“There was very good physical demand overnight out of Asia,” said Bill O’Neill, one of the principals with LOGIC Advisers. “That got things going, and it kind of built upon itself….We hit (buy) stops as the session wore on.”

September silver SIU3 +4.65%   rose 92 cents, or 4.5%, to $21.32 an ounce. Silver hasn’t traded above $21 since mid-June, according to FactSet. The Global X Silver Miners ETF SIL +6.28%  was up more than 5% in recent trade.

But other factors were at play as well, including a fresh news report about the robust demand from China so far this year. The China Gold Association said that the country’s gold consumption in the first half of 2013 rose 54% year-on-year to 706.36 metric tons.

“You still have China on a gold- and silver-buying binge,” Flynn said. “At a time when prices were falling, China continues to buy. That report today is a reminder that there is still a lot of physical demand for the metal.

Kevin Grady, president of Phoenix Futures and Options on the Comex floor, said gold futures are in slight backwardation, in which prices for the nearby contract are more expensive than for deferred contracts and seen as a sign of a tightening market. Normally, deferred contracts are more expensive due to costs such as storage. As of Friday’s close, August gold had a 70-cent premium to December.

“There is definitely buying in the physical market,” Grady said. “It’s coming out of Southeast Asia and it’s coming out of the Middle East, and it’s strong. There’s been buying the entire way down.”

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