Silver

A more volatile investment.

The silver price, historically, has been more difficult to predict and control a position on than for example, gold, since it has a more fluid interplay between the competing  industrial and store of value demands. At times, this causes wide valuation ranges in the market.

• Silver often tracks the gold price due to store of value demands, although the ratio can vary.
• The gold/silver ratio is often analyzed by traders and investors.

Over most of the 19th century, as a key relict of the gold/silver ratio was fixed by law in Europe and the United States at 1:15.5, which meant that one troy ounce of gold would buy 15.5 ounces of silver. During the 20th century the average gold/silver ratio has at times dropped to around 1:47.0

From the middle of 2005 onwards, the price of silver has risen fairly sharply, starting from a price of around US$7 the troy ounce but reaching the levels of US$14 byMay 2006.
The monthly average price of silver was US$12.61 per ounce during April 2006, and the spot price around US$15.68 per ounce by the end of October, 2007. As of March 2008, it has held at around US$20 the troy ounce.