While gold rose 50%, silver rose 78%…"Will double in a few years"

"Store of value + increased industrial demand leading to supply shortage"

"Even at an all-time high, still 100-to-1 cheaper than gold"

The gold price rally is drawing attention, but silver has risen more than gold this year. Some analysts predict that the silver price will double within a few years.

According to CNBC on the 13th (local time), spot silver last week crossed the $50 mark for the first time. Gold rose 2.4% that day to trade at around $51 per ounce at 6:20 a.m. London time.

Meanwhile, silver futures in New York traded at $49, up 4.5% that day.

So far this year, while spot gold prices have risen 51% since the beginning of the year, spot silver prices have risen 78%.

Both gold and silver have risen strongly this year on demand for safe-haven assets amid uncertainty over the Trump administration's trade policies and declines in the U.S. dollar and U.S. Treasuries. In particular, silver's larger increase reflects a basic demand-supply mismatch, with demand exceeding supply.

Paul Sims, head of EMEA ETF fixed income and commodities management at Invesco, pointed out, "Interest in silver has increased as the gold-silver ratio exceeded 100 following the gold price rally." He said, "The only other time this century that the gold-silver ratio exceeded 100 was during the pandemic."

He said, "While gold has limited industrial uses, silver has various industrial practicalities in electronics and renewable energy technologies in addition to being a store of value." "Investor sentiment toward gold and silver remains positive, and especially with the stock market holding highs, prices are unlikely to be affected by overheated trading aimed at profit-taking," he added.

Paul Williams, managing director of Solomon Global, said, "Record industrial demand and accelerated investment in green technologies are causing a silver supply shortage, pushing prices higher." He explained that while silver is not as much a safe haven as gold, "its dual role as an industrial and store-of-value metal continues to attract investors seeking stability and upside potential."

Silver is an essential component in products across various industries, used in electrical switches, solar panels, and mobile phone production, and is also used in semiconductors that drive the AI boom.

Williams said, "Despite silver being at an all-time high, it remains cheap compared to gold," and added, "Given the current situation, reaching $100 for silver by the end of 2026 is entirely possible."

Philippe Gijsels, chief strategist at BNP Paribas Fortis, who predicted a year ago that silver would reach $50, forecasted, "Silver's value will be twice the current level."

He said, "When a price enters the gravity field of a large number, it generally experiences peaks in rises and buying." However, he noted that the uptrend may pause briefly before prices surge again.

Gijsels said, "In the long term, the conditions that fueled this rally are still in place, which means there is still upside potential."

Guest reporter Jeongah Kim kja@hankyung.com