The silver price kept surging on Friday (October 3), breaking US$48 per ounce.
The white metal last reached this level in 2011, the same year it nearly hit US$50 for only the second time in history. Silver’s first run to the US$50 level came in 1980, when the Hunt brothers attempted to corner the market.
Silver price chart, December 31, 2024, to October 3, 2025.
Known for lagging behind gold before outperforming, silver is now ahead of its sister metal in terms of percentage gains — it’s up close to 60 percent year-to-date, while gold has risen around 47 percent.
Still, silver remains below its all-time high, while gold continues to set new records — it’s been closing in on US$3,900 per ounce this week, buoyed by the US government shutdown.
Gold is also seeing underlying support from strong central bank buying, global geopolitical uncertainty, concerns about the US dollar and other fiat currencies and expectations of lower interest rates.
Silver acts as both a precious and industrial metal, meaning that it’s driven by many of the same factors as gold, but also has additional sources of demand. According to the Silver Institute, industrial demand for silver reached a record 680.5 million ounces in 2024, driven by usage in grid infrastructure, vehicle electrification and photovoltaics.
Total silver demand was down 3 percent year-on-year in 2024, but still exceeded supply for the fourth year in a row, resulting in a deficit of 148.9 million ounces for the year.
Watch five experts share their thoughts on the outlook for silver.
As silver gets closer to surpassing its all-time high, investors are wondering about its long-term prospects.
While many experts have lofty expectations for silver, including triple-digit price predictions, there’s a broad consensus that the white metal may correct before continuing on upward.
However, there’s also recognition that silver’s situation today is different than it was previously.
‘If you have something happen with the supply, and then on top of that at some point you’re running into issues with debt loads and currencies, that would certainly leave us probably into a much different environment for silver than either 1980 or 2011,’ said Chris Marcus, founder of Arcadia Economics.
Securities Disclosure: I, Charlotte McLeod, hold no direct investment interest in any company mentioned in this article.