(News Bulletin 247) – The white metal has reached a peak and jumped 70% since the start of the year. Silver is progressing in the wake of gold, which crossed the $4,000 per ounce mark this week.

This week, gold crossed the symbolic threshold of $4,000 per ounce. And in the shadow of the precious yellow metal, silver prices are also rising.

The white metal has exceeded $50, according to AFP. Prices of this metal have gained 70% since the start of the year, heading towards its strongest annual growth since 2010, reports Reuters.

Silver is therefore following the same trajectory as gold, whose prices have exploded with economic and geopolitical uncertainty, itself amplified by the customs measures of the American administration. In this context, investors, companies and States are looking for less expensive alternatives.

Industrial applications

In a previous paper, we detailed the factors which supported this rise in the white metal. The white metal is a less expensive alternative to gold, and is more available (it exists in quantities fifteen times greater than gold in the earth’s crust), which makes silver much more accessible.

Nowadays, it is the industry that represents the majority (63% in 2024, according to the Silver Institute) of global demand for silver. Indeed, metal is essential in many industrial processes. Its high electrical conductivity makes it a popular ingredient in electronics for the production of printed circuits.

“It is also evident now that many retail and other investors are using silver as a safe haven, which has increased demand and supported rising prices,” Zain Vawda, an analyst at MarketPulse by OANDA, also told Reuters.