AT the first Olympic games of the modern era in 1896, winners were awarded silver medals. Since then the metal has had to get used to second-class status. But for some time now silver prices have been outpacing those of gold (see chart), its flashier neighbour on the periodic table. On September 29th silver exceeded $22 an ounce, a price not seen since 1980 when the Hunt brothers, a pair of Texan oil barons, unwisely attempted to corner the market. Then silver spiked as high as $50 an ounce before the strategy unravelled, sending the price crashing and the Hunts back to the oil business.

在1896年第一届现代奥运会上，冠军被授予银质的奖牌。从此，白银便沦为了老二的象征。不过，近来银价上涨之速已经超过黄金（见图），银价一直压着它在元素周期表上的光鲜邻居一头。9月29日，银价突破22美元/盎司。上一次白银达到如此高度还要追溯到1980年，当时德州石油大亨亨特兄弟妄图操纵银市，使银价一度上涨为50美元/盎司。接着，他们的如意算盘破灭，银价随之崩盘，兄弟俩只能回去继续做石油生意。

The explanation for the steady rise of silver this time round is less dramatic. But high prices have a better chance of enduring. For investors, silver and gold have much of the same allure. The combination of a weak dollar, low interest rates and economic uncertainty that has convinced some to buy gold and pushed its price up to around $1,300 an ounce has also encouraged them to put their money into other likely-looking stores of value. Silver not only offers investors diversity but it is also supported by real industrial demand.

此次银价稳步上涨的背后就没有这么精彩的故事了。但此次银价高企可能会持续更长时间。对投资者而言，白银的吸引力与黄金相同。弱势的美元、低利率以及经济不确定性致使人们购入黄金，将金价推上1300美元/盎司，也促使他们把钱投向与黄金相似的价值储藏物。白银不但可以为投资者提供多元化之选，而且其价格还受到真实产业需求的支持。

Whereas around 25-30% of gold is bought by investors, only about a tenth of global silver production goes the same way. Roughly half the world’s silver goes to industrial users (the balance is accounted for by jewellery and other silverware), although their identity has undergone a huge shift over the past decade.

大约25~30%的黄金是由投资者购买的，而白银的这一比例只有大约10%。虽然数十年来它们的用途不尽相同，但世界上大约有一半的白银被用于工业用途（其余则被制成首饰和银器）。

Old-fashioned film for cameras required mountains of silver. According to Merrill Lynch, an investment bank, photographic demand for silver has fallen by more than 60% in the past decade. Even in 2004, when the popularity of digital cameras was already well established, the photographic industry consumed 5,600 tonnes of silver, a fifth of total production. That compares with just 9% in 2009.

老式胶片需要大量使用白银。据投资银行美林公司的数据，过去十年摄影业的白银需求量下降了六成以上。在2004年数码相机已开始流行时，摄影业年白银消费量仍高达5 600吨，相当于产量的二成。到2009年已下降到9%。

New uses for the metal plugged the gap left by film. Silver is widely used in electronics, whether in buttons for TVs, in membrane switches in computer keyboards or as a coating for CDs and DVDs. But the great hope for silver is the solar-power industry. Photovoltaic cells, the technology used in 70% of solar panels, contain silver. Although other technologies that do not use silver are on the rise, heavy government subsidies are forecast to help keep the solar industry growing.

新用途填补了胶片需求萎缩留下的空白。白银被广泛用于电子器件，包括电视按钮、计算机键盘薄膜开关以及CD和DVD碟片涂层。但白银的未来需求主要存在于太阳能产业。70%的太阳能面板使用含银的光伏电池。尽管不使用白银的技术正在不断发展，但政府的大幅补贴预计仍将助太阳能产业蓬勃发展。

Demand for silver is likely to keep rising in developing countries in particular: China, which used to export the metal, now imports it. The same cannot be said for supply. As Michael Lewis of Deutsche Bank points out, three-quarters of the world’s supply comes as a by-product from copper, lead and zinc mines. So ramping up production is difficult. Total supplies of the metal in 2009, at 27,650 tonnes, were barely higher than in 2004. Athletes of the future may not feel quite so bad about taking home a silver medal.

发展中国家对白银的需求可能持续上升。特别是中国，已由白银出口国变为进口国。供给方的情形则非如此。正如德意志银行的迈克尔•刘易斯指出的，白银供给中有三分之四是铜、铅和锌矿开采过程中的副产品。因此大幅增加产量并不容易。2009年，白银总供给量为27 650吨，只比2004年略高。或许未来运动员拿块银牌回家也不会感到多沮丧了。