Silver Wheaton Corporation (NYSE: SLW) is up 6.7% at $34.07, and the 52-week trading range is $25.84 to $47.60.

Pan American Silver Corp. (NASDAQ: PAAS) is still only flat at $21.85 but it was lower before the FOMC comments today. The 52-week trading range is $19.93 to $43.06.

Goldcorp Incorporated (NYSE: GG) is up 5.2% at $46.70, and the 52-week trading range is $39.93 to $56.31.

Newmont Mining Corporation (NYSE: NEM) is up 3.4% at $59.43, and the 52-week trading range is $50.05 to $72.42.

Kinross Gold Corporation (NYSE: KGC) up over 6% at $11.23, and the 52-week trading range is $9.96 to $18.25.

Agnico-Eagle Mines Limited (NYSE: AEM) up 8% at $37.23, and the 52-week trading range is $34.36 to $76.49.

ETFs are rocking as well.  The Market Vectors Gold Miners ETF (NYSE: GDX) is up 5.3% at $54.58 against a 52-week range of $49.22 to $66.98.  Market Vectors Junior Gold Miners (NYSE: GDXJ) is up 6.5% at $28.66 against a 52-week range of $22.58 to $42.97.  The Global X Silver Miners ETF (NYSE: SIL) is up 3.9% at $23.69 and the 52-week range is $19.05 to $31.34.

The logic is simple enough… This signals extremely low interest rates and low costs of borrowing.  It also signals that investors will have to look elsewhere yet again to seek higher returns than short-term and intermediate-term Treasuries.  As this means that rates will be low in the U.S. for longer than expected, that is going to drive a weak dollar policy as long as things remain static in Europe and in other major economic zones.  That is the perfect storm for gold and silver as they are often inversely correlated to the dollar.

JON C. OGG

Gold prices have gained about $60/ounce, about 3.6%. Silver prices are up roughly 9%. Copper prices are up by about 8.6%. Titanium prices are unchanged, steel prices have been drifting though more varieties appear to be selling at lower prices, and rare earth minerals vary widely depending on the particular mineral. Lanthanum oxides are selling for about $61/kilogram, while terbium oxide goes for $605/kilogram.

All stock data comes from Yahoo! Finance and current prices were gathered in the early afternoon today.

Of the companies we survey, all but one enjoys a higher stock price today than they did last month. The single exception is Molycorp, which is getting punished today for missing both EPS and revenue estimates. At yesterday’s closing price of $38.70, Molycorp’s share price was higher than it was a month ago.

More interesting, perhaps, were recent changes in median price targets. Only Nucor and Titanium’s price targets have remained the same in the last month. Two stocks, Newmont and Barrick, had their price targets raised and the other seven had price targets lowered.

Newmont’s target price was raised from $77 to $81. At the new target price and a current price of $70.41, Newmont’s implied gain is $10.59, or 15%. The stock put up a new 52-week high last week, and its forward P/E also rose from 10.2 to 11.47. In the past month, shares have gained more than $7, or 11%. The company’s pledge to raise dividends if gold price targets are met is another reason to look carefully at this stock.

Barrick’s target price was raised from $66.50 to $68. At the new target price and a current price of $52.61, Barrick’s implied gain is $15.39, or 29%. Shares are trading at less than 6% away from the 52-week high of $55.95. Over the past month, Barrick’s shares have gained 12%.

The largest drop in target price was settled on Molycorp, which saw its target price fall from $80- to $70. Even at that, the implied gain for the shares, based on today’s price of $34.04, is 106%. The wide gap is due not so much to any failure on Molycorp’s part but to what might be “irrational exuberance” for the stock by investors. There is also the fact that Molycorp’s mineral reserves tend to be heavy on the lower-priced rare earths and light on the higher-priced metals.

The largest percentage drop in target price was claimed by US Steel, which saw its target price fall from $40 to $34.50, nearly 14%. The company posted a new 52-week low on October 3rd. At the current price of $26.08, the implied gain is $8.42, or 32%. US Steel is widely expected to be acquired — and fairly soon — which is attracting short sellers in droves.

