By Matt Smith
Global stock markets continued to be wracked by rising volatility because of a range of economic and geopolitical events that are fueling greater concern among investors. This is generating renewed interest in precious metals, including gold, silver, and platinum, as investors seek safe-haven investments to avoid this volatility.
1. Geopolitical and economic risk is rising
Economic and geopolitical crises are gripping the globe. Earlier this year, emerging markets plunged as the Argentine peso was sold off; now Argentina has defaulted yet again on its debt, and there is growing concern that Portugal’s banking system is nearing collapse.
Conflict is raging across the Middle East, with insurgents controlling swathes of Syria and Iraq, renewed open warfare between opposing parties in Libya, and Israel continuing to prosecute a war against Hamas in the Gaza Strip. War in the Ukraine is also intensifying, with it fast becoming a proxy conflict between the West and Russia, fueling further concern about how far it will escalate.
These developments have thrown the spotlight firmly on safe-haven investments and will continue to push silver prices higher as investors seek a cost-effective alternative to global stock markets.
2. The gold-to-silver ratio widens further
Historically, there has been a close correlation between the prices of silver and gold. This is expressed in the form of the gold-to-silver-ratio, indicating how many ounces of silver are needed to buy one ounce of gold. Over the years this ratio has fluctuated wildly, falling as low as 20 ounces of silver to buy one ounce of gold in 1970 to a high of 89 ounces in 1991.
For the year to date, the ratio has widened, now requiring 66 ounces of silver to buy an ounce of gold. This is well in excess of the historical average of 47 ounces over the last century and well above the figure 43 ounces required at the height of the gold bull market.
If silver correlates to gold at the same level as at the peak of the gold bull market, then silver offers potential upside of 53%. Even if the ratio narrows to the average over the last century, there is potential upside of 40%.
This indicates that now is the time to buy silver as a hedge against both inflation and as a safe-haven investment in place of gold.http://www.fool.ca/2014/08/18/3-reasons-why-i-am-bullish-on-silver/
MAKE SURE YOU GET PHYSICAL SILVER IN YOUR OWN POSSESSION. Don't Buy SLV, or Futures or Pooled Accounts or any other BS paper silver product .Remember anything on paper is worth the paper it is written on. Go Long Stay long the bull market have even started yet
