Gold good bet, silver is better

The price of gold has been steadily rising, but theprice rise of silver may outperform gold this year.
Gold scaled a historic high by registering Rs 19,890per 10 gram today.The price of silver has been steeply rising. Lastyear, in March, it was $13.53 per troy ounce. Today itwas $19.62 per troy ounce. In the domestic marketalso, silver price has seen a bullish trend. Itregistered a historic high of Rs 390 per 10 gram todayfrom last week’s closing of Rs 364.Tej Ratna Shakya, president of Nepal Gold and SilverDealers’ Association (NEGOSIDA), agrees that thesilver price is rising steeply. “Last year, silverprice was hovering around Rs 327.50 per 10 gram.
Today, it has hit a historic high of Rs 390.”According to Kotak Commodity Services Ltd (KCSL) — theglobal commodity service — gold price may witness onlya 17 per cent rise this year, whereas silver couldincrease by27 per cent.For more than 4,000 years, silver has been regarded asa form of money and store of value. However, since theend of the silver standard, silver has lost its roleas legal tender in the US. Silver, by just about anyrelative objective measurement, is cheaper than almostany other industrial commodity and has far greaterpotential to the upside.When it comes to investing, there are only a few broadasset classes from which to choose,including stocks, bonds, real estate and all othertangibles, commodities and collectibles.Investing in silver, in comparison to othercommodities and even land, at present, could be saferand is affordable for the common Nepalis.
“Silver is used in many applications. Because silveris such a good conductor of electricity, it is used inmany electrical applications, including switches,contacts and fuses. All electrical appliances use
silver contacts and switches,” Shakya said, addingthat microwaves, dishwashers, TV and telephones allcontain silver.Because silver is so reflective — in fact it is thebest reflector known — it is used in mirrors and incoatings for glass or other metals. Metals can becoated with silver by a process called electroplating.It is also used in the health industry like in silversulfadiazine, which is a very powerful compound usedto treat burns and it is used in tooth fillings also.“One of the largest uses of silver is in photographicpaper and film,” he added.
It ia also used in the health industry like in silver sulfadiazine, which is a very powerful compound used to treat burns and it is used in tooth fillings also. "One of the largest uses of silver is in photographic paper and film," he added. "Thus, globally, silver has high demand in industries. Though it is used only for jewellery and utencils in Nepal."
Gold and silver are asset class, so these two metals had generated a compounded annual growth rate of 14.41 per cent and 17.34 per cent respectively in the last seven years. This highlights silver's out-performance, which is believed to continue in the years to come, according to the experts.