Silver Price Forecasts & Predictions for 2026

Silver's dual role as a safe-haven and industrial investment is set to propel prices throughout 2026 as both sources of demand pick up steam.

Industrial Consumption

In 2024, industrial consumption surged by 7% to over 700 million ounces, a record that's expected to rise in 2025 and beyond. The renewable energy sector represents one of the fastest-growing buying sectors, with solar panels alone expected to eat up 100% of the silver supply by 2050.

Investment Demand

At the same time, investment buying is on the rise, with Macquarie saying “the return of stronger financial buying retains scope to drive silver to a period of marked outperformance.” In the first half of 2025, silver exchange-traded products (ETPs) saw a record inflow of 95 million ounces.

Gold is on track to hit several new records throughout 2026, according to a growing suite of bullish forecasts. Historically, silver has shown a tendency to follow in the yellow metal’s footsteps by surging in value after its larger cousin gains.

Recent bull runs even show a trend of the shiny metal outperforming gold once prices get moving. Silver’s lower cost-basis usually translates into a higher percentage return compared to gold. The latter’s optimistic forecasts suggest equally or more compelling silver returns on the horizon.

Silver’s supply squeeze isn’t a recent development; it’s the continuation of a long-term trend. For four consecutive years, global demand has exceeded mine output, creating annual shortfalls averaging about 170 million ounces.

The Silver Institute expects 2025 to mark the fifth year in a row of deficits, underscoring how entrenched this imbalance has become. As experts suggest, it could take half a decade or longer before supply catches up, let alone tips into surplus, ensuring this structural tightness keeps silver prices elevated for 2026 and beyond.

For years, the gold-to-silver ratio has stayed well above its historical norm, pointing to a significant imbalance between the two metals’ values. The ratio measures how many ounces of silver are required to equal the price of one ounce of gold.

Historically, this figure has averaged around 67:1, yet in recent years it has often been much higher, implying silver is undervalued relative to gold. With gold widely expected to rise in 2026, the only realistic way for this gap to normalize is through a significant move higher in silver.

For decades, the silver market has been plagued by institutional market manipulation as whales artificially compress prices by constantly shorting the market. This forced ceiling on the shiny metal is starting to crack as demand scales and scrutiny builds.

According to Sprott, silver has “been manipulated for the last 50 years," yet the 2024 prosecution of JPMorgan precious metals traders could portend the end of this manipulation. The dwindling impact of this interference is a major tailwind for prices. Many advisors think that the silver squeeze is already here.

Silver’s upbeat 2026 price projections are informed by technical indicators, too. Following years of trading with a tight holding pattern, the shiny metal rose above the critical $35/oz price ceiling, which had held for years.

This rapid swing to the upside completed a remarkable 50-year cup-and-handle pattern, one of the most bullish technical indicators. Investing Haven analysts claim this upward shift is “the most powerful bullish reversal in history.”

Rate cuts are also central to silver’s bullish outlook for 2026. The metal’s dual identity as a precious safe haven and industrial input makes it highly sensitive to monetary policy shifts. Historically, looser financial conditions have not only driven investment demand for silver but also supported growth in the industries that consume it.

Following a quiet three-quarters, the Fed launched a series of 25-basis-point rate cuts in September, October, and December 2025, buoying precious metals prices. Markets and major brokerages continue to price in the possibility of roughly two quarter-point cuts over the course of 2026, should economic data soften more than anticipated.

The Fed’s monetary stance isn’t the only factor that could boost silver next year. Concerns over the central bank’s independence are emerging as a new potential driver of safe-haven demand. Trump’s ongoing threats to oust Fed Chair Jerome Powell and the firing of Governor Lisa Cook have raised questions about the institution’s credibility and long-term stability.

If confidence in the Fed erodes further, the US’s reputation for sound policy would take another hit. Silver, which combines monetary-hedge appeal with robust industrial demand, would be well-positioned to benefit from that loss of trust.