{
  "id": 17377254,
  "title": "Silver loses more than half its value from record high: What went wrong and will it recover?",
  "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/10/31/silver-loses-more-than-half-its-value-from-record-high-what-went",
  "topic": "business",
  "section": "Business",
  "published": "2026-10-31T09:03:45.000Z",
  "source": {
    "name": "The Economic Times - Top News",
    "slug": "the-economic-times-top-news",
    "url": "https://economictimes.indiatimes.com/markets/commodities/news/silver-loses-more-than-half-its-value-from-record-high-what-went-wrong-and-will-it-recover/articleshow/135395608.cms"
  },
  "original_language": "en",
  "account": "In late 2021, silver prices reached a record high of nearly $120 an ounce in London, driven by robust industrial demand, tight supplies, strong investment inflows, and speculative buying. The surge made silver one of the top-performing commodities of the year. However, the upward trend proved unsustainable as investor optimism waned and profit-taking intensified. Prices gradually fell, and by the end of the year, silver had lost more than 58% of its value, slipping to around $50 an ounce.\n\nSeveral factors contributed to the record high and subsequent sharp decline. Initially, strong demand from renewable energy, electric vehicles, semiconductors, and advanced electronics fueled silver's price surge. Tightly constrained supplies and persistent supply deficits added to the metal's appeal. Simultaneously, investors flocked to silver due to inflation concerns, currency weakness, mounting government debt, and geopolitical uncertainties. The metal also benefited from gold's bullish momentum, as investors sought smaller, more volatile assets amid global economic uncertainty.\n\nDespite the impressive rally, the sharp correction in silver prices highlights a significant reassessment of bullish expectations. Profit-taking by hedge funds, institutional investors, and speculative traders accelerated the decline. Industrial demand remained weaker than anticipated, as economic slowdowns in major consuming regions, particularly China and Europe, dampened manufacturing demand. A stronger US dollar and higher real interest rates further reduced the attractiveness of non-yielding assets like silver. Investment demand also weakened as ETF investors pulled out funds, reallocating them to cash and fixed-income assets.\n\nSupply growth has been limited, as most of the world's silver output is generated as a by-product of mining lead, zinc, copper, and gold. This restricts producers' ability to quickly increase output in response to price movements. However, some industrial consumers have postponed purchases, anticipating lower prices, and increased recycling activity could provide secondary supply to the market. While supply constraints may persist, the imbalance appears less severe than initially expected, reducing some of the bullish momentum that supported silver prices earlier this year.",
  "summary": "Silver has plunged more than 58% from its February record high of nearly $120 an ounce to around $50, as profit-booking, weaker industrial demand and shifting macroeconomic conditions weigh on prices. Geojit’s Hareesh V explains what drove the rally, why it unravelled and what could shape silver’s recovery.",
  "key_points": [],
  "editors_take": null,
  "illustration": null,
  "coverage": {
    "outlets": 1,
    "also_reported_by": []
  },
  "ai_generated": true,
  "disclaimer": "Summaries, key points and the editor’s take are written by software from other outlets’ reporting and may contain errors — always check the linked original."
}