Silver rate today: After surging 161% in 2025, what lies ahead for the white metal in 2026? Key points to know

Silver saw a sharp rally in 2025, with prices rising nearly 161% on a year-to-date (YTD) basis. The metal touched a record high of $86.62 per ounce on December 29, 2025, before easing to around $72 per ounce on January 1, as investors booked year-end profits following margin hikes by the CME.

The Chicago Mercantile Exchange (CME) raised margin requirements multiple times during the year, increasing the safety deposit needed to trade silver. This forced speculative traders, who had been pushing prices higher, to reduce their positions.

The heavy selling pressure, along with an already stretched rally in silver prices that had risen around 150% to 160% over the year, led to a sharp correction toward the end of December 2025.

Reasons behind sharp rally in silver

This massive rally is fuelled by silver's new status as a US critical mineral, persistent supply shortages, and a powerful wave of industrial and investor demand.

What analysts say

Tata Mutual Fund, in its latest report on silver, said that silver prices, after a strong rally in 2025, are witnessing some resistance near $80 per ounce.

Silver prices have recently gained momentum with a build-up in speculative long positions on expectations of higher industrial demand and supply shortage fears. Silver may continue to get the dual advantage of being both a precious and an industrial metal, the analysts at the mutual fund note.

The strong demand outlook and supply worries are supporting fundamentals for the bullish trend.

Price correction on the cards?

However, the fund house added that it believes year-end profit booking, portfolio rebalancing, and revision in demand-supply figures in 2026 may trigger price correction.

At current levels, investors may remain cautious with the fresh investment and may look to invest in silver through SIP/staggered mode, considering the volatile nature of the commodity.

Silver crunch: What you need to know

Global silver demand has exceeded supply for the past five years, creating consecutive deficits driven by rising industrial use. Nearly half of silver demand now comes from industry, including solar panels and electric vehicles.

Unlike other commodities, silver production cannot quickly scale to meet demand because about 70% of silver is mined as a by-product of other metals.

With declining ore grades at major mines, higher extraction costs, and few new mining projects, the gap between record industrial demand and stagnant production has reached historic levels.