Metal’s weekly jump extends gain this year to 17%.
by Eddie van der Walt and Ranjeetha Pakiam
Mine Web
Silver has leapfrogged gold as this year’s best-performing precious metal on signs of a stabilising economy in China, one of the biggest users.
Silver’s rally this week took its 2016 advance to 17%, beating gold’s 16% increase. Silver, used in industrial products ranging from electronics to solar panels, has outperformed gold for six days and is trading near a five-month high. Holdings in silver-backed funds have risen almost every day since the start of March.
Precious metals got a boost at the start of the year amid concerns about the global economy and as traders reduced expectations for the pace of US interest-rate increases. This week, a flood of Chinese data including trade and industrial output, helped paint a brighter outlook for the nation’s economy. Industrial items account for half of silver demand, compared with about 10% for gold.