Giro Predictions

Thursday 22 October - The penultimate mountain stage on the Giro is a race from Pinzolo to Lago di Cancano. After passages over the Campo Carlo Magnon, Passo Castrin and the infamous Passo dello Stelvio the final haul up is 8.7 kilometres long and crammed with hairpins. Silver price predictions. In the past few weeks, Reddit users and retail investors have been rallying together and driving the prices of certain stocks up. You may have heard of this in regards to GameStop, but this has also been the case for silver mining stocks and exchange-traded funds (ETFs) that are backed by silver bars. The Giro are throwing up profiles which you don’t usually see. This stage begins with a climb of 11km at 4.8%. At the 38km point, the road bounces up again, this time it’s 13.7km at 4.1%. This means the opening 50km has a considerable amount of climbing, something that usually means we get a good group escaping up the road.

Have you ever thought about investing in silver? In this article, we discuss what silver is, what uses it has, factors that influence prices, the gold silver ratio and various price forecasts. We then go over some common ways to invest in the commodity and how you can do so via DEGIRO.

What is silver and what is it used for?

Silver is a highly conductive precious metal that has a wide range of uses. It can be made into bullion in the form of coins and bars, but is also used as jewelry and silverware. Compared to other precious metals such as gold, silver is also used for a wide range of industrial purposes. It was reported in 2019 that industrial applications accounted for around 56% of total silver demand.

Some examples of industrial applications include batteries, medicine, photography, photovoltaic energy, touch screens, 3D printing, engines, plastics, semiconductors and more. The commodity is also used in 5G technology. This technology is still being rolled out, but the Silver Institute predicts that it will come with an increase in demand for silver. The company predicts that 5G-related demand currently accounts for 0.75% of annual supply, but will grow to approximately 2.3% by 2030.

Factors that influence silver prices

Silver is often referred to as the ‘poor man’s gold’ because it is the much cheaper precious metal of the two. The price of silver is impacted by several factors:

• Supply and demand: With any financial asset, supply and demand are key factors in the price you will pay for it. On the supply side, there is a finite amount of silver in the world. Therefore, supply is limited to what is already in circulation and what has yet to be mined. Many factors can impact demand. An example is industrial output levels due to silver’s various uses.

• Price of gold: Although this is not always the case, the price of silver tends to fluctuate in tandem with gold prices. In general, when the price of gold goes up or down, you can expect silver prices to follow. The price of silver, however, is usually more volatile than gold partly due to its smaller market.

• Value of the dollar: Silver prices are normally US dollar-denominated and there is generally an inverse relationship with silver prices and the US dollar. Typically, when the US dollar is weak, this can lead to an increase in the silver price.

The US dollar and silver prices generally have an inverse relationship.

The gold silver ratio

When trading gold and silver, it is common to hear about the gold silver ratio. This represents how much silver is needed to purchase one ounce of gold. Since the prices of both precious metals are constantly fluctuating, the ratio between the two continuously changes.

Some investors use the ratio to help determine which metal will outperform the other. A rising gold silver ratio indicates that gold is outperforming silver and, likewise, silver is outperforming gold when the ratio falls. In times of economic downturns, the ratio tends to rise as some investors may view gold as a safer investment. After a recessionary period, the gold-silver ratio tends to fall due to the industrial nature of silver and increased demand when economies begin to recover.

The gold silver ratio represents how much silver is needed to buy one ounce of gold.

Silver price predictions

In the past few weeks, Reddit users and retail investors have been rallying together and driving the prices of certain stocks up. You may have heard of this in regards to GameStop, but this has also been the case for silver mining stocks and exchange-traded funds (ETFs) that are backed by silver bars.

On February 1st, silver prices climbed to an eight-year high, surpassing $30 an ounce. In addition to stocks and ETFs, investors were also piling into silver options and futures, which resulted in the Chicago Mercantile Exchange (CME), the world’s largest derivative exchange, to raise margin requirements for silver contracts. Following this, silver futures fell as much as 10%, the biggest loss since August 2020.

While silver prices have gone down since its recent rally, Goldman Sachs has a positive outlook on the commodity’s prices. On February 2nd, Bloomberg reported that the bank sees silver prices rising as high as $33 an ounce if Joe Biden’s administration boosts spending for solar power. That same day, Bank of America published a report indicating that it expects prices to push to $35 with the chance that prices could reach all-time highs around $50 an ounce. HSBC did not provide a price outlook following silver’s price spike, however, the bank suspects that prices will remain volatile during 2021.

Many analysts remain bullish on silver prices following volatility in early February, driven by retail investors.

Investing in silver

Being a versatile metal, silver presents many investment opportunities. There are many ways in that you can invest in silver, each of which having risks involved. It is important to only invest in financial products that match your knowledge and experience and are suitable for your investment plan. Below are some common ways to invest in silver:

• Bullion: One way to invest in the commodity is to physically buy silver. For example, you can purchase silver in the form of bullion, silver coins or jewelry. Silver bars and coins can typically be purchased at banks or bullion dealers.

• Stocks: Another way is to buy stock in silver mining companies. Generally, when there is a rise in the value of silver, stock prices for silver mining companies tend to increase as well. However, there can be company-specific risks involved that should be taken into account. For example, even if the silver market is doing well, a mining company could experience an unforeseen accident that could impact its financial standing and stock performance.

  You can also invest in silver streaming companies. Streaming companies do not mine silver themselves but rather provide financing to companies that do.

