Hecla (NYSE:HL), Pan American (NASDAQ:PAAS), Silver Wheaton (NYSE:SLW) Drop on China CPI Numbers

Hecla Mining Company (NYSE:HL), Pan American Silver Corp. (NASDAQ:PAAS) and Silver Wheaton Corp. (NYSE:SLW) all dropped in response to China's consumer index price came in at 4.4 percent, higher than was expected.

This also reeked havoc on gold prices as well, with gold miners, gold futures and spot gold prices all plummeting on Friday.

The reason the prices of gold and silver fell was in response to speculation China may rein in their economy even further and raise interest rates as the tool of choice.

While silver is unique in that it's considered an industrial and investment metal, it has both of those working in its favor at this time, but it's increasingly being thought of for its investment quality at this time, so is moving up and down more on that fact rather than industrial demand.

In other words, people are using silver similar as gold, in that they're considering it a place of safety and protection against inflation.

One factor for silver and gold companies going forward should be cost containment, as those who better manage costs, at least for long-term investors, will be those who can operate better in strong or weak economic conditions, and have flexibility of pricing and ability to grow through acquisition if they choose to. That comes from having more cash on hand to work with and not be boxed in from too much debt.

As for Hecla Mining Company, they closed Friday at $8.41, dropping $0.51, or 5.72 percent. Silver Wheat ended the week at $33.79, losing $1.60 Friday, or 4.52 percent. Pan American Silver Corp. was at $36.79, falling $$1.47, or 3.84 percent.