Robust demand for copper and lead will erode the precious commodity’s scarcity value.
by David Fickling (Bloomberg)
Mine Web
Silver has been getting a bit of polish of late.
Almost five years after it reached a 31-year peak of $48.44 an ounce in April 2011, the poor man’s gold looks to be recovering from its long hangover, with a 13% gain this month.
Aside from the usual reasons about low interest rates spurring demand for precious metals and rising bullish bets from investors, there’s another wind at silver’s back: Miners are producing less of it.
Silver is somewhat unusual among major commodities in that no one is really set on mining the stuff. It occurs naturally in ores with copper, lead and gold, so is produced mostly as a byproduct of other metals. Even Mexico City-based Fresnillo, the world’s biggest silver producer, often makes more money selling gold.