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“If speech is silver, then silence is gold.” This is a wisdom that we have inherited from generation to generation. However, current developments in the worlds of economics, industry, and jewelry require us to reconsider our view of silver, that “indispensable” white metal, according to the description of the “Silver Institute” in Washington, and to rephrase this famous wisdom so that speech becomes gold and silence becomes silver.
According to a survey issued by the Silver Institute – a major “non-profit” industry group based in Washington, USA – the global production of the white metal last year amounted to 25,830 metric tons.
Thanks to its high ability to conduct electricity and heat more than any other metal, silver has occupied a major position in the industries produced by the Fourth Industrial Revolution, so much so that about 50% of the world’s silver is now used in heavy industries and advanced technology, from semiconductors, smartphones, tablets, car electrical systems, solar panel cells, nuclear reactors, batteries, dentistry, photography, LED chips and RFID chips used to track packages and shipments around the world, in addition to the field of jewelry and decoration, of course; which has increased global demand for it, and according to the global silver survey for the current year, it is – for the third year in a row – demand exceeds the supply in the market.
Silver prices in 2030
According to Michael DiRenzo, CEO of the Silver Institute, speaking to CNBC, 2024 is a “great year for silver,” with prices hitting a 10-year high. Meanwhile, Light Finance reported that the period from 2024 to 2030 “promises great opportunities for investors in the white metal trade,” with the average price expected to rise 16% next year compared to this year to more than $30, due to continued demand in the industry. In 2026, it is expected to reach $33 per ounce, and according to Coin Price Forecast, by 2030 it is likely to approach $54.
War and inflation
It is known that in times of war, and in countries threatened by the specter of inflation; the rich resort to “pressing” their money and saving it in gold deposits, but the strange thing in recent years is the trend towards silver. This is clearly evident in Egypt, where popular wisdom says “gold is an ornament and a treasury”, and thus the white metal returns to occupy the place of the yellow metal in proverbs and sayings and in the markets, and even in the treasuries of Egyptians; with the decline in the purchasing value of the pound, and the crazy rise in gold prices. Egyptians began to pay attention to silver as a safe haven that protects their savings from the effects of inflation, after interest in silver was only for decoration or industrial uses. Silver has also become an alternative to gold in the “bride’s engagement ring”, and the girl and her family no longer find this a diminution of their dignity, and they are not ashamed to publish pictures of engagement and wedding parties on social media platforms, with the bride adorning her ears and hands with silver jewelry.
Producers and Exporters
The most important silver producing countries according to data from the US Geological Survey (production in metric tons)
Mexico: 6,300, China: 3,600, Peru: 3,100, Chile: 1,600, Australia: 1,400, Poland: 1,300, Bolivia: 1,300, Russia: 1,200, USA: 1,100, Argentina: 840 metric tons.
While the OEC World platform published a list of the largest silver exporting countries in the world (in US dollars), some of which are not major producers, but rather rely on re-export and transit trade:
China: $3.75 billion, United Kingdom: $3.2 billion, Mexico: $2.49 billion, Germany: $1.75 billion, United States: $1.69 billion, South Korea: $1.69 billion, Switzerland: $1.66 billion, Japan: $1.6 billion, Kazakhstan: $1.55 billion, Hong Kong: $1.31 billion.
