Is Gold Top Performing Metal in September?

The continual record-breaking performance of gold prices has obscured the smaller cousin of gold - silver, but for the month of September, even with the upward movement of gold, silver has so far outperformed it.

Silver investors have been expecting and waiting for this for some time, as the gold/silver ratio wasn't performing as it has historically, having a much wider spread in the favor of gold than usual.

That is starting to change. At the latter part of August, the ratio for gold and silver futures contracts was 64.34, and at the close on Thursday it stood at 61.22. It had been over 70 for quite some time.

While silver is an industrial metal, it is also considered a place of safety in time of economic trouble, similar to gold. If gold prices continue to soar, or as they do, sometimes investors gravitate toward silver as an alternative.

The gold/silver ratio is expected to continue to shrink for the rest of 2010 and through 2011.