Silver is categorized among a group of valuable commodities such as Gold, palladium, and platinum– these precious metals are valued for their inherent use case and rarity. This has made them good enough to become a store of value for today’s currencies.
Thus, they drive their demand for their unique characteristics and scarcity. Compared to other commodities, Silver and the rest often have constant prices, which are subject to periodic fluctuations depending on different market dynamics.
Briefly, we will be looking at what Silver will be worth in 10 years.
There’s been a lull in the value of precious metals like Gold and Silver for the last twelve years. Holders of the precious metals were subjected to quite the harsh reality when their treasure-laden portfolios endured a sudden grace to grass dip in value.
Silver has experienced a robust 2023 until now, after dipping under the significant $19 per troy ounce benchmark to trade below $18 in late September 2022. This has been primarily attributed to China easing its zero-Covid policy and the market anticipating smaller US interest rate increases.
As of March 3, silver had appreciated 17.4% over the previous six months. The historical price of silver reveals that macro volatility plays a crucial role.
What caused the silver price dip?
Many factors determine the market dynamics of Silver and most precious metals, but these factors often negate each other. A prime example includes how production costs negatively affect the mining rate and the total supply. It means an increase in the cost of production while the market price is lower than the average cost will lead to a decrease in supply.
If anything, the demand for Silver has always been constant while the supply is unstable but limited.
Incidences of an industrial strike in the operations of a major mining corporation that reduces the supply will temporarily spike the price of Silver. The further alteration, whether an increase or a decrease in demand or supply, will stimulate the prices to move disproportionately.
When an announcement about the use of Silver to create something, for instance, solar panels, could lead to an upward buying pressure, thus increasing the price of Silver.
Although, there has been less demand for Silver in the last few decades, thus leading to a significant reduction in price. The world has moved on to non-silver photography, so they no longer use them in making camera films.
We have seen supply increase when thousands of camera films are recycled to extract their silver content. In the event of an increase in the price of Silver, we would see an increase in the melting of silvery materials like jewelry, coins, and other products.
The use and disuse of Silver in today’s technologies is a major cog in the wheel of Silver’s price movement. Experts report an increasing likelihood of the price of Silver hitting the dumps with more advanced technology replacing Silver-based products.
Also, the number of people using jewelry made of Silver can contribute to the growth of a precious metal like Silver. In times of recession, a decrease or stagnation in income could lead to a sharp selloff of Silver in its pure form or through products where it is a mere constituent.
Is it safe to invest in Silver?
Whether in the bullish or bearish market, investment in Silver can be deemed a haven investment. By this, we mean it can retain its value and maintain a solid purchasing power that fiat currencies and other digital assets cannot rival.
While these other commodities suffer from economic uncertainty, Silver can hold its own at least until a full-blown crisis emerges. Even at that, the prices of Silver tend to gear towards an increase rather than a depression in value.
With that potential in a bearish economy, imagine how Silver would perform in a stronger and more vibrant economy. We get decreasing demand from buyers and investors, but industries and jewelry applications generate a spike in demand, although this has little effect on interest income.
Silver and Gold are also a great hedge against inflation. Fiat currencies can take a skydive in circumstances that you have no control over.
Buying Silver is an incredible idea because it has an inverse relationship with the US dollar. We have often seen in the market how savvy investors are quick to sell off their silver holdings when the dollar gets strong. The best term to describe this is “short selling.” They eagerly await a time when the prices of commodities depreciate due to the dollar’s strength to buy Silver at a cheaper rate.
Silver Price manipulation
Silver markets have ascended from the $12 per ounce troughs experienced at the outset of the Covid-19 pandemic. Under continuing economic instability, investors have turned to precious physical metals and financial instruments as safe-haven assets.
Silver prices peaked at $28 in August 2020 and concluded the year at around $22.
The price then surged to an eight-year high in February 2021, momentarily reaching the $30 per ounce psychological threshold as retail investors flocked to the market. Recovering spot price.
The silver spot price had declined from $24 to $23 per ounce since the beginning of the year as central banks tackled inflation by promptly increasing interest rates. Elevated interest rates are generally unfavorable for precious metals, as investors choose interest-bearing savings accounts and assets that guarantee returns.
