For the first time on record, silver prices surged past $100 an ounce, hitting an intraday high of $100.78 on Friday on COMEX futures, as a powerful mix of supply shortages, safe-haven demand, and geopolitical stress sent prices soaring.
Spot silver was last trading just above $100, capping one of the most explosive rallies in the metal’s modern history.
Silver is now up more than 42% this month alone, putting it on course for its strongest monthly performance since December 1979. For dedicated silver traders, the move feels less like a speculative spike and more like an inevitable structural repricing.
Surpassing this major psychological barrier to hit a three-digit valuation, silver's latest move marks a watershed moment for a market long viewed as gold’s volatile understudy, but now commanding attention in its own right.
The rally in silver has unfolded alongside fresh highs in gold and platinum, with investors piling into precious metals amid geopolitical uncertainty and fading confidence in US assets. The dollar index slipped toward a two-week low and is down around 1% on the week, making metals priced in dollars more attractive to overseas buyers.
Silver’s surge is notable because it is being driven by both investment and industrial dynamics. It behaves as a hedge during periods of market stress, while also benefiting from tight supply and steady industrial demand. That combination can push price moves higher, particularly when momentum traders enter the market.
Interest rates have been a key undercurrent in silver's story. With bullion offering no yield, expectations of falling interest rates tend to lift demand, and recent Fed signals have reinforced bets that policy easing lies ahead later in 2026.
Despite the role of falling interest-rate expectations and safe-haven flows in silver's rally, analysts widely agree that supply constraints are the dominant force behind the white metal's surge.
Silver is both a precious metal and a critical industrial input. That rare combination of the two leaves it uniquely exposed when supply tightens. Roughly 75% of silver production comes as a byproduct of copper, lead, and zinc mining, meaning output cannot be ramped up quickly in response to higher prices.
That view is supported by longer-term supply trends. The Silver Institute has said that 2025 marked the fifth consecutive year of a global silver supply deficit, a structural imbalance driven by limited mine growth, refining constraints, and rising industrial consumption.
Unlike gold, silver production is largely a byproduct of copper, lead, and zinc mining, making supply slower to respond to price signals. Analysts note that new mining projects typically take a decade or more to bring online.
Silver’s rally has also been amplified by its role as a more accessible alternative to gold, which has surged to record highs of its own. Gold futures were trading near $5,000 an ounce on Friday, pushing many investors toward silver as a lower-cost entry point into the precious-metals boom.
“With gold priced out of reach for many, silver has emerged as an accessible way to gain exposure to the precious-metals boom,” commented Paul Williams, Managing Director of Solomon Global.
If gold's rally continues in full force deeper into 2026, silver can continue to reap the benefits as investors seek cheaper exposure to the precious-metals rally. Goldman Sachs has already raised its end-2026 gold price forecast to $5,400 an ounce, a move that could push more capital toward silver.
Don't be fooled into thinking that silver's break above $100 eliminates the risk of sharp swings. Silver has a long history of outsized volatility at elevated levels, and analysts have already cautioned that profit-taking, a rebound in the dollar, or shifts in risk sentiment could trigger sudden pullbacks.
However, physical market signals suggest demand remains firm. In India, dealers reported a surge in investment buying this week amid concerns over potential import-duty changes ahead of the February 1 budget, adding to evidence that interest extends beyond paper markets.
For now, silver continues to track the broader precious-metals rally rather than carving out a separate narrative of its own. That could change quickly, however, depending on how markets digest upcoming central-bank decisions and global political developments.
The Federal Reserve’s policy decision and press conference next week are expected to be the next major catalysts, with the potential to reshape expectations for the dollar, yields, and precious metals in the weeks ahead.
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