Silver - Gold's Little Brother Plays Catch-Up

Silver appears to be playing a game of catch-up with respect to its big brother, gold. It's recently touched US$21 for the first time in two years, driven by the same factors that are driving gold - Brexit fall-out, negative interest rates, economic uncertainty, US rate rates on hold and expectations of central bank stimulus. The best way of viewing the relationship between silver and gold is what is known as the gold-silver ratio (how many ounces of silver are required to buy an ounce and of gold). At it's worst, the relationship between silver and gold had increased to more than 83:1 in early March (its highest level since 1995), as gold significantly outperformed its little brother. Silver was cheap on a historical basis, given that the long-term average for the price relationship is around 55:1 - and it's now fallen to 68:1. The ratio tends to move lower during times when precious metals prices are firm, as silver historically attracts more speculative market participants - so during periods of price appreciation it often outperforms the price of gold.