Silver has reached its highest price in 13 years, signaling a technical breakout as investors broaden their interest in precious metals beyond just gold.
Currently, spot silver is priced at $35.90 per ounce, marking the highest point since February 2012, according to Alexander Zunffe, a senior trader at the German Gold Refiner Helleus Group.
Zunffe noted, “After a few weeks lagging behind gold, silver is now catching up,” indicating a renewed interest from momentum-driven investors shifting their focus back to silver.
These two precious metals often move in sync, particularly as geopolitical tensions drive demand for safe-haven assets. Gold, for instance, has surged 44% due to the intensifying U.S.-led tariff war, solidifying its status as a secure investment while central banks continue to purchase gold at steady rates. In contrast, silver’s gains have been roughly 20% behind.
The demand for silver has been bolstered by a significant increase in silver-backed exchange-traded funds, seeing an addition of 2.2 million ounces just on Wednesday, according to Bloomberg. Additionally, money managers increased their bullish positions in Comex Silver Futures for the week ending May 23rd.
Silver serves a dual purpose; it’s valued both as a financial asset and for its industrial applications, especially in clean energy technologies. Metals like silver are essential for solar panels, which is fueling growing demand. The market has now been experiencing a deficit for five consecutive years, as reported by The Silver Institute.
On a different note, a report released Wednesday highlighted a contraction and slow job growth within U.S. service activities. Following this, Treasury yields dropped, with SWAP traders anticipating two interest rate cuts by the Federal Reserve in October and December. Generally, lower prices tend to benefit gold and silver, though they appear to be less enticing to some right now.
At 12:19 p.m. in London, spot silver saw a 4% increase to $35.89 per ounce, while the Bloomberg Dollar Spot Index remained largely unchanged. Gold rose by 0.8%, and both platinum and palladium advanced by over 2%.