Freeport-McMoran’s target price fell from $55 to $53 in the past month, even though shares have added $5.05, or about 15%, in the same period. The implied gain based on the new target price and the current price of $39.83 is 33%. Freeport’s problem is that demand for copper might be stagnating or worse, given the construction slowdown in China.

Silver Wheaton’s target price fell from $51.50 to $49.50, while the share price has gained 17%. At the new target price and based on today’s price of $36.18, the implied gain here is 37%. There is plenty of headroom for Silver Wheaton’s share price to continue rising, but demand for silver will be the driver.

Alcoa’s target price dropped from $15.50 to $13 in the last month, even as the share price has risen by about 8%. At the new target price and based on the current price of $10.58, the implied gain in Alcoa stock is nearly 23%. Given that shares rose by 8% in the last month, anything’s possible, even that Alcoa may hit the lower target.

The target price for Steel Dynamics fell from $18 to $16, while share prices gained a substantial 23% in the same period. At the new target price and a current price of $13.51, the implied gain in the stock is 18%. EPS estimates for the current quarter have fallen by nearly -20% in the past month, following lowered guidance from the company.

Southern Copper’s target price fell from from $36.75 to $36.25 in the past month, even though the share price rose by 21%. At the new target and at the current price of $32.41, the implied gain for Southern Copper is nearly 12%.

Paul Ausick

The earnings previews are as follows: priceline.com Inc. (NASDAQ: PCLN); A123 Systems Inc. (NASDAQ: AONE); Activision Blizzard Inc. (NASDAQ: ATVI); Pan American Silver Corp. (NASDAQ: PAAS); Toyota Motor Corporation (NYSE: TM); Cisco Systems, Inc. (NASDAQ: CSCO); Computer Sciences Corp. (NYSE: CSC); General Motors Co. (NYSE: GM); Green Mountain Coffee Roasters Inc. (NASDAQ: GMCR); Macy’s Inc. (NYSE: M); Silver Wheaton Corp. (NYSE: SLW); Molycorp Inc. (NYSE: MCP); Nordstrom Inc. (NYSE: JWN); NVIDIA Corporation (NASDAQ: NVDA); and Walt Disney Co. (NYSE: DIS).  Earnings estimates are from Thomson Reuters.

For each day of the week we have also added in the key economic events to watch for as well.

MONDAY, NOVEMBER 7

priceline.com Inc. (NASDAQ: PCLN) is expected to report $9.30 EPS and $1.42 billion in revenues; next quarter estimates are $5.14 EPS and $996.75 million in revenues.

10:00 AM EST Employment Trends Index (October)

3:00 PM EST Consumer Credit (September)

TUESDAY, NOVEMBER 8

A123 Systems Inc. (NASDAQ: AONE) is expected to report -$0.38 EPS and $66.3 million in revenues; next quarter estimates are -$0.35 EPS and $84.2 million in revenues.

Activision Blizzard Inc. (NASDAQ: ATVI) is expected to report $0.02 EPS and $558.4 million in revenues; next quarter estimates are $0.53 EPS and $2.1 billion in revenues.

Pan American Silver Corp. (NASDAQ: PAAS) is expected to report $0.78 EPS and $260.8 million in revenues; next quarter estimates are $0.66 EPS and $247.58 million in revenues.

Toyota Motor Corp. (NYSE: TM) is expected to report $0.41 EPS and $52 billion in revenues; next quarter estimates are $1.03 EPS and $66.47 billion in revenues. As a reminder, this will originally be in Yen and the Yen has been at record highs and it could impact the figures.

7:30 AM EST NFIB Small Business Sentiment (October)

4:30 PM EST API Weekly Oil Inventories

United States Steel Corp. (NYSE: X) has a median target price of $40.00 from 14 brokers. Shares are trading today at $23.52, for an implied gain of $16.48, or 41.2%. US Steel’s forward P/E is 6.46 and the company’s dividend yield is 0.90%. The stock’s 52-week trading range is $18.85-$64.03, and at today’s price that’s about 25% above its 52-week low and 63% below the 52-week high. The huge difference between US Steel’s 52-week high and its current price indicates a substantial opportunity here, if the company can get its act together. It owns its own sources of iron ore and coke, so it is relatively insulated from the higher costs faced by many other steel makers. The company should be doing better than this, but it’s a tough market out there.

