ETF’s Silver Holdings Dust Off A Record

The largest silver-backed exchange traded fund (ETF) isn’t a cloud, but it sure has a silver lining anyway.

Holdings in the iShares COMEX Gold Trust (SLV) rose to a record 6,092.31 tons on July 16, a 0.5% rise from the previous day’s level, reports Jan Harvey for Reuters. The fund was launched on April 21, 2006.

Analysts say that demand for physical silver has dropped off along with demand in the photography industry (it’s used to develop photos the old-fashioned way), so the industry is looking at investment demand as support for its prices.

Aside from photography, it has uses in jewelry, industry and silverware. Those industries represent 95% of annual silver consumption. It’s prized for its strength, malleability and conductivity.

Silver closed on Friday at $18.54 an ounce.

SLV is up 24.8% year-to-date.

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