As gold hits a new record high, precious metals are still shining brightly among investors.
Precious metals - gold, platinum and silver - were the best performing asset class over the first half of 2011, providing a return of 4.9 per cent, according to research by Lloyds TSB.
A combination of a commodities boom and the desire for safe haven investments has driven the returns, but gold is not leading the pack.
Silver was the precious metal that fared the best, significantly outperforming the other precious metals over the first half of 2011 with prices rising by 14 per cent – this is more than double the increase in gold prices (6.6 per cent).
In addition to its position as a safe haven investment, high demand for industrial uses has contributed to the strong rise in the price of silver.
In contrast, the price of platinum dropped 1.9 per cent in the last six months – but despite this, precious metals still beat other assets.
Despite the impressive rise in the price of silver, it has dipped drastically since its peak performance in April 2011, where it reached $49 per troy ounce – a rise of 59 per cent since the start of the year.
At the end of June, it was 28 per cent lower at $35 per troy ounce, amid a period of increased market volatility. But silver prices at the end of June are still 87 per cent higher than at the same point in 2010.
Looking over a ten year period, the price of silver has gone up a whopping 708%, gold 457% and platinum 209%.
In April 2011, gold prices smashed through to record highs of $1,532.91 an ounce and since then, gold prices have continued to climb and are now reaching even higher heights – it hit a new record high of $1,591 on Wednesday.
A combination of a commodities boom and the desire for safe haven investments has driven the returns, but gold is not leading the pack.
Silver was the precious metal that fared the best, significantly outperforming the other precious metals over the first half of 2011 with prices rising by 14 per cent – this is more than double the increase in gold prices (6.6 per cent).
In addition to its position as a safe haven investment, high demand for industrial uses has contributed to the strong rise in the price of silver.
In contrast, the price of platinum dropped 1.9 per cent in the last six months – but despite this, precious metals still beat other assets.
Despite the impressive rise in the price of silver, it has dipped drastically since its peak performance in April 2011, where it reached $49 per troy ounce – a rise of 59 per cent since the start of the year.
At the end of June, it was 28 per cent lower at $35 per troy ounce, amid a period of increased market volatility. But silver prices at the end of June are still 87 per cent higher than at the same point in 2010.
Looking over a ten year period, the price of silver has gone up a whopping 708%, gold 457% and platinum 209%.
In April 2011, gold prices smashed through to record highs of $1,532.91 an ounce and since then, gold prices have continued to climb and are now reaching even higher heights – it hit a new record high of $1,591 on Wednesday.
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