Nucor Corp. (NYSE: NUE) has a median target price of $45.00 from 13 brokers. Shares traded today at $34.85, for an implied gain of $10.15, or 22.6%. Nucor’s forward P/E is 10.34 and the company’s dividend yield is 4.20%. The stock’s 52-week trading range is $29.82-$49.24, and at today’s price that’s about 17% above the 52-week low and 29% below the 52-week high. Nucor stock recently took a hit when the company lowered third-quarter EPS estimates to $0.45-$0.55 compared with analysts’ expectation of $0.64. Demand for raw materials raises costs for Nucor, at the same time that demand in the US has fallen.

Steel Dynamics Inc. (NASDAQ: STLD) has a median target price of $18.00 from 13 brokers. Shares traded today at $10.95, for an implied gain of $7.05, or 39.2%. Steel Dynamics’ forward P/E is 6.49 and the company’s dividend yield is 3.70%. The stock’s 52-week trading range is $8.78-$20.70, and at today’s price that’s about 25% above the 52-week low and 47% below the 52-week high. Like Nucor, Steel Dynamics revised EPS expectations downward last month by at least a third compared with analysts expectations.

Newmont Mining Corp. (NYSE: NEM) has a median target price of $77.00 from 16 brokers. Shares are trading today at $63.24, for an implied gain of $13.76, or 17.9%. Newmont’s forward P/E is 10.2 and the company’s dividend yield is 1.9%. The stock’s 52-week trading range is $50.05-$71.25, and at today’s price that’s about 26% above the 52-week low and 11% below the 52-week high. Newmont is the largest gold miner in the world and its dividend yield is also the highest among the miners. The company has committed to raising dividends if certain gold price targets are hit, making life even tougher for competitors.

Barrick Gold Corp. (NYSE: ABX) has a median price target of $66.50 from 20 brokers. Shares traded today at $46.93, for an implied gain of $19.57, or 29.4%. Barrick’s forward P/E is 7.67 and the company’s dividend yield is 1%. The stock’s 52-week trading range is $42.50-$55.95, and at today’s price that’s about 10% above the 52-week low and 16% below the 52-week high. Gold mining stocks have not been able to keep up with the rising price of gold mainly because the miners’ costs keep rising even as gold prices rise. Barrick is one of the lowest cost producers among the big gold mining companies, and that’s a real positive for the company.

Copper prices have dropped by more than $1/pound from around $4.50/pound at the beginning of August. CME raised the copper margin by 18% on September 24th, so this is the second rise in just over two weeks. At the same time as the last rise, CME also raised the margin requirements on gold by 21% and silver by 16%. CME’s rationale for raising margin requirements is based on what it calls a “normal review of market volatility to ensure adequate collateral coverage.”

CME’s move has probably played a part in lifting copper mining stocks Freeport-McMoran Copper & Gold (NYSE: FCX) and Southern Copper (NYSE: SCCO), as well as gold miners Newmont Mining (NYSE: NEM) and Barrick Gold (NYSE: ABX), and silver miner Silver Wheaton (NYSE: SLW).

If copper margins are rising today, can requirements on gold and silver be far behind? The margin requirement for a speculative trader to open a position on a 100-ounce gold contract is $11,475. At today’s price of around $1,648/ounce, that is just 7% of the value of the contract.

The margin requirement for a speculative 5,000-ounce silver contract is $24,875. At today’s silver price of nearly $32/ounce, the value of a contract is $160,000. That calculates to a margin requirement of about 15.5%.

The rise in margin requirements last month put a damper on prices for all three of the metals. That is not happening with copper today, as the price is up nearly 5%. The news that the European Central Bank is offering essentially unlimited additional emergency loans to eurozone banks is putting some air under all markets today, and the commodities markets are not excepted.

Still, there is a nearly certain chance that CME will lift its gold and silver margin requirements again. The margin on gold contracts seems particularly out of kilter given the 15% requirement for both silver and copper. But if today’s market reaction is any indication, margin requirement increases do not play as big a role in metals trading as might be thought.

