NEW YORK (MarketWatch) - Silver prices will top $20 an ounce "in the short term," pushed up by rising investment demand, London-based precious metals consultancy GFMS Ltd. said in a report Thursday.

Silver’s not so much a poor man’s gold anymore and investors may soon realize that the white metal’s the real treasure.

The growing popularity of exchange-traded funds is expanding beyond the U.S. stock market’s official hours, with investors in pre-market and after-hours sessions using the securities as a way to play broader-sector trends.

The U.S. markets are extended from a near-term perspective, following stocks' latest two-week bull run, indicating a consolidation phase is due at some point. More importantly, longer-term uptrends have been established, and the S&P 500 faces limited resistance.

Itâ??s the Michael Murphy miracle -- a veteran editor enjoying a dramatic rebirth. And heâ??s bellowingly bullish.