Hecla (HL) (AG) (FVITF) (SVM) (SLW) Hammered as Silver Drops

First Majestic (NYSE:AG), Hecla Mining (NYSE:HL), Fortuna (OTC:FVITF.PK), Silvercorp Metals Inc. (NYSE:SVM) and Silver Wheaton (NYSE:SLW) got crushed Thursday as gold and silver prices continued their fall.

The silver contract for May delivery closed 8 percent lower, down $3.152, at $36.231 per troy ounce.

Since the Friday settlement price silver has plummeted 25 percent.

Gold for May delivery, the front-month contract, ended the trading session Thursday down $34, or 2.2 percent, at $1,480.90 per troy ounce on the Comex division of the New York Mercantile Exchange.

The U.S. dollar was also up, adding pressure to the two precious metals, as it gained 2 percent against the euro. That came largely from European Central Bank President Jean-Claude Trichet who suggested there will no interest-rate boost in the near future.

Nothing has changed the underlying fundamentals for gold or silver though, and this is just a healthy correction before gold and silver prices begin moving up again.

As long as easy money policies continue by the Federal Reserve and interest rates remain near zero, there is nothing to stop gold and silver prices from continuing to rise.

Inflation, political unrest, sovereign debt crisis and the collapsing U.S. dollar will also play a major role over time for gold and silver prices.

Silver Wheaton closed at $35.15, dropping $1.98, or 5.33 percent. Silvercorp Metals closed at $10.77, down $1.13, or 9.50 percent.