COMEX SILVER FUTURES CLOSE ON HIGHS
Comex silver futures made session highs
on the close, settling with gains of 18.5 to 20.4 cents.
Settling prices also set new highs for the recent move, as
speculative buying overcame midsession profit taking.
    Locals and commercial traders who went short today,
expecting a corrective move, bought back positions. Those who
went long weeks ago are still reluctant to sell, traders said.
    Analysts said speculators continue to find silver a bargain
relative to gold and are snapping up the metal as a cheap
inflation hedge.
    May closed 18.5 cents higher at 6.765 dlrs. July was up
18.7 cents at 6.841 dlrs. Open interest at yesterday's close
rose to 109,534 contracts, a new high for the move. Estimated
volume today was 38,500 lots, including 4,326 switches.
 Reuter
