On July 11th, the international spot silver price continued to climb, breaking through $38 per ounce and now stands at $38.389 per ounce, reaching its highest level since 2012.
The domestic silver price has also strengthened simultaneously, currently quoted at 8.62 yuan/gram, with an annual increase of over 24%.
It has reached a new high in nearly 13 years, with an annual increase of 32.9%, significantly outperforming the 27.84% increase in spot gold during the same period.
As the silver price continues to rise, investment products related to silver are experiencing a new round of consumer frenzy.
At Minghui Da Jewelry Trading Center, known as “Changsha Shuibe”, many customers are selecting silver jewelry and silverware. Sales assistant Ms. Wang introduced that recently, the prices of silver jewelry have generally increased by 15% to 20%, but due to the low unit price, even though the increase is significant, the total price of small weights of silver jewelry and silverware remains not excessively expensive.
“Many investors see the good performance of the silver price and want to take a share. Especially those who missed the opportunity to invest in gold before, they hope to make a profit in the silver market,” revealed a staff member at a store specializing in precious metal investments. The sales of products such as silver bars and silver ingots have increased by more than 40% year-on-year.
Wang Hongyuan, the person in charge of the jewelry trading center, stated: “The sales of silver bars increased by 20% compared to May from June. Now consumers generally have a high interest in one kilogram of investment silver bars, and 500 grams of silver bars are also very popular among consumers.”
Some people are optimistic about future market price trends and are choosing to buy silver now, while others have bought earlier and are selling for cash at this time. Mr. Mao from Shenzhen recently chose to visit a professional recycling institution to sell his previously purchased silver products.
Peng Baowan, the person in charge of the silver recycling enterprise, explained that when buying back silver, it usually needs to be tested for purity using a spectrometer first, followed by melting to check for any other impurities.
Currently, the proportion of counterfeit silver in the repurchase market is not high, but it occasionally occurs.
The rise in silver prices is a result of both risk-averse sentiment and industrial demand. The global geopolitical situation remains tense, leading to unprecedented heightened market risk-aversion sentiment.
Gold prices took the lead, while silver and other precious metals, despite their delayed initial gains, surged with the spread of risk-averse demand.
Industrial demand growth is also a major reason for the increase in silver prices.
Silver plays a crucial role in photovoltaic cells, and the rapid development of the photovoltaic industry has become the core driving force behind the growth in silver demand; similarly, the booming development of the new energy vehicle industry has injected strong momentum into silver demand. According to statistics from the World Silver Association, in 2024, the per unit silver usage in hybrid and pure electric vehicles increased by 21% and 71% respectively compared to traditional vehicles.
Minerals from major silver-producing countries have struggled to meet the growing market demand due to their limited production capacity.
Data from the World Silver Association shows that last year, the total global demand for silver reached 36,700 tons, while supply was only 31,700 tons, resulting in a supply shortfall of 5,000 tons, a gap that has persisted for five consecutive years. Entering 2025, the contradiction between supply and demand will further intensify.
Looking ahead, several institutions believe that there is still room for upward movement in silver prices.
Amidst the intensification of supply and demand contradictions and the continuous release of financial attributes, the silver market is welcoming a historic opportunity window. In the short term, the uncertainty of geopolitical situations and the direction of the Federal Reserve’s monetary policy will be key variables affecting the fluctuation of silver prices; in the medium to long term, the explosive growth of the photovoltaic industry, the expansion of the new energy vehicle industry, and the continuation of global central banks’ purchasing of silver will continue to support the upward trend in silver prices.
Experts remind that the precious metals market is highly volatile due to international geopolitical influences at present,
and consumers must remain rational, avoid blindly chasing high prices, to prevent losses.
“For those without experience investing in silver, it is advised that ordinary investors should avoid investing in silver. This is because the price of silver fluctuates wildly, making it difficult for the average person to time their purchase.”