Silver Breaks $50 as Global Shortage Deepens: What U.S. Consumers Need to Know About the New Bullion Boom
- Silver hit a historic milestone: Silver officially closed above $50 an ounce — the highest nominal weekly close ever in U.S. dollars. It’s a major psychological mark the market’s been eyeing for years.
- London’s running short on big silver bars: 1,000-ounce bars — the kind traded between banks and refiners — are in tight supply. Lease rates in London skyrocketed to levels not seen since Warren Buffett’s silver play back in 1998.
- A global silver shortage is years in the making: The world has faced a silver supply deficit for five straight years, totaling roughly 800 million ounces of unmet demand. Industrial users and investors are both competing for the same metal.
- Institutions are circling the silver market: Large money managers are eyeing silver as momentum builds, and many believe the next leg higher could take prices beyond $50 as demand keeps growing.
- Industrial demand is now the driver: About 80% of silver use today comes from industries like solar, electronics, and medical tech — with solar panels alone consuming record volumes.
- U.S. refiners are feeling the squeeze: Some U.S. silver refineries have paused melting down old coins and silverware because they simply can’t keep up with the sellbacks and tight physical supply.
- Gold’s quietly breaking records too: Gold hit around $4,000 per ounce — with some analysts projecting it could reach $5,000 next year if central banks keep buying at record levels.
- Silver and gold remain scarce: Between industrial growth, central bank demand, and tightening supply chains, physical metals are proving why they’ve held value for centuries — especially when paper markets get shaky.
- The Royal Canadian Mint is leading the charge: They’ve become the world’s top sovereign mint, ramping up capacity with new silver blanking lines and expanding product offerings to meet global demand.
- Younger and more diverse buyers are joining in: The Royal Canadian Mint sees a growing wave of younger and first-time buyers discovering gold and silver — often drawn in through mainstream media or social trends around hard assets.
From London’s silver squeeze to record-breaking gold highs, supply deficits and surging industrial demand are reshaping the precious metals market—here’s why more Americans are paying attention to real, physical gold and silver.
+$50 oz SILVER as London Lease Rates Signal SHORT SQUEEZE
Record nominal weekly silver price close in fiat USD is now accomplished.
And what is this about surging lease rates?!
Looks like London is now running into shortages of 1,000 oz silver bars.
How do we know this?
Because London Silver Lease rates exploded this week to levels not seen since Warren Buffett's Berkshire Hathaway raided the silver market back in early 1998 to complete his then 129 million oz silver bullion position.
Well, for the world silver markets in 2025.
This isn't 1998, no, it's not 1980, and no, it's not some pip squeak 2011 silver bull market either.
RICO suave short silver commercial bank desks are unlikely to come to the rescue this time around.
Because this time, the world is in an ongoing silver supply deficit for now, some five years running, with no end in sight. To the tune of nearly -800 million oz in outsized demands on silver versus supplies in the 2020s.
And the institutional money managing momentum longs are threatening to come plowing into this silver market as we eventually blow beyond $50 per troy oz.
I find it deeply ironic that this week, when the scapegoated Hunt Brothers' names were called out yet again with half-truth tales galore, 747 cargo jets are reportedly being loaded with 1,000 oz silver bars to be whisked off to London to stem or slow the silver squeeze tide.
The spot silver and gold markets traded bullishly on the week.
The spot silver price ended the week at $50.11 oz bid, and the spot gold price closed the week at $4,012 oz bid.
Yes, we still have a historically high spot gold silver ratio of 80, which was this week's close.
References:
Seeing Early Signs of Silver Outperforming Gold: Citi's Layton
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yadpOyGRSz8
