Silver prices traded near $36 per ounce in early February 2026, up approximately 20% from a year earlier. Unlike gold, which is primarily an investment asset, silver has a dual role: roughly 55% of annual silver demand comes from industrial applications, with the remainder split between investment, jewellery, and silverware. This industrial component has become increasingly important as global solar panel installations and electronics manufacturing continue to expand.
Solar Energy Is the Biggest Driver
Solar photovoltaic panels are the fastest-growing source of industrial silver demand. Each standard solar panel contains approximately 20 grams of silver paste, used in the electrical contacts that collect and conduct the current generated by silicon cells. The Silver Institute estimated that the solar industry consumed approximately 232 million ounces of silver in 2025, up from 193 million ounces in 2024.
China, which manufactures more than 80% of the world's solar panels, is the largest single consumer of silver for this purpose. Global solar panel installations reached approximately 600 gigawatts in 2025, according to the International Energy Agency, and are projected to continue growing at 25-30% annually through the end of the decade.
Electronics and Electric Vehicles
Silver is used in electronics due to its superior electrical conductivity - it is the best conductor of electricity among all metals. Applications include printed circuit boards, connectors, switches, and RFID tags. The growth of 5G network infrastructure, which requires silver-containing components in base stations and devices, has added further demand.
Electric vehicles use approximately twice as much silver as internal combustion engine vehicles, due to the extensive electronics in battery management systems, charging circuits, and infotainment displays. With global EV sales exceeding 20 million units in 2025, this is becoming a meaningful source of demand growth.
Supply Constraints
Silver supply has struggled to keep pace with demand. Global mine production was approximately 820 million ounces in 2025, down from a peak of 900 million ounces in 2016. Mexico, Peru, China, and Australia are the four largest producing countries. Approximately 70% of mined silver is produced as a by-product of copper, zinc, and gold mining, meaning silver supply is partly dependent on demand for other metals.
The market has been in a physical deficit (demand exceeding supply) for four consecutive years. This deficit has been met by drawing down above-ground inventories, including silver held in exchange-traded funds and by COMEX-registered warehouses. Current COMEX inventories stand at approximately 280 million ounces, down from 400 million ounces in 2020.
Silver as an Investment
For investors, silver behaves as both a precious metal (correlated with gold) and an industrial commodity (correlated with economic growth). The gold-to-silver ratio - the number of ounces of silver needed to buy one ounce of gold - currently stands at approximately 86:1, above its 30-year average of approximately 68:1, which some analysts interpret as silver being undervalued relative to gold.
Silver can be purchased as physical coins and bars from dealers, through exchange-traded funds like iShares Silver Trust (SLV), or via tokenised silver products such as those offered by some cryptocurrency platforms. For live silver prices, visit Kitco or SilverPrice.org.