Lisbon, Dec. 24, 2025 (Lusa) - Silver was the precious metal that appreciated the most in 2025, more than doubling its value, surpassing gold in percentage terms and reaching the $70 per ounce mark.
Silver broke through the $70 per ounce barrier on Tuesday at around 1:11 p.m. Lisbon time, with an ounce of silver trading at US$70.294 (around €59.9). Today, at around 9:47 a.m., the metal is trading above US$72.
The metal has "clearly benefited from the easing of restrictive monetary policies in the major economies," and "as markets began to anticipate interest rate cuts, demand for the precious metal increased," XTB market analyst Henrique Tomé told Lusa.
Silver also retains great value as a raw material, with "the industrial side of demand having a decisive influence on price developments" as it is an "essential component in the production of various industries, such as solar panels, electric vehicles and technologies linked to the energy transition," added the analyst.
The non-magnetic metal was trading at US$28.893 (€24.60) per ounce at the beginning of the year and is now trading above US$72 (€61.09) per ounce, representing growth of around 150% in one year. "This performance significantly outperformed the rise in the price of gold," said Henrique Tomé.
Speaking to Lusa, Banco Carregosa's trading director, João Queiroz, defined silver as a metal with a dual nature, stating that it is susceptible to economic cycles.
"Its dual nature distinguishes it from other metals and amplifies its cycles, especially in phases of technological transition and macroeconomic instability," he said.
Queiroz also points to increased demand from "data centres linked to artificial intelligence, where electrical efficiency is crucial," considering that "demand is inelastic and difficult to replace in the short term."
"At the same time, silver's role as a protective asset has been reinforced in a context of persistent geopolitical tensions, greater economic fragmentation and expectations of more accommodative monetary policies. The gradual loss of confidence in fiduciary currencies and increased sensitivity to inflation have favoured demand for tangible assets, where silver emerges as an alternative to gold, with greater volatility but also greater potential for enhancement," he said.
Along similar lines, Lisbon's Nova University School of Business and Economics professor António Alvarenga notes that silver and other precious metals "do not generate periodic income (interest or dividends), so their opportunity cost depends on the level of real interest rates," i.e., "when monetary policy is restrictive, with high interest rates, investors are encouraged to prefer bonds or deposits, when it is more expansionary, this opportunity cost decreases and real assets (such as silver) tend to benefit."
"Corrections in the price are possible, I would even say plausible, in the context of such a large and rapid value enhancement of the asset: a global appeasement, better relations [between the US, the EU and China] and possible signs of stabilisation in the US economy may increasingly fuel the idea that silver is overvalued and lead to a chain reaction," he added.
The professor also believes that for "silver-intensive industrial sectors, very high prices can lead to a significant increase in production costs, accelerating efficiency efforts (reducing the amount of silver per unit produced), encouraging recycling and the search for alternatives".
‘’The fragile balance between high demand, heavy investment, supply constraints and divergent expectations about monetary policy makes the market particularly vulnerable to sudden corrections, with direct impacts on both industrial users and investors," said António Alvarenga.
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