[SGTReport Ed. Note: The dominant theme here is that silver is most certainly NOT money and is rightfully returning to its lowly role as a boring industrial metal. Nuthin' to see here folks, go buy some stocks n' bonds.]

from CNBC:

Silver bulls may be hoping that the metal’s healthy first-quarter price rise is the first step back toward record highs. Not so fast.

Its advocates say silver which occupies a middle ground between industrial metals like copper and investment vehicles like gold, can benefit both from the fledgling economic recovery that is lifting copper and from the investment that is driving gold.

But record-high mine supply and questions over demand have left a long shadow over silver’s underlying fundamentals, while huge price volatility last year, when the metal crashed 35 percent in a matter of days on two occasions, has undermined its appeal to investors as a cheaper alternative to gold.

The broad investment environment is also bleaker than it was last year for friends of silver.

“There are two issues that in the short term suggest we are not going to head back towards $50,” Mitsui Precious Metals strategist David Jollie said. “One is that margins on Comex are still higher than they were last year, so investors are going to have to come back in in more weight to drive the price further.” He added, “At the same time, silver turnover on the Shanghai Gold Exchange is relatively low compared to where it was last year.

Read More @ CNBC.com