(Kitco News) - The silver market continues to consolidate above $36 an ounce as the precious metal has seen unprecedented investment demand through the first half of 2025.
The gray metal is experiencing its best six-month gains since the second half of 2010, when prices were climbing toward their 2011 all-time high of $50 an ounce. Spot silver prices were last quoted at $36.27 an ounce, up roughly 25% since the start of the year.
One of the world’s largest precious metals firms announced Wednesday that surging investment demand for silver has helped its new ETF reach a key milestone.
In January, Sprott Asset Management USA launched the Sprott Silver Miners & Physical Silver ETF (Nasdaq: SLVR), which aims to provide pure-play exposure to silver miners and physical silver.
The investment firm said that within its first five months of trading, SLVR has seen its assets under management reach $100 million.
"We believe silver has been considerably undervalued relative to gold, but silver seems to be hitting its stride, with prices recently breaking $35 per ounce for the first time in more than 12 years. Silver miners may be well-positioned as prices rise, fundamentals improve, and industrial demand grows,” said Sprott Asset Management CEO John Ciampaglia in a statement. “We’re pleased that, in the five months since we launched SLVR, investors have embraced the opportunity to invest in silver miners and physical silver.”
In a recent interview with Kitco News, Ryan McIntyre, Senior Managing Partner at Sprott Inc., said he believes silver has room to move higher through the second half of the year as investors continue to seek value in the precious metals market.
“The financial situation should scare people, and when that happens, we’ll see more capital move out of equities and into hard assets,” McIntyre said. “With gold above $3,000 an ounce, investors will start to look for value in silver.”
Silver continues to play catch-up to gold, as the yellow metal rallied to an all-time high of $3,500 in April. Gold’s surging momentum pushed the gold:silver ratio to a multi-year high above 100.
The ratio has since retreated from its earlier highs but remains elevated at 91. Its historical average is between 50 to 60.
There are growing expectations that silver prices could reach $40 an ounce by the end of the year, as industrial demand remains a key factor driving the market’s persistent supply deficit.
According to a report published in April by Metals Focus, silver is expected to face a deficit of 117 million ounces this year.
