What’s the latest news with silver and gold?  Will the latest price figures motivate you to buy more silver bar options or gold pieces?  You may have already heard that gold price went up in early January 2012 and this was mostly because of (A) a higher U.S. dollar (thanks to some good employment news) and (B) because China’s supply is slightly increasing. 

However, silver is actually increasing in price for altogether different reasons, though positive news doesn’t hurt.  Silver has actually increased in value as a risk asset and largely because of Middle Eastern woes.  The newest development is that tensions are increasing between the U.S. and Iran, and this is leading to rising oil prices.  This worry has actually helped silver to increase to $29.37, a slight gain over last week. 

What is the source of tension?  The U.S. is putting strong sanctions on Iran, which has led to Iran threatening military action.  Iran even closed down the Strait of Hormuz, which is a huge location for oil production.  No wonder oil prices are going up, and this has led to silver price also increasing.  In fact, it’s fairly common to see precious metals, like gold or silver bar pieces, rise when oil prices are also going up. 

Together with economic problems in India and the Eurozone, not to mention China’s return to gold investing after a slow week, we are seeing the silver price stabilize.  The U.S. economy is also on the rise (at least for now).  And truthfully, silver can only go up from this point, since it is near its lowest ebb, and most experts are predicting phenomenal growth this year.

It is a rare metal, perhaps rarer or equally rare as gold.  When recession is really pressing, all precious metals tend to increase, especially silver, which is an affordable metal in comparison to others.  Yes, you can start protecting your own assets by converting some of your funds to silver bar and gold bar pieces.  You don’t actually lose anything, and you stand the chance to protect yourself from inflation, and perhaps even profit from a precious metal hike in price, or from collector coinage. 

Better yet, since silver is less than $30 PTO at the moment you can start stocking up on silver without breaking the bank or maxing out your credit cards.  Why not talk to a coin dealer about your options in silver metal?