Precious Metals
One of the frustrating things for owners of silver in recent years has been a perceived lack of strong price growth. While the gold price seemed to take off, silver seemed to languish far behind.
That has begun changing in recent months, however, as the silver price has recently hit the highest prices we’ve seen in over a decade. Could this be the beginning of the great price breakout silver enthusiasts have been waiting for?
Even with this recent price growth, many people still think silver is undervalued and should be priced higher. That could be in the cards in the next few years if everything aligns just right for a major silver price breakthrough.
Silver is already in short supply above ground, with silver mining output about 10% lower than it was a decade ago. Since 2021, total demand for silver has exceeded silver supply.
Increased demand from industry, like that for the production of solar cells, continues to draw down silver stores. And with increased demand, the conditions are right for potential gains in the silver price in the coming months and years.
Keeping up with trends in the precious metals market and attempting to predict the future price of silver can help individuals determine what percentage of their retirement portfolio they want to allot to silver. As part of a balanced and diversified portfolio, silver can play a strong role in helping to protect your wealth in the face of economic headwinds.
Whether you decide on a silver IRA rollover or just want to get started with a few rolls of silver coins, owning silver can help safeguard your wealth through turbulent times.
One of the problems that many people have when looking at the silver price, and financial assets in general, is focusing on short-term price movements.
The price of silver throughout the day can be influenced by any number of factors: large silver depositories leasing silver, institutions reallocating assets ahead of quarterly filings, or even just pieces of positive or negative news regarding industry or politics.
But if you’re going to buy and hold silver for the long term, it might be more important to think about what silver will be worth in 10 years rather than what the silver price will be in 10 days.
If you want to accurately make a future silver price prediction, you may have to screen out most of the immediate news and commentary that you’ll read regarding silver.
From overly enthusiastic silver bulls who think silver will eventually be worth $1,000 an ounce, to bears who think silver is one of the worst choices ever, financial media is full of people with their own take on silver.
Screen out the noise and focus on the big picture issues that will drive silver prices. But that doesn’t mean that the silver price will necessarily respond to headline economic data like the inflation rate or the jobs report.
Since silver production is very often a byproduct of mining for gold, copper, lead, and other metals, and because silver industrial demand often makes up 50-60% of total silver demand, you may want to make a future silver price prediction by looking at moves in the prices of other metals.
Silver’s price is most analogous to that of gold, particularly when economic performance turns for the worse during recessions. Silver prices and gold prices often move in tandem, as both serve as safe haven assets.
During a weak economy, the prices of base metals, such as copper and nickel, often deteriorate due to falling demand from industry. In contrast, the prices of silver and gold rise as individuals snap them up to strengthen their portfolios in the face of economic uncertainty.
Gold and silver prices, therefore, often fluctuate in tandem, although silver tends to experience more volatility in price. It’s rare to see gold increase and silver drop, or vice versa. And the long-term trends for both metals generally tend to mirror each other.
Gold gets all the attention in the mainstream financial press, which is understandable. But when you start to read about gold picking up steam and seeing price increases, there’s a very good chance that silver is making similar moves.
The Commitment of Traders (COT) report is data published by the US Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC). It consists of data describing the positions held by large traders in commodities such as gold and silver.
Analyzing the COT reports each week shows which way professional traders are moving in the markets and what their expectations of the long-term silver market forecast are.
The more long positions taken, the higher traders predict the future silver price will be. The more short positions taken, the lower they predict the future silver price will be.
It’s important to look not so much at the total positions, but the change in positions from week to week and the developing trends over the long term. The more traders moving from short to long positions, the better the outlook is for the silver price.
But even if you see movement from long to short positions, that doesn’t necessarily mean that the outlook for the silver price is negative. It could just be an indicator that some are looking to take advantage of short-term pullbacks in the silver price to take a profit, while the long-term silver price trend remains positive.
Silver demand has outstripped silver supply since 2021, and is predicted to outstrip supply once again this year. Eventually this long-term imbalance could result in steadily rising silver prices.
