Is Silver the New Gold?
For many years consumers and investors have favoured gold, but persistently high prices mean the time has come for silver to reassert its credentials as a jewellery material and a store of value.
By Reuters staff
Last Updated: 2:20PM BST 08 Apr 2009
Signs that the economic downturn may at last be reaching a floor is also expected to help silver to pick up the momentum it needs to outperform gold.
The debate about the relative merits of gold and silver has been triggered by news the world's largest consumer, India, for the second month running in March did not import any gold, and may even have become an exporter.
"In India you have people who can only afford silver and people who will only buy gold, but there are a large number of people in the middle who will rotate from gold to silver," said Ashok Shah, chief investment officer at London & Capital.
That phenomenon is likely to be repeated in other countries as unemployment, salary cuts and potential tax rises take their toll on consumer spending, analysts said.
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