Freeport’s shares are up about 1.5%, at $34.97, in a 52-week range of $28.85 – $61.35. Southern Copper’s shares are up nearly 2.5%, at $27.04, in a 52-week range of $22.58 – $50.35. The iPath DJ-UBS Copper Total Return Subindex ETN (NYSE: JJC) is up nearly 3%, at $41.95, in a 52-week range of $38.99 – $61.69.

Gold miner Newmont’s shares are up about 0.5%, at $63.33, in a 52-week range of $50.05 – $71.25 and Barrick’s shares are up about 1.5%, at $46.98, in a 52-week range of $42.50 – $55.95. The SPDR Gold Trust (NYSE: GLD) is up about 0.2%, at $159.74, in a 52-week range of $127.80-$185.85. The Market Vectors Gold Miners ETF (NYSE: GDX) is up about 0.7%, at $55.28, in a 52-week range of $50.42 – $66.98. The Market Vectors Junior Gold Miners ETF (NYSE: GDXJ) is up more than 3.5%, at $29.21, in a 52-week range of $25.22 – $44.86.

Silver Wheaton shares are up about 5%, at $30.81, in a 52-week range of $25.35 – $47.60. The iShares Silver Trust (NYSE: SLV) is up more than 3.5%, at $30.75, in a 52-week range of $21.97 – $48.35. The Global X Silver Minters ETF (NYSE: SIL) is up nearly 4.5%, at $21.93, in a 52-week range of $18.74 – $31.34.

Paul Ausick

The other side of the mining coin is a bit more positive though. Gold miners Newmont Mining Corp. (NYSE: NEM), Barrick Gold Corp. (NYSE: ABX), and Yamana Gold Inc. (NYSE: AUY) have seen their share price rises outstrip bullion price rises for the first time in at least a year. The SPDR Gold Trust (NYSE: GLD) has lost about -5% of its value in the last month, while the gold miners are all up more than 1% and Newmont is up nearly 8%. The Market Vectors Gold Miners ETF (NYSE: GDX) is up about 1% in the past month, but the Market Vectors Junior Gold Miners ETF is down close to -5%.

In silver, the story more closely follows the copper downturn. Silver Wheaton Corp. (NYSE: SLW) is up about 1% in the last month, while the iShares Silver Trust (NYSE: SLV) is down about -9% and the Global X Silver Miners ETF (NYSE: SIL) is off nearly -5%.

Copper prices have been trending downward more strongly for about the past six weeks. Since posting a high above $4.60/pound in February, copper now fetches about $3.55/pound. Weaker economic forecasts for the developed countries have caused some of the decline, but that has been more gradual. The 600-pound gorilla is China, where Rio’s CEO said that there is evidence that the country is de-stocking as the Chinese government tightens lending in an effort to cool inflation. The side-effect of that tightening is that growth is also slowed, reducing demand for copper and iron ore.

China’s de-stocking has been developing gradually over the past several months, but Albanese’s admission is the first statement from a major player in the mining sector that the sharp upturn in commodity prices has now turned south. The question, of course, is when it will turn back north again.

Commodity prices on everything from food to oil have been falling as demand expectations are adjusted to account for nearly universal slow growth. The key for copper and iron ore producers is China. Rio’s CEO made a special note of saying that the company’s largest Chinese customers “are not showing any sign of slowdown.” But, remember, he also said that there is evidence of de-stocking. Which is it?

The signals all point to a Chinese slowdown in both manufacturing and construction. But the copper and iron ore miners are hopeful that the low price for copper will spur a new round of buying. This could be a case of finding what you’re looking for in the tea leaves.

Copper is trading down almost -6% today, and gold is off more than -2%, at around $1,765 about an hour and a half before markets open this morning. Rio’s pre-market price is now $47.96, about -6.5% lower than the new 52-week low the stock posted yesterday. BHP is also below its 52-week low, at $68.56 in the pre-market, down about -4.75% from yesterday’s close. Vale is down about -3.5%, at $24.41, just pennies above its 52-week low of $24.08. And Freeport-McMoran is down more than -4% from yesterday’s close, at $34.10, well below the new 52-week low of $35.56 that the stock posted yesterday. Southern Copper is down about -1.5% in the pre-market, at $27.50, just pennies above its new 52-week low set yesterday.

