounce …

• U.S. Inflation Rises 2.6%, Consumer Prices Edge 0.2% Higher
  The cost of living in the U.S. rose less than expected in January, as Americans paid less for new cars, clothes, hotels, homes and other shelter-related costs, the government reported Friday. However, the price of energy continues to be a burden with increases during the month and year that drove inflation higher over the past 12 months, according to the Labor Department. The Consumer Price Index (CPI), which is the government’s most closely watched barometer for measuring inflation at the consumer level, rose 0.2% in January for the fifth consecutive month. The figure is lower than the 0.3% increase most analysts were forecasting …

• US Mint Sales: Silver Eagles Strolling at 1.25 Million – SilverCoinsToday.com
  On the bullion side of the aisle, American Silver Eagle bullion coins are strolling along at a leisurely pace. Silver prices have recently risen, so the coins could begin trotting at any time. Since the last report two weeks ago, authorized buyers ordered another 750,000. The February total is now up to 1,250,000 with slightly more than 1 1/2 weeks left in the month. The pace will have to pick up to reach last year’s February tally of 2,125,000. Year-to-date sales of the one ounce silver coins are at 4,842,500 …

For daily silver news and prices, see Spot Silver Prices.