Mining supply from silver has dropped over the past 10 years, while silver demand has increased. If this trend continues, and if prices rise as a result, it could be very good news for owners of silver.
Silver is the key component in the production of solar panels. Without silver, solar panels can’t convert sunlight into electricity.
As demand for green energy increases, solar energy is becoming an increasingly important part of supplying that demand. And that means that demand for silver from the solar industry is rising significantly as well.
Stay attuned to trends in green energy demand to predict how silver prices might move. As long as demand for green energy continues to increase, demand for silver could increase, which could keep silver prices elevated.
Given how much silver has grown in price this year, and how much further it could go if the economy weakens, the future for the silver price could be quite bullish.
Growing economic weakness and economic uncertainty could result in more demand for silver, as individuals look to help safeguard their assets and help protect their savings. And a full-fledged recession a la 2008 could see silver shoot far higher.
A lot is also riding on the Federal Reserve’s actions with regard to interest rates. Cuts to the federal funds rate, which could occur later this year, are widely seen as being bullish for gold and silver.
You may also want to keep your eyes on the gold to silver price ratio, which you can calculate by dividing the price of gold by the price of silver. Over the past few decades it has fluctuated between about 30:1 and 115:1.
Currently it’s around 85:1, which is still fairly high historically and could be an indicator that silver is still undervalued. If the ratio were to revert to a more normal historical rate of 50:1 or so, that could mean that the silver price could push up to $60 an ounce or more.
If you see the gold to silver price ratio starting to fall, it could be an indicator that silver is making a strong bull run. And very often during these precious metals bull runs, silver can make bigger gains (percentagewise) than gold.
If you think that silver has tremendous potential for price appreciation and could be a good choice for you, the next step is deciding on how to buy silver. The options can seem limitless and daunting, especially to someone who has no experience with purchasing precious metals.
Thankfully there are trusted partners you can work with to help navigate the options available to you. Goldco has helped thousands of customers benefit from purchasing precious metals, and the more than 7,000 5-star reviews we’ve received are a testament to the lengths we go to ensure our customers have a smooth, trouble-free experience.
Whether you want to buy a handful of silver coins and bars or roll over existing retirement assets into a silver IRA, the experts at Goldco can answer your questions about the various silver purchase options available to you.
If a silver IRA is the direction you choose, Goldco offers numerous IRA-eligible silver coin and silver bar options, working directly with mints around the world to source 100% authentic silver coins for your silver IRA.
Looking to the rest of this year and into the next, the silver market forecast seems incredibly bright. The stage has been set for a surge in the silver price as rising silver demand, diminished supply, and the prospect of rate cuts and a potential economic downturn are providing the perfect set of factors for a nice silver bull market.
Don’t get left behind as silver once again makes its move. Talk to the experts at Goldco today to see how you can make silver an important part of your financial planning.
This article was originally published in October 2020 and was updated in August 2025.
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DISCLAIMER: This site is general in nature and not tailored to the specific goals of any individual. Purchasing precious metals may carry risk. Some of those risks associated with precious metals include the following: prices may rise and fall, which means the value of your metals may go up or down over time and you may sell for more or less than you paid. Past performance does not guarantee future results. Goldco cannot guarantee, assure, or promise future market movement, prices, or profits. Customers should understand that all purchases have some degree of risk. Customers should make certain that they understand the correlation between risk and return. Commodities involve risk and are not suitable for all investors. There is no assurance that commodities, i.e. precious metals, will achieve their objectives. Return and principal value will fluctuate and your portfolio, when redeemed, may be worth more or less than the original cost. Even though Goldco and its representatives are precious metals specialists, we are not licensed financial advisors and do not give financial advice. Additionally, Goldco cannot provide tax or legal advice and will not advise as to the tax or legal consequences of purchasing or selling precious metals or opening a Precious Metals IRA. Individuals should consult with their investment, legal or tax professionals for such services.
