Silver just surpassed $60 per ounce for the first time, and the impact is especially noticeable in the technology sector. The metal is essential for solar panels, electric cars, electronics and AI data centers, and demand has skyrocketed much faster than the mining industry can respond. In a matter of months, what seemed like a one-time rally has revealed a deeper problem: the world is entering a phase of real silver shortage.
A record that marks a turning point. The escalation became historic this week. While this report is being written, silver is around $62.67 per ouncedoubling its value since January after five consecutive years of supply deficit. Although the rise is not surprising who follows this marketwhat impacts is its speed: according to Bloombergsilver is the best performing metal of the year, doubling its price and even surpassing gold in what is already its biggest increase in decades.
But beyond the price, what is relevant is not how much silver has become more expensive, but why. The market structure has changed.
Money doesn’t stop going up. For analysts and companies, this new peak has profound implications. Silver no longer behaves as a simple safe haven asset, it is a critical industrial input whose shortage can slow down entire sectors of the global economy. Unlike goldwhose function is mainly financial—, the silver it is a metal that supports electrification and the energy transition.
However, the problem is amplified by the nature of the market which is narrow, volatile and without global strategic reserves. As Bloomberg recallsthere is no equivalent to gold central banks that act as a stabilizer of last resort. When physical money is lacking, there is simply no safety net.
Source: TradingView
A perfect storm. The rise of silver is not understood by a single factor, but by the convergence of industrial, monetary and geopolitical forces. First of all, according to Financial Timesthe silver market has been in deficit for five years, with inventories at minimum levels and production unable to respond. Silver is mostly obtained as a byproduct of zinc, copper or lead mining, making it difficult to increase supply quickly. Furthermore, the three largest producers—Mexico, Peru and China— face environmental and regulatory restrictions which further reduce production capacity.
The Silver Institute foresees industrial demand increasing at least until 2030, driven by solar expansion, transportation electrification and the growth of digital infrastructure. Additionally, the global data center boom also adds to this pressure, because some of them operate with solar energy.
Added to all this is a worrying dynamic: the United States has accumulated large reserves of silver due to the risk of new tariffs under Section 232. This diversion of metal to American deposits has drained inventories in London and Asia, generating a silver squeeze which skyrocketed metal borrowing costs. As pointed out in FTthe North American retail investor—for whom silver is “the poor man’s gold”—is also entering aggressively, fueling the bullish momentum.
China enters the scene. The decisive factor comes from Beijing. The Ministry of Commerce of China announced in an official statement new strict conditions for exports of silver, tungsten and antimony during 2026–2027, including strengthened requirements, documentary controls and more rigorous supervision for state-owned companies that want to export metal. Likewise, the official text confirms China’s intention to protect its strategic resources for internal use, especially in sectors considered critical for its future competitiveness: renewable energy and artificial intelligence.
The reason it’s clear: China wants to guarantee enough physical silver to power its own AI data centers, the expansion of which requires huge volumes of solar panels. With global mining production limited to 813 million ounces annually and new projects that take years to come online, Chinese controls could exacerbate an already structural shortage. China, the largest global refiner of silver and a central player in the solar chain, has real capacity to alter the global balance of the market.
India and Russia complete the geopolitical map. On the one hand, India has become one of the great drivers of the physical silver market, with about 80% of global demand for bars and coins. According to ReutersIndian demand for jewelry and bullion has been so strong in 2025 that it has caused physical shortages and premiums on international prices during holidays such as Diwali. Added to this pressure is a new regulatory framework: India’s silver imports soared to $2.72 billion in October, partly due to measures that facilitate the monetization of physical silver, allowing consumers to convert their holdings into financial instruments.
On the other hand, Russia decided at the end of 2024 start buying silver for its State Reserve Fund, a move that has contributed to skyrocketing prices against gold even further.
It’s not just silver: a global reconfiguration of metals. The rise in silver coincides with a historic movement in gold. The golden metal exceeded $4,200 due to pressure from central banks, which already have more value in gold than in US Treasury bonds. A structural turn in the international monetary system.
For their part, platinum and palladium have also become more expensive. This phenomenon indicates that strategic and safe haven metals are regaining a central role in the global economy.
What to expect from now on. The forecasts for the coming months coincide in a common diagnosis: structural tension will not disappear, even if phases of technical correction appear. On a technical level, several analysts see room for further increases. According to FXStreetconsiders an advance towards 63.8–65 dollars plausible, supported by a weak dollar and the continuity of the buying impulse. However, since the TradersUnion portal introduce caution, the market is clearly overbought, and losing the $61.5 support could trigger short-term profit taking.
Added to all this are two new forces compared to past cycles: the rise of AI, which multiplies solar demand, and China’s industrial policy, which can further restrict global supply. In this context, as analyst David Morgan warnsprecious metals are entering “a monetary inflection point,” driven by both the energy transition and loss of confidence in traditional currencies. Overall, the market is entering a stage of high volatility, but with fundamentals that point to a structurally higher price. In a global economy that is electrifying ever faster, the question is whether there will be enough supply to sustain the next leg of the cycle.
Silver, the bottleneck of the energy future. That silver exceeds $60 is historic. That it does so just as the world accelerates the installation of solar panels, the deployment of AI data centers and the electrification of transportation implies something deeper.
The energy transition depends on a metal whose supply is rigid, whose market is small and whose geopolitics are complicated. There are no direct substitutes. There are no global strategic reserves. And there are no longer guarantees that silver will reach the international market before it is absorbed by the United States, India or China.
In a world moving towards total electrification, the question is no longer how much more money can go up, but whether there will be enough money to build the future we say we want.
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