A "spree" of purchases sparked by users of "communication" means, soaring in silver prices

Silver prices continued their sharp rise for the third consecutive session today, rising by up to 11.2% to the highest level in nearly eight years after a large turnout of individual investors for the metal in a surge sparked by social media users in the United States last week.

Spot silver jumped 8.8% to $ 29.38 an ounce by 13.05 GMT, after reaching earlier in the session its highest level since February 2013 at $ 30.03.

Silver has recorded a gain of about 19% since Thursday, when publications began circulating on the "Reddit" website calling for individual investors to buy shares of silver mining companies and ETFs for them backed by silver bars present in operations similar to what happened in GameStop shares.

"It is difficult to say how long this will last," said independent analyst Ross Norman. "It is all about momentum ... and if the futures market is also drifting behind this rally, the fire may ignite, so the opening in the New York Stock Exchange will be very exciting."

For his part, an analyst at Commerzbank, Eugen Feinberg, said in a note that "in the medium term, any excessive price increase will harm silver, as it can dissipate demand in the present market."

He added, "But on the other hand, it will result in the strengthening of silver being considered a mineral for investment."

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