Gold miners are moving down this morning’s pre-market as well, probably following the downward move in gold. Newmont is off about -2.5%, at $66.00, in a 52-week range of $50.05-$71.25. Barrick is off nearly -3%, at $51.75, in a 52-week range of $42.50-$55.95. Yamana is off nearly -3.75%, at $15.79, in a 52-week range of $10.41-$17.47. And it’s interesting that these gold miners’ shares traded quite near 52-week highs yesterday.

Paul Ausick

Bluefly Inc. (NASDAQ: BFLY) tanked after earnings and volume is explosive at more than 7-times normal trading.  Oddly, that ‘explosive volume’ is only 24,408 shares…. This one is down almost 16% at $1.65… A Soros stock!

Briggs & Stratton Corporation (NYSE: BGG) is down over 13% at $12.99 on more than 4.5 million shares after the company’s earnings turned into losses.  So much for air cooled gasoline engines for outdoor power equipment worldwide.

The Central Fund of Canada Limited (AMEX: CEF) is a closed-end commodity fund that invests in commodities.  You rarely see this sort of move, but the fund is down 4.6% at $23.36.  The fund’s site says that it is “The Sound Monetary Fund” and its purpose is “to hold gold and silver bullion on a secure basis for the convenience of investors in the shares of Central Fund.”  When stocks rally as gold and silver tank, adios Mr. Morose.

Cogo Group, Inc. (NASDAQ: COGO) is down like it sells the next dangerous Pogo-stick.  This is after filing its quarterly report yesterday with the SEC after last week’s earnings.  Shares are down 10% at $2.49 on double the normal volume already as 1.13 million shares have traded hands.

Learning Tree International Inc. (NASDAQ: LTRE) is apparently called the Idiot Tree because higher costs hurt earnings.  This one is down almost 15% at $8.06, but the volume is puny at not even 13,000 shares in mind-day trading.

LodgeNet Interactive Corporation (NASDAQ: LNET) gave back its gains from yesterday that were on the heels of its extension with Starwood.  Shares are down 10.5% at $1.995 on almost 200,000 shares.

Niska Gas Storage Partners LLC (NYSE: NKA) was absolutely pounded after earnings.  The natural gas storage assets partnership is down 18.5% at $11.96 and shares hit a 52-week low of $10.95 today.

Open Text Corp. (NASDAQ: OTEX) is facing a closed-book apparently.  The enterprise content management solutions provider missed earnings expectations after the close yesterday and the stock is down 9.3% at $52.14 on 13-times normal volume as the 52-week range is $36.11 to $72.32.

OXiGENE, Inc. (NASDAQ: OXGN) is taking it on the chin with a 10.6% drop to $1.43 on more than 400,000 shares.     Last night it reported a net loss for the quarter of $2.9 million versus net income of $2.5 million for the same three-month period of 2010.

Seven Arts Pictures PLC    (NASDAQ: SAPX) is one of the worst performers and it has been a very volatile low-priced stock that has been popular with day traders and chat rooms.  Shares are down about 16% at $0.85 on about 1 million shares.

Silver Wheaton Corp. (NYSE: SLW) is down marginally as silver and gold have been whacked hard.  This one is leveraged per traders with silver and shares are down 0.3% at $36.69 versus a 52-week range of $19.06 to $47.60.  By the way, the AMEX-listed ‘losers’ list is littered with speculative miners but this one is not as speculative as others.

SodaStream International Ltd. (NASDAQ: SODA) has been pounded after earnings and shares are down a whopping 33% at $45.50… So much for the great growth opportunity!  Is this the next Sharper Image debacle?

JON C. OGG

We have shown estimates from Thomson Reuters, given price performance data, and added in appropriate color where applicable.  We are not including consensus price targets from analysts this week because the huge drops in shares this week will distort the implied upside artificially as those targets may be coming down sharply in many cases.

