Gold prices surged, while silver held steady at all-time and multi-year highs across Shanghai, Mumbai, and London on Tuesday. Platinum, another industrial precious metal, continued its recent upward trend.
Silver, in particular, reached a new 13-year high, surpassing $36.75 per Troy ounce during London’s midday market auction, the highest since a brief spike in February 2012. In Euro terms, silver remained at an eight-month high, exceeding €32 per Troy ounce. In the UK, the price of silver topped £27 for the first time since reaching its all-time high of £30 in April 2011.
On Mumbai’s MCX exchange, silver futures set new records, crossing 1 Lakh Rupees per kilo, while the Shanghai Gold Exchange recorded its highest price yet, ¥8,890 per kilogram.
Arun Misra, CEO of Hindustan Zinc, predicted silver prices will continue to rise due to a global market deficit between supply and demand. He forecasts silver to reach $41-42 per ounce by 2027.
Silver has been in a market deficit since 2019, according to Belgian refiner Umicore and Canadian bank BMO, driven by growing demand from the solar sector, which has consistently outpaced predictions for nearly two decades. Metals Focus also anticipates silver demand will exceed supply by 11% in 2025.
The surge in silver prices caused a decline in holdings of the iShares bullion-backed ETF, marking its first shrinkage since mid-May. Meanwhile, trading volumes for Comex silver futures and Nymex platinum derivatives remained stable, while Comex gold futures volumes dropped to their lowest since the end of December.
Silver lease rates in London rose to 0.72% per annum, the highest level since April, while gold lease rates remained negative at -0.15%, indicating an abundant supply of the metal.
HSBC attributed the rise in silver prices to a return of risk appetite following the uncertainty caused by Trump’s tariffs earlier this year. Analysts at Reliance Securities also pointed to several factors driving the rally, including a weakened US Dollar, expectations of Federal Reserve interest rate cuts, strong industrial demand, supply constraints, geopolitical tensions, and investors diversifying portfolios.
Platinum also reached new heights, topping $1,227 per ounce on Tuesday, the highest since May 2021. Gold prices bounced back to $3,340 per ounce in London, though still 4.5% below their April peak of $3,500.
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