iShares silver ETF holdings hit record on June 16

LONDON, June 17 (Reuters) - The world's largest silver-backed exchange-traded fund, the iShares Silver Trust (SLV), said its bullion holdings rose 1.4 percent to a record 8,724.86 tonnes on June 16.

The New York-based trust, which issues securities backed by physical stocks of silver, added 119.43 tonnes of metal to its reserves on Tuesday.

Precious metals-backed ETFs, which issue securities backed by physical stocks of a commodity, have proved popular among investors seeking to hedge against risk in recent months. (Reporting by Jan Harvey; Editing by Anthony Barker)