The price of silver has skyrocketed over the last week, hitting a record high of $83.62 per ounce on Dec. 28.
Silver prices climbed through much of 2025, reaching their highest level in a decade in September at $44.86 an ounce. For comparison, the average price of silver in 2024 was $28.27 an ounce.
The upward trajectory has accelerated in the last week, with the price of silver hitting $70 for the first time in history on Dec. 23, before topping $75 on Dec. 26 and surpassing the $80 threshold on Dec. 28. According to reports from Reuters, silver has gained 181% year to date.
Michael DiRienzo, president and chief executive officer of the Silver Institute, told pv magazine that the price jump reflects strong fundamentals in the silver market, which is facing a fifth consecutive year of a structural deficit.
“Geopolitical and economic issues are also playing a part in the rush to hard assets,” DiRienzo said. “Not to mention silver’s classification as a critical mineral by the United States, which initiated a Sec. 232 USTR review to determine if tariffs could be enacted on certain silver products or the metal in its entirety.”
DiRienzo also pointed towards China’s recent announcement that it plans to restrict silver exports for one year beginning Jan. 1, 2026, with businesses required to apply for export licenses.
“While China is a net importer – primarily of silver ore – it is also a major refiner and exporter of silver bars,” DiRienzo added. “In the near term, this development may add fuel to the rally.”
Silver is a critical mineral for the solar industry and rising prices have put pressure on the PV module market to curb its use. In September, research found the global solar industry could account for 40% of global silver demand by the end of the decade.
This content is protected by copyright and may not be reused. If you want to cooperate with us and would like to reuse some of our content, please contact: editors@pv-magazine.com.
By submitting this form you agree to pv magazine using your data for the purposes of publishing your comment.
Your personal data will only be disclosed or otherwise transmitted to third parties for the purposes of spam filtering or if this is necessary for technical maintenance of the website. Any other transfer to third parties will not take place unless this is justified on the basis of applicable data protection regulations or if pv magazine is legally obliged to do so.
You may revoke this consent at any time with effect for the future, in which case your personal data will be deleted immediately. Otherwise, your data will be deleted if pv magazine has processed your request or the purpose of data storage is fulfilled.
Further information on data privacy can be found in our Data Protection Policy.