Silver has outshone gold and may do so again in 2025
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DESPITE the euphoria surrounding gold this year, it’s not the best-performing precious metal. That distinction belongs to the Cinderella of the shiny metals, silver, up 35%.Silver and gold have long been associated: silver as a coin and gold as a store of wealth between nations. Over time, however, it became clear silver could be easily tampered with, and was more susceptible to wear than gold. From about the end of the 17th century, it began to be supplanted by gold as currency.Silver still correlates to gold as a store of wealth, but it also has quite a high beta or measure of volatility. At the moment, the volatility is reduced owing to gold’s strength, but analysts think its traditional volatility will begin to reassert itself.At the same time, silver has wide industrial application — comprising 71% of total fabrication demand — in items such as solar panels. It therefore also tends to correlate to copper as a member of the critical minerals family. What this means is that whereas gold’s astonishing price run is forecast to plateau next year, silver is expected to power on.Sprott, a Canadian precious metals investor, says silver could break through $40/oz from about $31/oz today. While still way short of its record highs of $50/oz, achieved in 1980 and 2011, this potential nonetheless represents an option to gold while keeping precious metals exposure, especially while platinum group metals (PGMs) remain pedestrian.“As silver and copper fundamentals become increasingly driven by the demand for electrification and the energy transition, we are seeing increased correlation patterns between silver and copper,” said Sprott in a recent note.“We would expect this tailwind to push copper and silver prices higher,” it added, citing additional propulsion from a synchronised global rate-cutting cycle, an increase in money supply and a rise in global credit, many of the factors that benefit the gold market.Rhona O’Connell, head of market analysis EMEA & Asia for market consultancy StoneX, predicts silver supply will move into a deficit, possibly before the end of this year, “and expand thereafter”.Investor exposure to the metal via the JSE is limited. Most South African gold and PGM miners say silver comprises a minuscule amount of total revenue. But it’s available through silver-backed ETFs or through a bullion dealer.The Silver Institute says the physical silver market recorded a deficit in each of the past two years, with another deficit forecast for 2024. Supply growth is also challenged in places such as Mexico where it is mined, according to a report by Scotiabank. It recommends Pan American Silver, the company that trumped Gold Fields for Yamana Gold in 2022, or Wheaton Precious Metals, one of the streaming companies that is increasingly turning to Africa for access to gold production.A version of this article was published in the Financial Mail.The post Silver has outshined gold and may do so again in 2025 appeared first on Miningmx.Weiter zum vollständigen Artikel bei Mining.com Weiter zum vollständigen Artikel bei Mining.com
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