By Marcus Holland
For precious metals investors, 2013 is shaping up to be a very good year. While many other investments are failing and fears of inflation and devalued currency are surfacing, precious metals continue to see new highs.
Silver is scheduled to be a very good performer over the course of the next year. In fact, the economic factors that have caused so many other investments to come up short may be one of the driving forces for the surge in precious metal prices for the following year.
During times of economic uncertainty, precious metals have been a traditional choice to firm up the crumbling foundations of an investment portfolio. Tangible investments, such as silver bullion, are seen as being much stronger investments than the paper money and bonds offered by governments or stocks offered by companies traded on the stock exchange.
While silver does not currently command the same high prices as some of the other precious metals, it still carries the strength of a bullion investment at a lower price tag per ounce. In many cases, silver is actually outperforming the higher priced investments as well, offering rich returns at a lower investment cost.
As the general population, including investors, adopts a protective stance against a monetary crisis that could cause bank failures and devastation to currency, solid investments such as gold and silver become more attractive.
Barclays Plc has speculated that 1,764 tons of silver will be sold by ETP companies in the year 2013, a 300 ton raise from the previous year. many investors are day trading, putting money into silver using derivatives such as CFDs, options, binaries, and so forth. Others prefer more tangible investments, purchasing actual silver ingots and coins, such as the Canadian Silver Maple or the American Silver Eagle, which are then stored in safe deposit boxes or vaults for safe keeping. Many investors actually consider this to be a preferred form of investing because their personal silver supply can be kept close at hand and easily liquidated in times of economic necessity.
This push towards bullion investing has created a trend which has tripled the price of silver since 2008 and is expected to continue into 2013 without stopping. In 2012, silver prices grew 7.6%, more than 2% in advance of gold. This should not come as a surprise though as silver has been outperforming gold for over a decade. According to Bloomberg, this trend should create a 34% increase in the silver price for 2013. If that happens, the price of silver could very easily reach a high point of $40.25 per ounce within the next year while an average price of $32.50 per ounce for the year is expected.
To add further excitement to the value race among precious metals, many analysts are watching for silver to break the record price set in 1980 when the metal sold for more than $50 per ounce. If the precedent is broken, then silver prices will top out with more than a 60% rise in price from 2012.
2013 promises to be a very exciting year for bullion investing and silver appears to be one of the primary contenders in the race.
