Precious metals ETFs have weakened since the end of September but silver funds are down nearly twice as much as gold prices during the recent pullback.
For the month ended Nov. 5, iShares Silver Trust (NYSEArca: SLV) was off 9.8% compared with a 5.4% decline for SPDR Gold Shares (NYSEArca: GLD), according to Morningstar.
The silver ETF is currently testing its 200-day simple moving average. It hasn’t slipped below this technical indicator since late August.
SLV is outperforming gold prices in 2012 with a 12% year-to-date gain.
Silver, known for its volatility, has been the top-performing commodity over the past decade. According to Lloyds, silver prices have delivered the best gains since 2002. Lloyds data shows that silver jumped 572% over the past decade, beating gold’s rise of 428%, Money Morning reports.
Lloyds said silver beat gold because “[I]n addition to being perceived as a safe haven investment, high demand for industrial uses has also contributed to the strong rise in the price of silver,” according to the report.