Analysts back silver to reach $100 by 2026

Silver prices have climbed to new heights in 2025, with the precious metal more than doubling in price and beating out gold’s performance in what experts are calling a historic rally.

The metal reached $62.88 per ounce on Wednesday, marking an all-time high. By the end of trading, silver was changing hands at roughly $61.96 per ounce. Just one day earlier, the metal crossed the $60 threshold for the first time in history. Since January, silver has jumped 114.6% in value.

Silver futures contracts have followed a similar path, climbing 113% throughout 2025. These contracts broke above $61 this week, another first for the market.

So, why are silver prices surging? Three main factors are pushing silver higher. Supply is tight, investors want protection during uncertain times, and factories need more of the metal for making products. These forces have combined to send silver prices climbing faster than gold this year.

Paul Williams works as managing director at Solomon Global, which sells gold and silver. He told CNBC that silver plays two important roles today. Factories need it for making things, while investors buy it to protect their money when markets get shaky.

“Silver’s dual identity as both an essential industrial resource and a store of value continues to draw in retail and institutional buyers,” Williams said. “For individuals who see gold as increasingly out of reach but want exposure to the ongoing precious-metals boom cycle, silver is proving — and I believe will continue to be — a compelling alternative. All the major tailwinds for silver remain in place; however, we should expect increased volatility.”

Companies use silver to make electrical switches, solar panels, and mobile phones. The metal also goes into equipment that powers artificial intelligence systems. The Silver Institute released a report Wednesday explaining why factories want more silver.

“Silver’s superior electrical and thermal conductivity properties are increasingly essential to the technological transformation driving the global economy,” the organization stated. “As a result, global silver industrial demand is poised to grow further as demand from vital technology sectors accelerates over the next five years. Sectors such as solar energy, automotive electric vehicles and their infrastructure, and data centers and artificial intelligence will drive industrial demand higher through 2030.”

Analysts eye $100 target as bull market just beginning

Williams first said silver would hit $100 back in October when prices were near $50. He thought the metal would more than double by the end of 2026.

“With silver now trading above $60, up roughly 25% in a month, that trajectory remains firmly intact,” he said. “The silver supply/demand mismatch continues to boost the price of silver [and] the longer-term fundamentals underpinning the so-called Devil’s Metal are only strengthening. Any pullbacks are likely to be temporary pauses rather than a change in direction, given the structural tightness of the market. The outlook for silver in 2026 is bright.”

Philippe Gijsels serves as chief strategy officer at BNP Paribas Fortis. He also expects silver to keep climbing.

“When undervaluation, deficits as far as the eye can see and a new industrial revolution meet, market magic happens,” Gijsels said. “That is in a nutshell the story of silver in 2025.”

Gijsels thinks silver will reach triple digits during 2026, though he warns prices might swing wildly as some investors cash out along the way. He mentioned work he did with economist Koen De Leus on a 2023 book called “The New World Economy in 5 Trends.”

“It is clear that we are now in a secular bull market which could well lead us in the triple digits over the course of 2026 … This is not the end but the beginning of what could be a very nice story,” he said.

Silver vs gold performance (2025)

• Silver gain: +114.6% year-to-date
• Gold gain: +60% year-to-date
• Gold-Silver ratio: Currently at 68 (lowest since 2021)
• Historical average: 66 ounces of silver per ounce of gold
• Bull market target: Below 40

Silver has done better than gold this year, even though gold set its own records. Gold prices have risen by about 60% since January. The ratio showing how many silver ounces equal one gold ounce has dropped to around 68, the lowest point since 2021. This ratio peaked in April when President Donald Trump announced new tariffs.

Russ Mould works as investment director at AJ Bell. He told CNBC that silver still looks cheap next to gold. The average ratio since 1971 sits around 66. When silver rallies hard, that number can fall below 40, he noted.