  Examples of silver stocks are Silvercorp Metals Inc. (CA82835P1036), Fortuna Silver Mines (CA3499151080) and Pan American Silver (CA6979001089).

• ETFs: There are also many silver ETFs available to invest in so that you can put your money into the silver market. ETFs have become popular in recent years since they offer trading flexibility and portfolio diversification for relatively lower costs. Investing in silver ETFs allows you to closely track the price of silver without actually owning the commodity. In general, silver ETFs are more liquid than owning silver itself.

  Examples of silver ETFs are WisdomTree Physical Silver (JE00B1VS3333), Xtrackers Physical Silver (DE000A1E0HS6) and Sprott Physical Silver Trust (CA85207K1075).

• Futures: Additionally, you can invest in silver futures. Silver futures are exchange-traded contracts in which the buyer agrees to purchase a specific quantity of silver at a predetermined price and date in the future. When taking a long position, there is an obligation to accept delivery of the physical metal, whereas a short position takes on the obligation to make the delivery. Futures are complex instruments and can have a high risk of losing your investment, or even more.

It is possible to invest in silver via DEGIRO. We offer a number of silver stocks as well as ETFs that you can invest in with our incredibly low fees. There is even a silver ETF on our list of commission-free ETFs.

In addition to silver stocks and ETFs, DEGIRO offers a multitude of other companies and financial products to invest in on more than fifty exchanges across thirty countries. For details, please visit our Markets page.

The information in this article is not written for advisory purposes, nor does it intend to recommend any investments. Please be aware that facts may have changed since the article was originally written. Investing involves risks. You can lose (a part of) your deposit. We advise you to only invest in financial products that match your knowledge and experience.

Sources: Reuters, S&P Global, Forbes, Silver Institute, Investopedia, Kitco, NASDAQ, FXStreet, Yahoo Finance

The Giro d’Italia 2019 is a Grand Tour cycling stage race that is scheduled from May 12 to June 2, 2019 in Italy. This year’s race will be the 102nd running of the Giro d’Italia and it is the first Grand Race of the year.

This year’s Giro d’Italia will begin with an 8.2 km time trial in Bologna and will also end with a 15.6 km time trial in Verona. The race consists of 21 stages totalling 3.518.5 km. Last year, Chris Froome won the race last year and he was joined at the podium by second placer Tom Dumoulin and third placer Miguel Angel Lopez.

This year, defending championFroome had decided to skip the Giro in order to focus on the 2019 Tour de France. In his absence, 2018 runner-up and 2017 winner Tom Dumoulin is the odds on favorite to win the race.

Here are the current odds to win the 2019 Giro d’Italia. Odds are taken from bet365 as of 4/12/19:

Who Are The Favorites?

Girl Prediction

Defending Giro d’Italia champion Chris Froome will not be here to defend his crown because he has chosen to skip the race and focus on his preparations for the Tour de France. That leaves 2017 winner Tom Dumoulin as the most recent Giro d’Italia champion in the current field. The Dutchman also placed 2nd in the Giro D’Italia last year, the only cyclist to finish within a minute of Froome in the race and these recent Giro performances are the reason why Dumoulin is the top betting favorite to win this year’s race.

The 28-year old Maastricht, Netherlands native has not won a race this year as of this writing but he placed 6th in the UAE Tour and 4th in the Tirreno Adriatico in the previous months. Dumoulin spoke about his preference for the Giro D’Italia over the Tour de France this year, making us believe that he is more than ready to reclaim the crown this year.

Simon Yates finished 21st in this race last year but he won three stages and held the pink jersey after stages 6-18. Yates had a strong 2018 as he was also 2nd placer in the Paris-Nice, Tour de Pologne and 4th in the Volta a Catalunya. This year, Yates finished 25th in the Paris-Nice and 13th in the Volta a Catalunya.

Giro Stage 12 Predictions

Primoz Roglic won the Tour de Romandie and Tour of the Basque Country last year and is this year’s Tirreno-Adriatico winner. The 29-year old Slovenian also won the first ever UAE Tour last February.

22-year old Colombian Egan Bernal is one of the up and coming riders this season. Bernal won the 2018 Tour of California and the recent 2019 Paris-Nice. Bernal also finished 3rd in the time trial of the 2019 National Road Championships in Colombia, 3rd overall in the 2019 Volta a Catalunya and 4th in the 2019 Tour Colombia.

2016 winner Vincenzo Nibali is another former champion who is focusing his efforts on the 2019 Giro d’Italia. Last January, Nibali said that the Giro will be his primary goal for 2019. Nibali also won the Giro d’Italia in 2013, placed 2nd in 2011 and finished third in 2012 and 2017. Given the announced route of the 2019 Giro d’Italia, Nibali’s all-around versatility should be an edge in the race.

Who Wins?

When you look at the names who have confirmed their participation in the 2019 Giro d’Italia, a pair of former winners stand out. First is Tom Dumoulin who obviously has the best results in the Giro the past two years and then there is two-time maglia rosa winner Vincenzo Nibali whose all-around skills may be best suited for the 2019 Giro D’Italia. Nibali defends himself well in the time trials and is a strong finisher as gives out his best in the third week of competition. He is also a mentally tough rider who can overcome critical moments because of his “doesn’t give a damn attitude”. And then of course he is a specialist in the Grand Tours, being one of only seven cyclists to win the three Grand Tours in his career.

When it comes to the classification winner, Tom Dumoulin is the man to beat no doubt about that. But when it comes to betting value, I will go with Vincenzo Nibali to win the 2019 Giro d’Italia.

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