Silver Price Hits All-Time High
Silver surged to a record level this week, climbing past $60 (£45.10) an ounce on the spot market for the first time, driven by expectations of a US interest rate cut and sustained demand from technology manufacturers.
The rally comes as investors anticipate that the US Federal Reserve will lower its benchmark rate by 0.25 percentage points. With borrowing costs likely to fall and the dollar weakening, traders have been shifting money into assets traditionally seen as stores of value, including silver and gold.
Gold, which already reached historic highs earlier in the year amid worries over global growth and US trade policy, also recorded fresh gains this week.
Analysts say the move is consistent with market behaviour during periods of easing monetary policy. Yeow Hee Chua of Nanyang Technological University noted that when the appeal of bank savings and short-term bonds decreases, investment flows often pivot toward precious metals. “That naturally channels demand into assets viewed as safe stores of value,” he said.
Silver’s momentum has also been lifted by a “spillover effect” from gold’s record-breaking run, according to Christopher Wong of OCBC Bank. As gold becomes more expensive, some investors turn to silver as a more affordable alternative.
Beyond financial markets, physical demand for silver has intensified. The metal’s essential role in fast-growing sectors such as electric vehicles and solar energy has kept consumption high. Silver’s superior electrical conductivity makes it a key component in these technologies, yet supply remains constrained because most of the world’s silver is produced as a secondary output from mines focused on other metals such as copper, lead, or gold.
This supply-demand imbalance has helped silver more than double in value over the past year, outpacing other precious metals.
Concerns about potential US tariffs – linked to President Donald Trump’s trade approach – have further spurred manufacturers to secure stockpiles, adding additional pressure to global prices, said Professor Kosmas Marinakis of Singapore Management University.
He expects the metal’s value to remain elevated in the months ahead, citing persistent industrial demand and limited ability for producers to rapidly increase output.
