Silver once more...

I've been tracking spot price pretty carefully at Kitco lately. Silver has dropped a little more and is hovering just under $23 right now.

What little research I've done on sourcing says that's about the point where the mines and refineries will start cutting production because the margin is too thin.

Can paper (spot) silver go down some more? Absolutely. Will it? Some say yes, some say no. I suspect it'll drop a little further, but not by much. (Although I've also heard rumors that tech factories in China are spooling back up and will increase demand, driving spot back up.)

Of course, paper and physical prices have diverged - physical is still selling at $26-28/ozt for generic bullion and $28-30 for government bullion.

So, if you were thinking of buying some silver for a rainy day, here's my advice:

Do it. Silvertowne still has free shipping on some items and Amagi Metals has very reasonable shipping.

Skip the dinner out and Starbucks this week and pick up 4 ounces of silver.

(I'm not a financial planner, advisor, or consultant, nor did I stay at a Holiday Inn last night.)

This article/opinion, linked by Silicon Graybeard, is worth the read, if a little tin-foil-ish.

I'm not going to tell you to put ALL of your cash into silver. Keep a ready reserve on hand, always... but if you have some extra...