Precious Metals Trending Higher

By Kevin Grewal, editorial director at www.SmartStops.net

NEW YORK (TheStreet) - The recent uptrend in precious metals shows no signs of abating.

Precious metals offer protection against a downward spiraling market and the demand for them grows when consumer confidence wanes and employment numbers remain weak.

Most recently, a report said that Swiss banks are running out of storage space for gold bullion held by investors, a sign that the global demand for gold is still strong. Indeed, the World Gold Council has indicated that investment demand for gold surged 64% in 2008 on fears of fears of hyperinflation, grim economic news, and for many, a sort of insurance policy on investments.

Not only is the demand for gold strong, but indicators suggest that silver is in demand as well. From a fundamental perspective, silver has broken out of a declining trend-line. Secondly, silver seems to be attractive due to a slight increase in global industrial demand. Thirdly, silver, just like gold, can be used as a hedging tool against a weak U.S. dollar and rising oil prices. Finally, silver is highly affected by movements in gold, copper, lead and zinc mining.

Here are some ways to access these precious metals.

The SPDR Gold Shares(GLD Quote), up 17% from a January low of $79.79 to close at $93.71 on Monday.

The Market Vectors Gold Miners ETF(GDX Quote), which is up 41% from its January low of $28.20 to close at $39.85 on Monday.

iShares COMEX Gold Trust (IAU Quote), which closed at $93.37 on Monday after a $79.86 January low, for a jump of 17%.