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NY silver touches 22-year high, gold price gains

NY silver touches 22-year high, gold price gains
Wed Mar 15, 2006 11:03am ET

NEW YORK, March 15 (Reuters) - U.S. silver prices reached their highest level in more than 22 years early Wednesday, before pulling back somewhat, boosted by rising mining shares and market hopes of a launch of a new U.S. silver investment product.

Buying spilled over into the other precious metals, with gold scampering above key chart resistance at $555 to $556 an ounce and platinum and palladium also gaining.

Silver for May delivery on the COMEX division of the New York Mercantile Exchange hit $10.3950 an ounce, the loftiest level for futures since October 1983. By 10:35 a.m., it was up 6.5 cents, or 0.63 percent, at $10.31 an ounce.

"It is basically a technical move, and the specs are also following the silver stocks up," said a COMEX floor silver trader.

Futures in New York have surged 15 percent this year as investors await possible approval from the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission of a proposed silver exchange-traded fund from leading ETF provider Barclay Global Investors.

Barclays' IShares Silver Trust was designed to mimic investment in physical silver, while trading on an exchange like a listed stock. If approved, it would be backed by silver held in vaults in England.

There has been no word from U.S. regulators on the ETF since a public comment period ended last month.

Dealers said prices on Wednesday also got a lift from rising silver shares like those of Coeur d'Alene Mines Corp. (CDE.N: Quote, Profile, Research) and Pan American Silver Corp. (PAA.TO: Quote, Profile, Research), which climbed 3 percent and 3.5 percent, respectively.

Independent analyst Greg Weldon said recent new investment inflow in the sector seemed to suggest that the bull move was still in the early stages for silver.

"... Capital flow into the precious metals from longer term stock portfolio-type investors has only just begun," he said in a daily note.

"This would be particularly true if the Federal Reserve were to signal an end to their rate hike campaign, an event that would likely cause the dollar to depreciate, which could in turn provide the next big upside catalyst for the entire precious metals sector," said Weldon.

Market players also eyed a declining gold/silver ratio, which traders often take as a bullish signal for the gray metal.

That ratio -- the number of ounces of silver needed to buy one of gold -- was down at about 54:1 Wednesday, compared with 58:1 at the end of February and 60:1 in late 2005.

Analysts say these recent levels are the lowest since April 2004.

Spot silver was quoted at $10.30/10.33 an ounce, versus Tuesday's New York closing quote at $10.20/10.23. Wednesday's spot reference rate in London was fixed at $10.25.

Gold advanced for a third straight day, aided by a weak dollar this week, but futures remain stuck in a range of $540 to $560 an ounce, traders said.

April delivery gold rose $3.70, or 0.7 percent, to $556.70 an ounce, dealing from $551 to an eight-day high at $558.30.

The precious metals, especially gold, tend to inversely track dollar moves as some traders use them as a dollar hedge.

The U.S. currency eased as data showed U.S. January net capital inflows reached $66 billion, failing to offset the record $68.5 billion U.S. January trade deficit.

The euro rose above its 200-day moving average at $1.2050 against the dollar.

Spot gold was worth $555.10/556.00 an ounce, compared with Tuesday's late quote at $551.60/2.30. The late London afternoon fix was at $556.50.

Over on the NYMEX board, April platinum was up $9.40 at $1,032 an ounce. Spot platinum reached $1,027/1,031.

June palladium gained $11.90 -- up 3.9 percent -- to $318 an ounce, while spot palladium hit $314/318.


LINK: http://yahoo.reuters.com/news/articleinvesting.aspx?view=CN&symbol=CDE.N&storyid=urn:newsml:...