Topline
The value of silver has soared more than 78% this year, reaching a fresh record Monday after earlier surpassing an all-time high set four decades ago, yet some economists have warned it may be a riskier trade than gold, despite outpacing the metal so far this year.
Spot silver rose about 3.5% over the last day to $52.25 per ounce, while silver futures—often used by investors to hedge positions—rallied 6.7% to around $50.45 as of noon EDT on Monday.
The latest intraday high for spot silver came after the metal broke the $50 threshold on Friday, joining a rally in gold futures during the government shutdown, while also surpassing an earlier record of $49.95 per ounce set in January 1980.
Inventory in silver’s global trading hub, London, has declined in recent years, but liquidity has disappeared this year: Anant Jatia, Greenland Investment Management’s chief investment officer, told Bloomberg there is “no liquidity available currently,” noting, “What we are seeing in silver is entirely unprecedented.”
Goldman Sachs analysts wrote Sunday it’s likely silver prices will continue to rise during the government shutdown and expectations of expected interest rate cuts from the Federal Reserve, which is divided over whether to lower cuts two additional times this year.
Prices for silver and gold tend to shift together and are often favored as safe-haven investments, though Goldman Sachs economists expected “more volatility and downside price risk” for silver than for gold, which is backed by demand from central banks (the U.S. Bullion Depository in Fort Knox, Kentucky, holds 59% of the Treasury’s total supply, or about 147.3 million troy ounces).
Gold—which has also soared to record highs recently—will continue to be a more practical option for central banks to invest in because the per-ounce value of gold is significantly higher than silver and is a scarcer resource, the analysts argued.
Almost 78%. That’s how much silver prices have increased so far this year, outpacing gold, which has surged nearly 56% while setting numerous milestones. Gold prices rallied 3.5% over the last week to around $4,113 in early trading Monday.
Bank of America analysts Monday raised their price forecasts for gold and silver, becoming the first major bank to lift its 2026 outlook for gold to $5,000 per ounce, and for silver to $65 an ounce. The bank similarly warned of possible near-term risks for silver, suggesting prices could become volatile as liquidity grows and demand drops, while noting silver will likely still be favored among investors. Silver’s latest liquidity squeeze may have fueled the metal’s recent surge, but the shortage is expected to be short-lived, Goldman Sachs wrote. Higher prices for silver in London incentivize the metal to “flow back” from the U.S. and other regions, “gradually restoring liquidity,” according to the bank.
Platinum prices have surged 82.5% on the year, the largest rally for the metal since 2011. Platinum has underperformed gold and silver prices over the last decade as the automobile industry has cut its dependence on the metal, according to CME Group. Increased demand for electric vehicles has lifted platinum’s value in recent years, however, and the CME Group expects boosted demand for platinum as more automakers produce hydrogen fuel cells, which use the metal as a component, while global supply declines.
Precious metals like gold and silver have benefited from periods of “elevated” economic and policy uncertainty in the U.S. throughout President Donald Trump’s second term, Goldman Sachs commodities strategist Lina Thompson wrote earlier this year. Gold rose above the $3,000 threshold in March before hitting $4,000 earlier this month. Hedge fund billionaire Ray Dalio called for new investors to rely on gold when other trades, like equity, perform poorly, arguing gold remains “the one asset that does very well.” Another rally for gold and other precious metals is “underpinned” by the government shutdown, a weaker U.S. dollar, heightened hopes for additional interest rate cuts and “tariff-related inflation angst,” LPL Financial’s chief technical strategist Adam Turnquist wrote last week.