Silver prices surged to their highest level since 2011 this week, fueled by rising premiums in the U.S., tight physical supply in London, and increasing industrial demand. The white metal climbed as high as $37.59 per ounce in the spot market, with U.S. futures contracts pushing toward $38.46—an unusually large gap that signals growing pressure in the global silver supply chain.
This recent rally underscores silver’s unique status as both a monetary asset and a critical industrial material, especially in sectors tied to clean energy. Up more than 27% year-to-date, silver has begun to outpace gold and other precious metals, attracting the attention of traders, long-term investors, and industrial buyers alike.
One of the more telling developments this week is the growing dislocation between the London spot price and U.S. futures contracts. Typically, such discrepancies are short-lived as traders use arbitrage to align prices. But this time, the gap is persisting—indicating logistical constraints and a tightening supply chain.
The root of this premium appears to stem from earlier in the year, when U.S. tariff threats on silver imports spurred a surge in futures prices. That sparked a rush to secure physical metal for delivery to New York’s COMEX warehouses. While the White House later confirmed that bullion would not be exempt from tariffs, the resulting outflow drained accessible inventories.
According to Daniel Ghali of TD Securities, the silver floating in the market is now at record lows. LBMA silver’s free-float has reached its lowest levels in recorded history, with analysts emphasizing that a physical squeeze may be necessary to rebalance the market.
Another warning sign: borrowing costs for silver in London have surged. The one-month implied lease rate jumped to an annualized 4.5% on Friday—well above its usual near-zero levels. This is a clear indicator that silver in London is becoming harder to access, particularly for short sellers and industrial users that rely on short-term lending of physical silver.
Much of London’s silver is held by exchange-traded funds (ETFs), which are not easily available for lending. Bloomberg data shows a 1.1 million ounce inflow into silver-backed ETFs on Thursday alone. While this is good news for long-term investors, it exacerbates near-term scarcity for traders seeking physical delivery.
Silver’s recent surge is also being driven by robust demand from both sides of its identity: as a safe-haven asset and as an industrial input. Its role in clean energy—especially in photovoltaic solar panels—has elevated silver’s strategic importance. According to the Silver Institute, the market is now in its fifth consecutive annual deficit.
As the world pushes further into renewable energy technologies, demand for silver in solar, EVs, and advanced electronics is expected to accelerate.
With inventory levels falling, premiums rising, and industrial demand growing, silver’s bullish outlook appears to be more than a short-term spike. If market dislocations persist and supply tightness continues, silver could enter a new phase of price discovery—driven as much by fundamentals as by financial flows.
Investors would be wise to watch the $40 level as the next psychological milestone. And if the physical squeeze intensifies, we may be entering a new era for this historically underappreciated metal.
