$100 an ounce? Analysts expect silver to rise after its record rally

Analysts reiterated forecasts for silver to rise to $100 an ounce after the metal hit an all-time high of over $62 on December 10. Against the backdrop of a rapid rally and years of supply shortages, experts Solomon Global, BNP Paribas Fortis and Standard Chartered believe that a combination of structural demand, growing industrial use of silver and its undervaluation could create conditions for the metal to reach $100 by the end of 2026, writes CNBC.

On Wednesday, December 10, the spot price of silver updated the historical maximum, reaching the level of $62.88 per ounce. A day earlier, silver for the first time exceeded $60 per ounce. Since the beginning of the year, the value of the metal has grown by 114.6%.

Silver futures have also rallied sharply, adding 113% over 2025 and topping $61 for the first time this week. Supply constraints, demand for protective assets and silver's important role as an industrial metal have fueled a rally that has seen silver overtake gold this year, CNBC notes.

Silver's growing appeal is due, among other things, to its expanding role in key industrial sectors, Paul Williams, managing director of gold and silver supplier Solomon Global, explained to CNBC. He also noted that the metal serves as a "means for investors to preserve value in times of uncertainty or volatility."

"The dual nature of silver - as an important industrial resource and simultaneously a store of value - continues to attract both retail and institutional buyers. For those who find gold increasingly less affordable, but who want to participate in the ongoing precious metals boom, silver is becoming - and in my view will continue to be - a compelling alternative," the analyst pointed out, emphasizing that "all of the major factors supporting silver remain in place." "However, increased volatility should be expected," Williams warned.

Silver is a key component in industry: it is used in electrical switches, solar panels, cell phones, and equipment and infrastructure that support AI development, CNBC noted. "As a result, global industrial demand for silver will continue to grow as the needs of key technology sectors accelerate over the next five years," the Silver Institute said in a report cited by CNBC.The metal has more than doubled in value since January: a multi-year supply shortage, exacerbated by strong demand from industry and investors, led to a shortage of silver and an acute shortage in October, Financial Time noted.

According to Williams, the metal's price is also affected by the imbalance between supply and demand, "and the long-term fundamentals underlying the so-called 'devil metal' are only getting worse."

Williams first predicted silver's value would rise to $100 back in October, when the metal was approaching $50. At that time, the analyst said that, in his opinion, the price of this precious metal should more than double by the end of 2026. Since then, Williams has not changed his opinion: "The forecast for silver for 2026 looks positive," says the expert. - Any pullbacks are likely to be temporary pauses rather than a change in trend, given the structural deficit in the market," the analyst explained.

Philippe Geysels, chief strategy officer at BNP Paribas Fortis, is also optimistic about silver. "When undervaluation, deficits for years to come and a new industrial revolution coincide, miracles happen in the market," Geysels told CNBC. However, the precious metals market could be volatile next year, the analyst warned: profit taking could cause "sharp drawdowns" before silver reaches $100 an ounce, Geisels cautioned. "We have argued for some time now that this 'sleeping beauty' among commodities, which has been in short supply for many years, will finally wake up and double the $50 price held for decades," he added, referring to silver.

According to Standard Chartered analyst Suki Cooper, the current rise in silver prices is based on the fact that "the market has been experiencing a supply shortage for five years, with regional inventory imbalances persisting". Her opinion is published by Financial Time.

Unlike gold, silver is mostly mined as a by-product of other minerals, so mining companies have been unable to respond quickly to growing demand in recent years, the newspaper explains. All of this has led to huge silver stockpiles in the U.S. in recent months due to concerns about possible U.S. imposition of duties on silver, which will only exacerbate shortages of the metal in other countries, the newspaper explains.

This article was AI-translated and verified by a human editor