(Kitco News) - Silver prices continue to surge higher, breaking to new record highs above $60 an ounce. While one market strategist says the precious metal will remain in a solid uptrend, it could see some near-term volatility.
Not only has silver broken to new record highs, but it also continues to significantly outperform gold. Silver’s latest jump has pushed the gold/silver ratio to 69 points, its lowest level since late July 2021. Spot silver last traded at $60.72 an ounce, up more than 4% on the day and more than 100% so far this year.
In her latest precious metals note, Suki Cooper, Global Head of Commodities Research at Standard Chartered Bank, noted that although silver’s price momentum is supported by strong fundamentals, some normalization of traditional market dynamics could create near-term volatility.
“Although lease rates remain elevated, they are well below the October surge,” she said in the note. “Market dynamics have shifted since the early-October surge as India’s demand has subdued after festival-related buying, and London stocks have been replenished. We expect silver prices to correct before embarking on new highs.”
Silver’s unprecedented momentum since late August has been driven by a perfect storm of global supply-chain issues, robust industrial consumption, and renewed investor interest.
Cooper noted that while supply-chain issues have eased, market uncertainty has not completely faded. She pointed out that LBMA vaults have seen their stockpiles grow, while Chinese inventories have dropped. Elevated inventories in American vaults have also decreased slightly, adding some liquidity to global markets.
“LBMA London stocks are up 1,447t YTD, and Comex inventory is up 4,311t YTD. The bulk of the inventory still sits in London at a ratio (LBMA to Comex stocks) of 1.91, the highest since January,” she said. “All of the stock is not available to the open market due to the storage of physically-backed silver ETPs, but not all ETPs are stored in London. Our calculations show that c.78% of LBMA vault silver holdings are accounted for by ETPs – this compares to 65% in November 2024 and 83% in September 2025, when markets started to tighten.”
In the near term, Cooper said the silver market will be driven by investment flows into silver-backed exchange-traded products (ETPs), which have seen their biggest inflows since 2020.
“Silver ETPs rose by 487t in November and are up an additional 475t in December already,” she said. “While ETP demand continues to grow, available stocks in London have risen at a faster pace, suggesting easing market conditions.”
Although silver has room to move higher against gold, Cooper said the gold/silver ratio is starting to look a little oversold.
“While still above the long-run average of 65, the level does underscore silver’s recent outperformance and suggests the metal could be subject to a near-term correction. We maintain a positive view on silver prices, but expect prices to remain volatile – particularly due to the market’s focus on the S232 critical mineral report, which could exacerbate regional market tightness,” she said.
