When a market makes a multi year high .......................

Gold touched a 25 year high , and silver nudged a 22 year high as the US dollar slipped and the silver price benefited from investors buying the metal ahead of an expected launch of a silver-backed exchange traded fund in the US.

Silver topped $11 an ounce for the first time since 1983 Wednesday, and gold rallied on demand by investors seeking better returns than stocks or bonds.

Silver has surged 58% in the past year, and gold reached a 25-year high last month as investors bet precious metals will outperform stocks and bonds. Commodities climbed an average 5.23% a year from July 1959 through 2004, compared with 5.65% a year for stocks and 2.22% for bonds, according to a study by the University of Pennsylvania and Yale University.

"In bull markets, everything makes an all-time high, and silver is going to do so again in the next 10, 15 years," says Jim Rogers, chairman of Beeland Interests who also co-founded the Quantum hedge fund with George Soros.