Thomson Reuters
* Sees silver at $25-$30/oz in next year
* Expects demand growth at more than 6 pct/yr
DENVER, Sept 21 (Reuters) - The price of silver is expected
to rise "substantially" in tandem with the gold price, the head
of Hecla Mining Co said on Tuesday.
President and Chief Executive Phillips Baker also told
Reuters that demand for silver is starting to rise after the
recession, and he expects it to grow by more than 6 percent a
year as the global economy expands.
"I have the view it is going to go up substantially and I
certainly would not be surprised to see $25 to $30 (within a
year)," Baker said in an interview on the sidelines of the
Denver Gold Forum industry gathering.
"Silver continues to trade with gold," he said. "There's
this idea of 'poor man's gold.' There's quite a bit of movement
in the silver price that will happen as a result of that."
Baker said silver -- currently selling at just over
$20 an ounce compared with gold around $1,275 - has been
underperforming gold in the longer term, but is catching up.
"There's a strong case for further weakening of the U.S.
dollar, and with that will come a strengthening of the gold
price and silver will follow," Baker said. "If the view is that
gold will trade up, I think you can expect silver to trade up
even more."
(Reporting by Steve James)
