Precious metals are generally used as defensive assets in times of uncertainty. This has certainly been true of gold in recent weeks. Now, it looks like silver may finally be joining the party.

iShares Silver Trust (SLV)

Silver prices jumped last week, with the iShares Silver Trust (SLV) moving up 5% in one day. With $7 billion in assets, SLV is one of the most popular ways to trade silver. The options activity in SLV was extremely bullish, with thousands of calls being purchased, including a very large call butterfly strategy expiring in October.

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SLV shares were trading at $15.79 per share on Monday afternoon, up $0.28 (+1.81%). Year-to-date, SLV has declined -5.34%, versus a -7.81% rise in the benchmark S&P 500 index during the same period.

About the Author: Jay Soloff

Jay is a former professional market maker who cut his teeth trading on the floor of the CBOE. With more than 20 years of experience trading and investing, his focus is on making professional strategies accessible to everyone, which is exactly what does in his highly profitable POWR Income and POWR Stocks Under $10 investment advisory services. More...

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