Zurich Cantonal Bank silver ETF holdings up 1.3 pct

LONDON May 11 (Reuters) - Holdings of Zurich Cantonal Bank's silver-backed exchange-traded fund (ZSIL.S) rose nearly 600,000 ounces or 1.3 percent in the week to May 8, the bank said in its weekly statement.

The amount of silver the fund holds to back its exchange-traded securities climbed to 46.896 million ounces last week, it said.

Holdings of the fund's gold-backed ETF (ZGLD.S) edged up nearly 15,000 ounces to 4.577 million ounces last week, it added. Its platinum and palladium holdings were unchanged.

Buying of precious metals to back exchange-traded funds has been a key element of demand in recent years, analysts say. (Reporting by Jan Harvey; Editing by Sue Thomas)