Real Assets

Silver: Gold on Steroids?

After spiking 65% in 2025, gold has continued to surge in the first few weeks of 2026, establishing a string of new real and nominal price highs.1 With sovereign debt levels still growing and already-high geopolitical tensions ratcheting up a notch, central banks and investors remain eager to pile into the yellow metal as a potential hedge against tail risks and currency debasement.

Gold hasn’t been the only beneficiary of this dynamic, as other precious metals have also broken out. Silver bullion, for example, gained 146% last year and its momentum has shown no signs of letting up in 2026.2 Silver historically has tracked the gold price in direction but with greater volatility given its industrial applications and lack of historical buying support from central banks. The outsized influence of futures trading on the price of silver has also contributed to its volatility.

Strong physical demand for silver—for use in items like solar panels, electric vehicles and consumer electronics—amid ongoing structural supply constraints combined with investment demand has supported the recent silver rally. Investment demand for silver—even if it looks promising given current fiscal and geopolitical dynamics—is very hard to forecast in the short-term as it is highly dependent on the current volatile liquidity conditions.

  1. Source: Bloomberg; data as of January 26, 2026. 
  2. Source: Bloomberg; data as of January 26, 2026. 
  3. Source: Bloomberg; data as of January 26, 2026. 
  4. Source: Bloomberg; data as of January 26, 2026.

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