February 11, 2008 at 10:00 am by Tom Lydon
Precious metals and related exchange traded funds (ETFs) are making all-time records right now.
Platinum hit a new record high of $1,850 an ounce Thursday. Investors were drawn to the metal after the concerns deepened concerning South Africa’s mining troubles.
Fin24 reports that platinum producers throughout South Africa are still facing power outage problems after halting mining operations for five days last month. This region produces three-quarters of world’s output.
Despite the metal’s popularity, there’s no platinum ETF currently available in the United States. This is because of concerns on the part of platinum miners that such a fund could cause demand to exceed supply and create volatility.
Gold is also continuing its reach for the stars, Goldseek says. Futures closed at $923.60 on Friday, leaving its $936.80 record high of the previous week intact for now. Silver has gone forward to $16.74 an ounce, up 23 cents.
While $1,000 an ounce is considered to be within reach, it’s still nowhere near the inflation-adjusted high of $2,400 an ounce in 1980.
Investors can gain exposure to silver and gold through these ETFs:
- iShares Silver Trust (SLV), up 13.4% year-to-date
- streetTRACKS Gold Shares (GLD), up 9% year-to-date
- Market Vectors Gold Miners (GDX), up 2.3% year-to-date
- iShares COMEX Gold Trust (IAU), up 9% year-to-date
Tags: GLD, IAU, Material ETFs, Metals, Platinum, Silver, South Africa
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February 11th, 2008 at 2:51 pm
Although not exactly an ETF, Central Fund of Canada (CEF) gives you a direct exposure to both silver and gold.