Precious Metals
Everyone wants to make money, especially when it comes to our retirement savings. And everyone knows that the number one rule to making money is to buy low and sell high.
But with the future being uncertain, no one knows whether prices will rise or fall. The best we can do is to make our decisions and work with the prices markets give us.
While we all hope that the value of our retirement savings will rise over the long term, price movements in the short and medium term can give us no small amount of worry. But understanding why prices move the way they do can go a long way to lessening that worry.
Buyers of precious metals like silver are no different. While precious metals prices tend to trend upward over the long term, you may not always have 40-50 years to benefit from a purchase of silver.
If your time horizon is shorter, you’ll want to know what influences the silver price and what could cause the silver price to go up (or down) during your expected period of ownership.
Silver has been in the news recently as the silver price hit the highest levels it has been in 14 years. With the media attention silver has received, many people are wondering whether silver prices will keep going up, or whether silver will see a downward correction at some point.
Like any other good, the silver price is subject to the laws of supply and demand. And it’s that interplay between silver supply and silver demand that can help determine which way the silver price moves.
Let’s look at a few of the factors behind silver demand.
Like gold, silver is a precious metal that isn’t exclusively used for coinage or monetary purposes. It has long been used in various industries, and the size of industrial demand normally plays a major role in the price of silver.
Right now, however, safe haven demand for silver is really driving the silver market. While this safe haven demand has historically come in the form of silver coins and silver bars, silver exchange-traded funds are playing an increasingly important role.
Silver coins and bars are a well-known method of buying silver. Silver coins used to circulate as currency in the US until the mid-1960s, and into the mid-1970s in Europe.
Silver is also cheaper than gold, which makes it more attractive to buyers who are just starting out in precious metals, or who want to make smaller purchases of precious metals. Being able to buy nearly 90 ounces of silver for the same price as one ounce of gold can make it feel like you’re getting more bang for your buck.
Exchange-traded funds are another popular method that some people use to gain exposure to the silver market. But the disadvantages of ETFs are many.
Perhaps most importantly if you want to own physical silver, owning shares in an ETF doesn’t give you ownership of any physical silver, nor can you convert your shares into silver. Regardless, the moves made by ETFs in buying and selling silver have an impact on the silver price.
Silver has recently hit the highest prices seen in 14 years, and demand from the ETF sector has been a strong driver of that price growth. Inflows into silver ETFs in the first half of 2025 have already exceeded the entirety of 2024’s inflows.
In normal times roughly 50-60% of silver demand comes from industry. Traditionally one of the major uses of silver in industry was in photographic film.
With the demise of film cameras, however, industrial silver demand fell on hard times, leading to a slump in silver prices.
New uses for silver have revived industrial demand, and new technologies such as solar cells and electric car batteries could be a source of growing silver demand in the future. As this demand increases, so could the silver price.
Jewelry demand is often overlooked, but it too is a driver of silver demand and the silver price. In any given year roughly 20% of silver demand comes from the jewelry industry, a figure that stays relatively stable over time.
Silverware is a small but stable source of silver demand, making up roughly 5-6% of silver demand each year.
When you think of central banks and precious metals, you naturally think of gold, especially since central banks have been purchasing gold at record levels in recent years. But silver?
Most people may not realize it, but the Russian central bank last year announced that it was planning to add silver to its reserve assets. So there’s some speculation that undeclared silver purchases by Russia could be helping boost the silver price right now.
With BRICS countries potentially using precious metals to help diversify away from the US dollar, silver could play a role as well as gold. And if silver purchases by central banks become a thing, that could provide additional support to the silver price.
There are two primary sources of silver supply, silver mining and silver recycling.
Silver mining is the dominant source of silver supply, making up 80% or more of silver supply in any given year. Silver is very often not a primary mined metal, but is instead found as a secondary metal at copper, nickel, or lead mines.
That means that if demand for those base metals falls, and mining activity drops, mine production of silver could be negatively affected.
Silver recycling makes up the other 20% of silver supply. At this point there are no indications that silver recycling will increase significantly in any way.
One growing use of silver is in photovoltaic cells in solar panels. As some of these panels end their lifespans, they are able to be recycled but very few are.
If recycling of solar panels were to begin on a larger scale, that could contribute to greater silver supply from recycling.
