Why I am bullish on Silver-------By Shan Saeed

Strategic insight from the market: Bullish on silver

Silver is called a poor man’s gold. Its so true and correct in the present circumstances when there are lot of headwinds in the global financial market. Silver is your wealth insurance and protection.  Silver prices set to rise in 2013 thanks to China. Consumption in China, the world's second largest user, could climb to record 7,700 metric tonnes next year.

Investors in China are seeking out silver as an alternative value investment with the economy cooling for a seventh quarter. According to the research firm from Beijing Antaike notes that demand for silver is set to jump as much as 20% in 2013, with investors seeking to preserve their wealth and get insurance.

Consumption may climb to 7,700 metric tonnes after gaining 6-8% in 2012.  Even for China, this would be a record level. China is the world's second biggest user of the metal.

Silver soared 15% and holdings by exchange traded funds jumped 6.5% in 2012. According to my research, the demand for silver is coming from jewellery and coins, which accounts for 33% of demand, and electrical appliances and solar panels.

A possible solar industry recovery is also expected to help the white metal's demand, with the government targeting 21 gigawatts of solar power installations by 2015. This compares to an installation of 2.6 gigawatts in 2011.

Moreover, statistics have also shown that overall jewellery sales in China rose 19.3% for the first eight months of 2012 as compared to last year. China's week-long National Day Holiday dubbed 'Golden Week' for domestic consumption lasted longer than usual this year, aiding sales.

Buyers mainly targeted gold and silver jewellery and clothes. Chinese consumers also became top luxury buyers resulting in 25% of global purchases. Shoppers from the Asian continent are also pushing global sales of luxury items to new heights, aiding the sector post its third straight year of strong growth since the global recession.

While Europeans contributed 24%, Americans 20% and Japanese 14% to global luxury sales, China's retail and catering industries saw a surge in sales during the eight-day national holiday, driven by demand for jewellery, clothes and home appliances. Combined sales of major retail enterprises in the country rose 15% to $126.3 billion during the September 30-October 7 holiday period as compared to the previous year's holiday period. Even as the Shanghai Composite Index heads for a third straight annual drop, silver has climbed to touch 592 million ounces as of mid-October-2012.

Bailouts will continue: Moral Hazard, High Economic Cost and Burning of Tax Payers money

For those whose bread is buttered by the status quo, falling money supply raises the never-ending cry for more stimulus. Again from the Telegraph:

"This credit contraction is what happened in Japan in the early 1990 and we have to be careful not get into deflationary spiral," said Prof. Richard Werner from Southampton University, a Japan expert. "They to need to launch true QE or an expansion in broad credit creation, and it cant be done easily."

The Bank of Japan threw money into the big black hole of stimulus for decades. The country now has pretty bridges that no one uses, and a debt-to-GDP ratio of over 239% — the highest in the known world. Japan is a country where the young can't find jobs, won't marry, and live with their parents well into their thirties. Real estate has yet to find a bottom and exports are shrinking. The Nikkei 225 is at 8,900 — well off its all-time highs of 39,000. Japan is a case study in what not to do.

SILVER IS THE BEST OPTION IN THESE UNCERTAIN FINANCIAL MARKETS.

Since that high-volume, blow-off top in the spring of 2011, silver has slowly but surely lost value. Few investors stayed out of silver until late August 2012 when it met its five-year up-trend line and broke out of its shorter-term down-trend range.

SILVER OUTLOOK FOR 2013: Positive

I expect the price of silver will bounce along that uptrend in a similar way to the action I saw from 2008 through 2010. Strategic investor’s goal should be to buy when it hits that line.  Legendary asset manager Eric Sprott said this will be the "decade of silver" during which silver will hit $100. Silver is the next best investment after agriculture.

On June 18, 2012, the Federal Reserve (and the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency) quietly issued firm warnings to all banks to prepare to implement the new rules that make gold a legal currency — the same as cash.

I will tell you all about this "Bank of Bankers," a powerful cabal that presumes to dictate even to the U.S. Fed, and how their actions will lead to the most profitable gold opportunity of lifetime. There is no reason for Europeans to expand a business or buy a house when the European economy continues to fall apart and the political situation is in chaos. To own or build is to become a target in the next riot. You can't spend your way out of a debt crisis. The world has to eat the pain at some point. Sooner will be less painful than later. But, the powers that be won't listen to reason. There will be more stimulus, bailouts, and money printing. It will continue until it can no longer stay afloat. Buy silver on the dips.

Disclaimer: This is just a research piece and not an investment advice. All financial transactions carry a RISK