Washington, November 2010

Silver investment continues to grow rapidly in 2010, with global holdings in exchange-traded funds (ETFs) backed by physical silver holdings at their highest recorded levels, and U.S. silver bullion coin demand set to outpace last year’s record sales.

Global holdings in silver-backed ETFs stand at over 448,887,000 million ounces (Moz). Over 326 Moz of physical silver are currently held by the iShares Silver Trust alone. Launched in April of 2006, the product trades on the American Stock Exchange under the symbol "SLV” and is managed by BlackRock. Total net assets in the iShares silver trust were $7.8 billion as of October 29, 2010.

Other notable silver-backed ETFs are those managed by ETF Securities LTD and Zürcher Kantonalbank (ZKB). A new entrant to market is Sprott Inc., which announced last week the initial public offering of its Sprott Physical Silver Trust, which will be listed on NYSE Arca and the Toronto Stock Exchanges.

Investors are flocking to these efficient investment tools that make investing in silver convenient, giving the investor exposure to the market without the necessity of taking physical delivery and thereby having no storage, insurance or assaying costs.

Silver bullion coin demand is also particularly buoyant in 2010. Sales of the U.S. Mint’s one-ounce Silver American Eagle Bullion coin already exceed 28 million coins this year, and given current demand should top last year’s record of 28.7 million coins. Similarly, the Royal Canadian Mint is reporting that 2010 sales of its popular Silver Maple Leaf bullion coin are 30 percent higher than 2009 figures to date.

Michael DiRienzo, Executive Director of the Silver Institute, stated, "Today, the silver price is approaching $25.00 per ounce and through 2010, the silver price has risen an impressive 47 percent to levels not seen in 30 years. While this is primarily due to solid investment demand, there is evidence that industrial demand for silver is also on the rise, and that too bodes very well for silver in the long-run." he added.

The Silver Institute is a nonprofit international industry association headquartered in Washington, D.C. Established in 1971, the Institute serves as the industry's voice in increasing public understanding of the value and many uses of silver.

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