Overall silver demand in 2024 was down slightly from 2023, but despite that, silver prices rose over 20% over the course of the year. That may have been due to increased industrial demand from silver, which hit a record in 2024.
2025 is expected to continue a slight overall downward trend, with silver demand expected to fall to 1.15 million ounces, from 1.16 million ounces last year. The Silver Institute expects industrial demand to remain relatively flat, with lower demand from jewelry and silverware but higher demand for silver coins and silver bars.
Silver is vital to the production of photovoltaic cells in solar panels. As green energy becomes more popular, and in many areas even becomes mandatory, silver demand from the photovoltaic industry could continue to grow.
Silver demand from photovoltaics has increased by more than 120% since 2021, and its share of industrial silver demand has risen from 16% to 29%. If that kind of growth continues over the next decade, silver demand from the solar industry could end up becoming one of the most important, if not the most important, source of industrial silver demand.
Right now projected solar panel capacity is expected to potentially more than triple by 2030, which could provide a boost to silver demand and a corresponding upward pressure on the silver price.
The other major growth area for silver is in the production of electric vehicles. While silver is already used in various parts of internal combustion engine cars, electric cars use far more silver, up to 1-2 ounces per car.
While that may not sound like a lot, when you consider how many millions of electric cars are produced each year, that adds up.
As electric vehicles become adopted in greater numbers, silver demand from the automotive industry could increase significantly.
Long-term silver supply is difficult to forecast, and there are numerous factors that can play a role in impacting silver supply.
Since a lot of silver production comes as a secondary effect of mining for other metals, reduced mining of these metals in the case of a potential worldwide economic slowdown could lead to reduced mine production of silver.
Silver recycling has been relatively steady over the past five years and isn’t projected to grow in 2025. While solar panels can be recycled, the cost of recycling them often isn’t worth the effort.
That means that for now, every ounce of silver that goes into the production of solar panels, which is nearly 200 million ounces every year right now, is an ounce of silver that will likely no longer be available for future use. It’s as good as lost, and will require either increased production from mines or increased recycling from other sources to meet demand.
Forecasting the future price of any asset, let alone precious metals, is difficult. Given the long history of silver as a monetary metal, a safe haven asset, and an inflation hedge, however, it seems safe to say that the silver price in the future could get higher than it is today.
Will the silver price be higher 100 years from now? Probably. Will the silver price be higher 50 years from now? Very likely.
But will it be higher 5, 10, or 20 years from now? Or will it be higher whenever you decide to divest yourself of your silver holdings? That’s a tougher question to answer.
Certainly everything seems to be lining up right now to drive the silver price higher in the near term. With increased demand from silver ETFs, strong solar panel demand, and a continuing deficit of silver supply versus demand, there’s a reason so many people today think the silver price could keep going up.
All of this is ultimately conjecture, however. No one knows what the future holds. For all we know, solar panels may fall out of favor within the next decade, thus suppressing industrial demand.
Electric vehicles may find alternatives to silver. Or safe haven demand for silver coins, silver bars, or silver ETFs could drop if more people would rather buy gold than silver.
That’s why your decision to buy silver has to be based on your assessment of whether or not the price of silver will go up. If you feel that the future of the economy is uncertain and that silver is an undervalued asset, then maybe silver is what you’ll choose.
Or if you feel that the economy is doing just fine and there’s no need for you to purchase safe haven assets, then maybe you’ll want to spend your money elsewhere.
While we may not know with certainty if the price of silver will keep going up, we do know that if you’re in the market to buy silver, Goldco is the place to do it.
With over $3 billion in precious metals placements, Goldco has helped thousands of customers benefit from buying precious metals.
Our specialists can help you navigate the silver purchase process, whether you’re looking to start a silver IRA or just looking to buy silver coins to store at home. With our years of experience and dedication to customer service, you’ll be hard pressed to find another company that treats you as well as Goldco.
This article was originally published in November 2022 and was updated in July 2025.
With gold recently reaching all-time highs, interest in the yellow metal remains strong But for many people who may be buying physical gold for the first time, they may be leery of buying gold if...
Los Angeles, CA – August 12, 2025 – Silver prices have surged to their highest levels since 2012, nearly approaching the $40 per ounce mark This remarkable rally highlights silver’s growing...
On August 1st, President Trump announced a series of tariffs that would be implemented on imports from numerous different countries Among those countries now subject to tariffs is Switzerland, with...
CUSTOMER CARE
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.
