Commodities tumble takes the shine off silver

After a volatile few weeks for silver, Maria Merricks examines what the future holds for the precious metal.

All eyes were on precious metals during the first quarter of the year. While gold hit the headlines with record-breaking highs, its cheaper relative, silver, was also making waves. Gaining up to 50%, the metal flirted with $50 per ounce in the weeks following Easter. Such highs had not been witnessed since the early 1980s when the spot price hit $50.35 in trading. However, the rally did not last: the beginning of May saw a spectacular tumble in commodities with the biggest sell-off in two years. In its biggest one-day fall, silver shed 12% on 5 May. At the time of writing, the metal w...