MONDAY, AUGUST 8

Silver Wheaton Corporation (NYSE: SLW) has estimates of $0.46 EPS and $221.3 million in revenues; next quarter estimates are $0.52 EPS and $253.9 million in revenues.  Shares are trading around $33.00, the 52-week trading range is $17.00 to $47.60.  If metals and metals stocks continue the volatility, this one will be far less important to traders than it has been.  While it is still up 100% from lows, look at how much it is down from highs as silver has proven over and over that $40 is a death trap.

Tyson Foods Inc. (NYSE:    TSN) has estimates of $0.41 EPS and $8.3 billion in revenues; next quarter estimates are $0.41 EPS and $8.16 billion in revenues.  Shares are trading around $16.00, the 52-week trading range is $14.59 to $20.12.  Tyson is supposed to be a defensive stock, but its narrow focus on meats has prevented that safety net from being the case as have some missteps.  The chicken is choked.

TUESDAY, AUGUST 9

SunPower Corporation (NASDAQ: SPWRA) has estimates of -$0.18 EPS and $583 million in revenues; next quarter estimates are $0.21 EPS and $741.7 million in revenues.  Shares are trading around $17.00, the 52-week trading range is $9.61 to $23.36. The merger-lite move in recent weeks was recently met with lower guidance and the sector has been under pressure from all fronts.

Walt Disney Co. (NYSE: DIS) has estimates of $0.73 EPS and $10.45 billion in revenues; next quarter estimates are $0.67 EPS and $10.8 billion in revenues.  Shares are trading around $34.90, the 52-week trading range is $31.55 to $44.34.  The Mouse House has yet to stay turned around.  This was a $44.00 stock less than ninety days ago and the stock has never recovered.

WEDNESDAY, AUGUST 10

Cisco Systems Inc. (NASDAQ: CSCO) has estimates of $0.38 EPS and $10.97 billion in revenues; next quarter estimates are $0.39 EPS and $10.98 billion in revenues.  Shares are trading around $14.60, the 52-week trading range is $14.36 (Friday) to $24.87.  What is there to say… a restructuring, layoffs, slow enterprise spending, austerity measures slowing IT, and on and on.

Computer Sciences Corporation (NYSE: CSC) has estimates of $0.69 EPS and $3.99 billion in revenues; next quarter estimates are $0.99 EPS and $4.05 billion in revenues.  Shares are trading around $32.40, the 52-week trading range is $32.11 (Friday) to $56.61.  8-times earnings and dirt cheap value… but, who cares in this environment.

Newmont Mining Corp. (NYSE: NEM) reported earnings this morning that failed to reach expectations, posting adjusted EPS of $0.90, roughly -10% below estimates. Revenue also missed expectations, coming in at $2.4 billion compared with estimates of $2.5 billion. Production of gold fell -5.4% and copper production fell -45%, primarily on lower-grade ores. Newmont’s average price for gold was $1,501/ounce, in line with realized prices reported yesterday by Barrick Gold Corp. (NYSE: ABX) and Goldcorp Inc. (NYSE: GG). [http://247wallst.com/2011/07/28/gold-mining-earnings-shine-but-less-than-gold-itself-abx-gg-gld-gdx-gdxj/]

Newmont’s other issue was rising costs, which rose to $538/ounce, between cash costs of $445 at Barrick and $553 at Goldcorp. Managing costs remains the main anchor on gold miners’ share prices compared with the price of gold.

Newmont’s CEO told CNBC that he expects gold prices to reach $1,750/ounce in 2012 as a result of inflationary pressures and ongoing economic problems in the US and Europe. He also noted that Newmont would raise its dividend in the third quarter from $0.20/share to $0.30.

Not even the dividend hike could keep Newmont’s stock from falling. Shares are down more than -3.5%, at $55.70, in the late afternoon, within a 52-week range of $50.05-$65.50.

The SPDR Gold Trust (NYSE: GLD) posted a new 52-week high today of $159.25, but has retreated somewhat. The new 52-week range is $113.34-$159.25. The iShares Gold Trust (NYSE: IAU) also posted a new 52-week high today, for a new range of $11.35-$15.95.

