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Silver rose above $33 an ounce on Wednesday as the precious metal continues to benefit from the bullish momentum in safe-haven investments.
Spot silver was up 0.6% to $33.28 per ounce by 10:30 a.m. ET, the highest in two weeks. The most-traded silver futures in New York also gained 0.6% to $33.36 per ounce.
Gold, meanwhile, rose 0.4% to $3,303.17 per ounce in spot prices and 0.7% to $3,307.70 in three-month futures.
Silver has quietly become one of the best-performing commodities this year, rising by more than 14% so far. In late March, it nearly set a new 52-week high after closing at $34.44 an ounce.
A big driver has been the rising macroeconomic uncertainty that steered investors toward safe haven assets led by its sister metal gold, which is up 26% year to date, breaking multiple records along the way.
By comparison, silver’s market size is much smaller, capping its upside during rallies in gold. In addition, silver is a lot more volatile as it is more sensitive to economic factors that dictate its demand, given the metal’s industrial uses.
According to The Silver Institute, the global market for silver has been in a deficit for five years. In 2024, industrial demand for the metal rose another 4% to a record 680.5 million oz. in 2024, with structural gains linked to the green economy.