Spot silver prices eased back on Wednesday, although they still enjoyed an impressive end to 2011, rising along with most other assets in what was admittedly a very thin-volume environment.

A general improvement in economic data, seen in Europe, the US , China, India and Australia spurred the white metal’s advances, as it once again put its more expensive cousin, gold, in the shade. Tuesday, the day when Chinese, Indian and Australian manufacturing data was released, saw silver make its biggest one-day advance in almost three years, with the metal galloping ahead by 6%. The better atmosphere in markets prompted heavy selling of the US dollar, which lifted assets across the board, but the hope of a more upbeat year for manufacturing gave a powerful boost to silver, since the commodity has significant usage throughout industry (unlike gold, which is primarily used as a store of value). In the year ahead, analysts surveyed by Bloomberg expect commodity prices in general to rise, as developed economies see their situation improve.

The poll indicated that precious metals will advance by 27% or more, with further price advances following on in the second half of the year as the developing world sees its economic growth rate recover.