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Gold/Mining/Energy : Mining News of Note -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: LoneClone who wrote (38112)	6/4/2009 12:17:29 PM
From: LoneClone	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 192884

London and Zurich silver ETFs grow by 3 million ounces in May Europe's silver ETFs showed sharp growth in May as investors moved into the most volatile of the precious metals. Posted: Tuesday , 02 Jun 2009 LONDON (Reuters) - mineweb.co.za Holdings of Europe's two major silver exchange-traded funds, run by ETF Securities in London and Zurich Cantonal Bank in Switzerland, rose by a combined 3 million ounces in May, data released by the two banks showed. ETF Securities' London silver (PHAG.L: Quote) holdings rose 2.2 million ounces last month to a record 19.99 million ounces, according to figures published on the company's website. Meanwhile holdings of Zurich Cantonal Bank's silver-backed exchange-traded fund (ZSIL.S: Quote) rose 2.1 percent or nearly 1 million ounces between its last report on April 27 and last Friday, the bank said in its weekly statement. Exchange-traded funds, which issue securities backed by physical commodities, have been in great demand this year from investors seeking a haven from risk in other markets. Funds backed by gold and silver, which are seen as providing a hedge against dollar weakness and possible future inflation, have seen large inflows since the beginning of the year. Silver, which is widely used in industry, is also now benefiting from sharper risk appetite among investors, which is lifting industrial commodities such as oil and base metals. "If you are looking at less risk aversion, more risk appetite, investors will look more at silver," said Commerzbank analyst Eugen Weinberg. "Silver is definitely a riskier investment than gold, and it has investment and speculative appeal." Inflows into gold funds, which rose heavily in the first quarter, were more modest. ETF Securities' gold-backed ETF saw inflows of 44,300 ounces or 1.6 percent last month. ZKB's gold product saw a rise of 0.4 percent or just over 18,000 ounces. The two banks' platinum holdings declined in May, however, according to their statements. ETFS Physical Platinum (PHPT.L: Quote) saw outflows of 45,500 ounces or 13.6 percent, while ZKB's Physical Platinum fund (ZPLA.S: Quote) inched down 0.04 percent. Elsewhere, Swiss bank Julius Baer (BAER.VX: Quote) said holdings of its gold-backed exchange-traded fund rose 106,000 ounces or 7 percent in the week to May 29. (Reporting by Jan Harvey; editing by James Jukwey)