Well, today and yesterday the price of NYSE:SLV broke through it’s 50 day moving average of 17.60 to sit right now in mid-day trading at just over 18. That’s a big move for the precious metals market which has been out of luck lately as some groups around the world are dumping their gold and silver reserves.

But don’t worry, just as much as those groups are dumping their reserves, groups like SLV trusts are buying up these reserves which has offered some resistance to huge price decreases, so we think.

High Cost Mining Stocks
High cost mining stocks are stocks that represent a company that pays nearly the full cost of a commodity to bring it to surface. An example of a high cost mining company would be one that spends $15 for every $17 ounce of silver it brings to the surface and refines. Because of the accounting, high cost mining stocks offer huge potential to the upside and are a favorite among investors looking to rev up their returns.

The Hypothetical
Let’s assume that there is a mining company known as XYZ Mining. XYZ Mining operates several silver mines and trades at a price to earnings ratio of 10. Also, the company is a high cost operation, meaning it spends $15 to produce just one ounce of silver. Let’s also assume that the company produces 1000 ounces of silver per year.

So, when silver is $16, XYZ Mining earns $1000 per year. ($16 per ounce X 1000 ounces – $15 cost per ounce = $1000 profit)

However, should silver rise by just 6% to $17 per ounce, XYZ would earn $2000 per year. ($17 per ounce X 1000 ounces – $15 cost= $2000 profit)

As you can see, a small change in the price of silver (6%) generated a profit increase of 100%. If the company were to continue to trade at the same Price to Earnings ratio, it would double in price with just a 6% change in silver prices. Now do you see the value in high cost miners?

Well, we don’t think the world has gone crazy and decided to take their money out of everything. We think rather, the market is correcting itself. Investors are taking profits from both equities and commodities and we’re seeing a sell-off. But that doesn’t mean you shouldn’t look into buying these.

We think instead, you should think about buying into the market, especially something like SLV or GLD. Both of these ETFs look to provide you with buying opportunities in the coming weeks. Especially if we see another pull-back in the market. What around or get in now, either way, it looks like there might be some dollars to be had in the precious metals world.

Instead, with the dollar looking to weaken based on a fed that continues to print money, precious metals may be a good buy.  So how do you get into precious metals?

Well, one way is to buy ETFs like the silver trust ETF SLV. These types of funds allow you to directly invest in silver and gold without having to buy the precious metals themselves. But the question is, will silver, and likewise SLV be abel to survive the market rally? We think yes. Even though gold and silver have had amazing gains, we think they will continue to do so.

Although this is just our opinion, you have to look at what might cause this. Inflation, due to all that money printing, may cause investors, who like to hedge against downside risk of their dollars being worth less, by investing in silver. Others may want to play the silver game based on the fact that china and markets like it, namely india, are expanding at a rapid pace, and all those people are going to need things with gold or silver in them.

That’s why, it may be prudent just to keep a little SLV or GLD in your portfolio for the time being.

Buying silver, which historically, buying gold and silver has been done when the markets or dollar is down, is even a risky investment. Investors in precious metals have seen both of the major metals swing more than 15% in a months time. Going from 52 week highs to lows within a week.

However, the latest news from Wall Street, that Goldman Sachs beat estimates this quarter, comes as a boost to all commodities. Not because it’s finally good news from the investment banking world, or the banking world in general. But because the reports say that Goldman has had better than average returns in the commodities world or it’s investments.

To some this may seem obvious. Oil is up, way up, and buying things like gold and silver is just safe plays on a weak dollar and a strong commodities market. Traders don’t even have to buy just mining companies. They can get in by investing in silver ETFs like SLV.

But to others, just jumping on the bandwagon, it’s not that obvious and can still be a strong play in their investment portfolio, even in this run-up. As Blog Silver has said before, the demand is high and people are hesitant to dump their money into a volatile stock market. So they go looking for safer investments. Safer investments like gold and silver ETFs that can get large boosts from earnings reports that boast about commodities earnings.

But what about the rest of commodities around the world? And better yet, the worlds use of those commodities.

It’s increasing, and increasing at a huge rate. China and India, named way too many times to count in this blog and similar financial blogs, are all about buying the commodities that China and India are buying and need to survive. Some of those commodities are gold and silver, which you may want to consider buying.

Buying silver now may not be the worst idea. Oil is on the rise, stocks are chaotic at best, and the dollar, although rebounding on news that the fed is done lowering rates, is still not as nearly as strong as it’s closest rivals. You need to consider the rest of the market, not just those historical indicators of the price of silver.

There are a ton more investors in the game now and with Silver ETFs gaining popularity along with all the other sector ETFs out there, you may want to think about getting into silver right now.

As oil continues to rise, gold and silver are tending to follow the trends set by the market. When there’s a sign that the economy could rebound and the dollar could be on the rise, the precious metals fall. But as the market shakes with rising oil prices, people are back buying silver and gold. A big way they buy these precious metals is to buy into the silver or gold ETFs (Gold, IAU).

These funds are easier to trade and cost an investor less in the long run than buying silver or buying gold directly in the form of bullion bars or coins. The two trusts are holding strong, fluctuating with the price of gold and silver as they should since they are backed by the precious metals.

Silver has dropped dramatically in the last few weeks due mostly to profit taking and people calming down about the economic conditions. But should people think that the worst is over and start pulling money out of precious metals and other commodities?

Well I don’t know about you but I don’t think the economy is ready for a huge return to glory. Housing is still slumping, the dollar is still weak, and the Feds are looking towards inflation and recession talk. That doesn’t sound like a huge turnaround to me.

On top of that, world economies continue to grow with China and India leading the pack. Silver, used in many applications, not just for fancy jewelry, will continue to be in demand while the worlds mining companies push to keep up with it.

That and silver ETFs still buy more and more silver making less supply on the open market for those countries to purchase.

Buying silver now is still, in our opinion a good bet. Be cautious of spikes and look into precious metals ETFs and mutual funds to increase your position.

This IPO, lower interest rates from the Fed, and some people thinking the price of most precious metals is way too high, like gold and silver, makes for a tough market on silver. In one week the price of silver went down nearly 4 dollars a troy ounce. You knew it had to happen sooner or later, the price was just escalating to rapidly.

So what does that mean for your investment strategy? Should you get out too? Well if you bought at $21, I might have to suggest sticking it out, (although don’t take my investment advice, I beg you). But with the recent sell off, and inflation not being helped by lower interest rates (at least I think that’s how it goes) you may see the price of silver climb again.

But don’t bet the house on it, only as much as you can loose.

Although these options may give you something to hold in your hands, they aren’t very practical for the average investor. Buying physical silver and gold might require you to get insurance on your pieces, that can wipe out your profits. And buying physical gold and silver also puts you into the collectible tax category where taxable gains are at your normal tax bracket, not the possible long-term investment tax breaks you could get if you invested in other methods.

One way to get in on the silver rush is to buy an Electronically Traded Fund (ETF). The main silver trading fund is SLV, the i-shares silver trust. This fund is backed by silver and trades relatively close to the price of silver on a day to day basis. Doing so can keep you the long-term investment tax situation if you keep the fund for longer than a year. And buying and selling the fund is as easy as trading in your normal trading account. Unlike silver bars where you have to go and find a dealer or other collector who wants to purchase them.

Get into trading silver with SLV if you want an easy in on the latest “Silver Rush.”