The Market Vectors Gold Miners ETF (NYSE: GDX) has lost another -2% today, trading late in the day at $56.90, in a 52-week range of $47.45-$64.62. The Market Vectors Junior Gold Miners ETF (NYSE: GDXJ) lost more than -2% early this morning, but has gained about half of that back to trade now at $36.00, within a 52-week range of $25.89-$44.86.

Silver’s lackluster performance on the commodity markets today is reflected in the ETFs that focus on the devil’s metal. The iShares Silver Trust (NYSE: SLV) is up about 0.6%, at $38.99, within a 52-week range of $17.38-$48.35. The PowerShares DB Silver Fund (NYSE: DBS) is up about 0.75% at $70.28, within a 52-week range of $31.09-$86.98.

Silver miner Silver Wheaton Corp. (NYSE: SLW) is down about -2%, at $36.23, within a 52-week range of $18.15-$47.60, and Pan American Silver Corp. (NASDAQ: PAAS) is down about -2.5%, at $30.32, within a 52-week range of $22.52-$43.06. The Global X Silver Miners ETF (NYSE: SIL) is down about -0.6%, at $26.25, within a 52-week range of $12.90-$31.34.

Paul Ausick

Maybe this time is different.  Here’s a look at iShares Silver Trust (NYSE: SLV), ETFS Physical Silver Shares (NYSE: SIVR), Sprott Physical Silver Trust ET (NYSE: PSLV), ProShares UltraShort Silver (NYSE: ZSL), Global X Silver Miners ETF (NYSE: SIL), Silver Wheaton Corporation (NYSE: SLW), and Pan American Silver Corporation (NASDAQ: PAAS).

iShares Silver Trust (NYSE: SLV) closed $38.24 on Friday and shares are up at $39.32 after a gain of almost 3% today. Early last week the trust was under $35.00 and the 52-week range is $17.06 to $48.35.

ETFS Physical Silver Shares (NYSE: SIVR) is another physical holder of silver and its shares are back up at $40.09 on a 2.8% gain after Friday’s close of $39.01.   This was also under $35.00 early last week and the 52-week range is $17.37 to $49.28.

Sprott Physical Silver Trust ET (NYSE: PSLV), technically a closed-end fund, peaked at $23.00 before the bottom fell out of silver.  After a 3.5% gain today, shares are up at $18.87.  Not bad for what barely a $16.00 price early last week.

ProShares UltraShort Silver (NYSE: ZSL) is getting crushed as it is the double-short play for silver.  Its 6.4% drop today to $13.31 compares to a price of nearly $18.00 early last week.  To show just how volatile, and deadly, this one is… Its 52-week high is $145.68.  If silver rallies again through the roof and stays there, a reverse split of this exchange-traded product is likely.

Global X Silver Miners ETF (NYSE: SIL) tracks the miners rather than the metal,  Its shares are up 2.6% at $27.75 today and it was close to $24.00 early last week. The 52-week range is $13.80 to $31.34.

Silver Wheaton Corporation (NYSE: SLW) is one the top silver mining stocks and its shares are up only 2% at $39.59 today.  Only, well that is the bear market in stocks for you whether the Devil’s metal is in favor again or not. This was near $34.00 early last week and the 52-week range is $17.64 to $47.60.

Pan American Silver Corporation (NASDAQ: PAAS) is up only 0.3% today at $33.51, perhaps because the Canadian company’s operations are in Mexico, Peru, Argentina, and Bolivia.  This was just under $32.50 a week ago and the 52-week trading range is $22.21 to $43.06.

Again, maybe this time really is different.  Things are definitely more tense today than they were from March to the end of April.  The problem is that we have been here before with prices rising rapidly in gold and in silver. We have also seen this game played out in the energy patch from 2007 to 2008 when the price rose every day for effectively the same reasoning.  If silver takes on the extreme portion of gold’s rise and takes out new highs, then it may be the public’s last real asset grab for items that can be easily used for money and hold its value better than paper money.

Anything is possible, but it is at least worth asking just how different this time is for the Devil’s metal.  Silver is a very small market for the amount of dollars that can be steered its way in a hurry.  If you walk in one day soon and find that the margin for buying silver or gold has been raised again, don’t be shocked.

JON C. OGG