NEW YORK, NY -- (Marketwire) -- 05/24/12 -- It has been a tough month for both silver prices and silver stocks. The Global X Silver Miners ETF (SIL) has fallen nearly 16 percent in the last month. Despite the recent drops analysts are still optimistic about silver's future. "A greater amount of confidence in the global economy generally means higher growth and that means more silver demand. If you look out beyond the end of the year, you can still see reasons to be bullish," David Jollie, an analyst at Mitsui & Co. Precious Metals Inc. said to Bloomberg News. Five Star Equities examines the outlook for companies in the Silver Industry and provides equity research on Silver Standard Resources Inc. (NASDAQ: SSRI) (TSX: SSO) and Hecla Mining Company (NYSE: HL).

Access to the full company reports can be found at:

www.FiveStarEquities.com/SSRI

www.FiveStarEquities.com/HL

Silver will look to rally in 2012 on the emergence of Chinese Silver futures and increased fabrication demand. According to China Daily the Shanghai Futures Exchange recently gained approval to begin trading silver futures. "There has been an absence of a means of trading in silver in China," Wang Ruilei, an analyst with precious metals trader CGS Co Ltd, said to China Daily. "The market will be bigger and more liquid with the advent of these futures contracts."

Phillip Klapwijk, global head of analytics at Thomson Reuters GFMS, expects fabrication demand, which makes up roughly 80 percent of silver demand, to increase about 3% to 5% this year. "Prices are probably going to head higher [in the second half of 2012] and we could see a push above $40 at some point," Klapwijk said last month in a phone interview.

Five Star Equities releases regular market updates on the Silver Industry so investors can stay ahead of the crowd and make the best investment decisions to maximize their returns. Take a few minutes to register with us free at www.FiveStarEquities.com and get exclusive access to our numerous stock reports and industry newsletters.

Silver Standard has the largest in-ground silver resource of any publicly-traded primary silver company, with a pipeline of 15 projects ranging from grassroots exploration to production in Argentina, Peru, Mexico, Canada, Chile, and the United States. In the first quarter of 2012 the company had record production of 2.2 million ounces of silver, a 24 percent quarter-on-quarter increase.

Hecla Mining Company has distinguished itself as the largest and one of the lowest cash cost silver producers in the U.S. The company has two operating mines and exploration properties in four world-class silver mining districts in the U.S. and Mexico. The company recently reported that first quarter silver production was 1.3 million ounces.

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