(Kitco News) – China's silver imports hit an eight-year high in the first two months of 2026 as burgeoning demand from the industrial and investment sectors boosted local price premiums, drained domestic silver stockpiles, and drove unprecedented foreign purchases, according to the latest customs data released Friday.
In January and February, China imported over 790 tonnes of silver, the data showed, with February alone accounting for a year-over-year record of 470 tonnes in imports.
Strong local demand drove domestic prices significantly higher than the global benchmark, draining the already depleted exchange reserves and incentivizing metals purchases from overseas.
2026 has seen the most volatile start for silver prices of any year on record, with spot silver hitting a nominal all-time high of $121.62 per ounce on January 29, 2026, before losing nearly half its value to plunge to $64 per ounce by February 6.
In January, analysts at Goldman Sachs warned that China’s new export controls would likely exacerbate local shortages and global dislocations, and could even fragment the global silver market itself.
“Thinner inventories have created conditions for squeezes, where rallies accelerate as investor flows absorb remaining metal in the London vaults and reverse sharply when tightness eases,” Goldman analysts Lina Thomas and Daan Struyven wrote.
The analysts said that the price turbulence is not being driven by a global shortage of silver, but by localized supply bottlenecks that are keeping the market distorted.
China’s new 2026 export restrictions, which now require official approval for outbound silver shipments, have only added to the volatility. Goldman said this move could actually fragment the global silver market, reducing liquidity while amplifying price swings.
“Disruption risk may prompt participants to secure their own stockpiles rather than share buffers globally,” the analysts said. “This shift from a pooled global system to isolated regional inventories would create an inefficient structure — transforming a smooth, integrated market into one prone to sharp, localized price swings.”
