Silver surged toward a record above $50 an ounce as a historic squeeze deepened in the London market. Spot prices rose as much as 3.7%, closing in on a peak set during a notorious attempt to corner the global silver market in the 1980s. Most Read from Bloomberg This time around, the jump in prices has been driven by a flood of investment into the precious-metals markets as investors seek security in the face of fiscal uncertainties in the US, concerns over an overheating stock market and threats to the ...

Silver prices closed last week at multi-year highs, coming within reach of their 2011 peak of $49.95 per ounce. Investors piled into precious metals amid shrinking inventories and growing signs of a market squeeze.Front-month COMEX silver settled around $47.60 an ounce, up 2.9% for the week and roughly 63.8% year-to-date, outpacing even gold's stellar run. The evidence is now clear: the commodity market has entered its second phase, when silver tends to lead. The sole question is: How high?TD Securities' co ...