Silver Standard Resources (NASDAQ:SSRI) Leads Silver Stocks

Silver stocks led the way today, and Silver Standard Resources (NASDAQ:SSRI) led the silver stocks, as it gained $0.76 a share to end the session at $18.11, a 4.38 percent increase.

Silver Standard moved up on news it has increased production at its Pirquitas Mine in Argentina, which will produce an estimated 7 million ounces of silver in 2010.

Commodities did better today as risk tolerance increased on hopes the European Union may have enough capital to handle the sovereign debt crisis, although I wouldn't place my hat on that being a reality.

Silver prices remained about level, gaining $0.01, to finish at $18.30.

Silver | Precious Metal Driving Prices

Silver Prices going up

With silver being valuable as a precious metal and industrial metal, it is important to know what is driving prices at any one time and invest accordingly.

Now that inflation fears are as high as ever, the precious metal side of the equation has been driving silver prices up, and that shouldn't abate any time soon.

This of course doesn't mean supply and demand of silver for industrial uses won't be an ongoing factor in silver prices, just that it's not the primary driver at this time, but will continue to be over the long term.

Silver Prices going up

Silver Market Outperforming Gold

Silver Prices Going Up

So far this year silver has outperformed gold, and that could continue on for some times, as silver is not only used as a hedge against inflation, but trades much more on supply and demand than its stronger cousin gold, which will keep silver prices going up.

With commodities certain to perform strongly in the years ahead, and silver possibly one of the potentially strongest performers among commodity metals, it future looks bright for investors in this area.

Those that understand commodities are starting to respond stronger in preparation for that, and one of those is the European-based ETF Securities, which has just created a new ETF focusing on silver.

"It's the first step in building a platform for commodities," said Graham Tuckwell, founder and chairman of ETF Securities.

This particular ETF will buy silver, and those investing in it will be buying into physical silver stored in a vault and stamped with a serial number.

Silver prices should continue to go up as demand outpaces supply, and new demand causes permanent usage of the metal which is unrecoverable.

Silver Prices Going Up

Silver Prices Going Up - Miners Respond

Silver prices going up

With numerous elements coming together at the right time, silver prices have been going up, and over the long term that should continue.

Those high silver prices have some Colorado miners hoping to rekindle the state's silver trade.

Several miners are working around the Poor Man silver mine in Idaho Springs. Silver prices are up, with futures in silver going up 27 percent just last month. Silver is now trading at about $15.60 an ounce.

The silver boom is caused by economic uncertainty and the fact that silver is used in solar panels. Some miners who lead tours of old Colorado gold mines say they're also poking around abandoned silver mines looking for new veins of silver.

The Denver Post reported Saturday that several people have filed applications with Colorado to explore or reactivate silver mines.

One of them is Al Mosch. His day job is leading gold-mine tours of the Phoenix Mine in Idaho Springs, but on his time off he pokes around the old silver site.

"I did some serious work in here in the 1980s when silver was at $12," Mosch said. "It crashed to $4 and stayed that way for many years. I just shut it down then."

His son, David, a former Colorado School of Mines professor, prospected a multimillion-dollar gold claim that put him in People magazine in 1975 at age 14. Al Mosch still has a claim in the silver mine, and David Mosch is working on new technology to extract silver.

"If he's successful," Al Mosch told the newspaper, "we could reopen a lot of these old claims."

The United States is the eighth-largest silver producer in the world. Most silver produced is used for industrial applications such as battery-making, or photography, or jewelry crafting, with alternative-energy uses on the rise.

Another silver prospector, Tom Treadwell, is working to clear some 30 tons of mud and debris left in Poor Man's main shaft. He said the enjoys looking for a new vein of silver to revive the state's silver mining industry.

Silver prices going up