Eric Sepanek
SBC Founder
Eric Sepanek is the founder of Scottsdale Bullion & Coin, established in 2011. With extensive experience in the precious metals industry, he is dedicated to educating Americans on the wealth preservation power of gold and silver.
The silver market is offering a “generational buying opportunity” as a multi-front trade war, struggling dollar, and global easing cycle boost safe-haven demand in a transforming global market.
On top of these structural changes, silver is more accessible to investors due to a weakened dollar, spiking gold-to-silver ratio, and lower premiums. Investors paying attention can lock in these undervalued prices before silver skyrockets.
Bullish Structural Changes
Global Trade War
Silver prices fell below $30 in the post-“Liberation Day” market sell-off before quickly reversing course to the upside. Overall, Trump’s global tariff regime is expected to elevate the shiny metal by pushing investors to seek inflation relief in physical assets. For reference, silver rose 34% following a tariff-induced slump when the US and China economies clashed between 2018 and 2019.
Prices may experience some headwinds from a dip in Chinese manufacturing, a major source of industrial demand for silver. Yet, this international shortage could be made up for by a boom in domestic manufacturing.
Weakening Dollar
Along with stocks and bonds, the dollar continues struggling under the weight of a schizophrenic trade policy and monumental tariffs. The US Dollar Index, which tracks USD against a basket of major currencies, hit a multi-year low recently. This crucial index suggests USD has fallen by around 8% since the beginning of the year, after hitting several highs in 2024.
A weaker dollar makes silver more accessible to investors. This increased affordability is a boon to prices, especially from countries with robust jewelry demand, which accounts for 17% of total consumption. Additionally, International Monetary Fund research indicates the shiny metal enjoys higher dollar sensitivity than gold, meaning increased profit opportunities.
Easing Cycles
Silver is also set to benefit from a global easing cycle as central banks slash rates. This tends to spark a renewed interest in safe-haven assets since the opportunity cost of owning non-yielding assets falls.
Although gold receives most of this redirected capital, record-high prices are making silver more appealing to investors.
UBS has quantified the metal’s tendency to rise during interest rate cuts. The bank’s research shows that for every 1% cut, silver prices increase by more than 9%. The CME FedWatch Tool anticipates three 25-basis-point cuts for the rest of 2025, representing a 0.75% reduction. Following the UBS model, this would increase silver prices by roughly 6.75%.
Why Silver is So Attractive
It’s not only macroeconomic and geopolitical factors that set up silver for an upward trend. The following market-level variables make it an opportunistic time to dive into the shiny metal:
Reasonable Premiums
Retail demand has been focused heavily on gold for a while, driving down dealer premiums on silver. These lower add-on costs help investors secure physical bullion at a lower cost basis, increasing the possibility of higher returns in the long run.
Lower Price Point
As the gold rally continues shattering records, many investors are looking for a more affordable way to access the precious metals market. At a significantly lower price point, silver offers a lower barrier to entry while maintaining promising yield potential.
Rising Gold-to-Silver Ratio
In addition to boasting muted premiums and a lower price point, silver is relatively undervalued compared to gold. The gold-to-silver ratio, which measures how many ounces of silver are needed to buy an ounce of gold, crossed 100:1 recently. Anything above 90:1 suggests silver may be cheaper than gold.
This is a huge opportunity to get in on an undervalued asset at the right time.Scottsdale Bullion & Coin’s Precious Metals Advisor Todd Graf
How high will silver go?
UBS analysts expect silver to hit $38 by the end of 2025. This bullish forecast is echoed by the average expert 2025 silver price prediction of around $37. These upbeat outlooks represent a roughly 28% gain since the beginning of the year.