Silver’s price escalated from $22.30 per ounce in late January to $26.90 per ounce in early March, reaching its highest point this year in response to Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. However, as the dollar strengthened later in the month, the market experienced a sharp sell-off, fluctuating between $24 and $26 until mid-April.
The DXY hit 105.52 on June 14 – its loftiest level since December 2002 – causing silver’s trading price to plummet to $20.936 per ounce. The price rebounded to $21.867 within two days but fell, mirroring gold’s price trajectory.
Silver attempted a comeback in late July, trading above $20 for several weeks before losing nearly $2 within ten days due to mounting expectations of further interest rate hikes. The Federal Reserve’s commitment to curbing inflation is causing investors to prefer the dollar over non-interest-bearing bullion assets. In November, the Fed implemented its fourth consecutive 75bps rate hike, bringing its short-term borrowing rate to a target range of 3.75% to 4% – the highest level since January 2008 – as it strives to achieve 2% inflation in the US economy.
In the past, the price of commodities, not just Silver, has been heavily manipulated by several unscrupulous elements.
Silver market participants have often shown a lot of passion for silver manipulation in the commodities market. Several key events have cemented this fear in the heart of investors, such as the silver squeeze initiated by the oil baron brothers, Nelson and William Hunt, between 1979-1980.
They bought up to 35 million ounces of precious metal with about US$1 billion worth of both physical and Silver futures. The Hunts opted against settling for cash-bought accepted futures contacts from unsuspecting investors. It resulted in the price of the white Gold springing up to $50 per ounce.
Fact checks this, and you will find that the all-time high value of Silver is $50 to this day. But it didn’t end well as they met with disaster on “Silver Thursday.” It is known iconically as the day silver took a deep dive in value to settle at $11.
Still, can we say they manipulated the market or were betting against it.
The next big manipulation in the silver market would be the one given life by the trendy GameStop hype. Traders worldwide took to the market by targeting hedge funds with an investment pool in the gaming company.
Retail buyers decided to replicate the action by running a buzz using the #SilverSqueeze and buying huge amounts of physical and Silver exchange-traded funds (ETFs). They hoped this would pressure some big financial banks holding short Silver positions. It worked as Silver hit $30, an 11% spike in just 24 hours, a level it had failed to attain in about a decade.
The debate is still on to ascertain if these could truly be categorized as market manipulations. The big banks are considered right in the middle of such activities by holding a large short position in the silver futures market. Thus, they have been able to keep the price of Silver even in the face of seriously bullish fundamentals. The common culprits include JPMorgan and the US Treasury.
Many have already been led to believe that the price of Silver will not rise to any length, except these agencies want it to happen.
Regulatory agencies like the US Commodities Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) have filed lawsuits against banks like JPMorgan and HSBC for silver price manipulation as far back as 2010 for holding large short positions. HSBC settled with the plaintiffs while JPMorgan had the case dismissed.
JPMorgan would not get away in another instance when charged with spoofing precious metals. It paid $60 million to avoid further probes by federal agencies over market manipulation of commodities and other markets.
While the market might not be manipulated, there is the suspicion that Silver’s price is being suppressed. There isn’t exactly any evidence to prove this, and so investors have little to fear about buying or holding Silver.
How much will Silver be worth if the dollar collapses?
Nobody wants to hear the idea of the dollar collapsing, but in some other light, it is great news.
The primary influence of the dollar on a commodity like Silver is because the dollar is the global reserve currency. When it grows in value, foreign nations would have to spend more to buy an ounce of Silver or Gold. Ultimately, this means Silver becomes expensive.
Experienced investors know that all eyes have to be on two distinct elements before predicting how much the price of Silver will be when the dollar crashes. The collapse of the dollar could be near-term fluctuations and long-term changes in the price of commodities.
Any rumor about the dollar’s status is enough to activate a flurry of buying or selling Silver. The dollar has long maintained some levels above Western currencies because the US economy was performing much better than most other countries. The only reason Silver is yet to break out on a high is this factor. And any changes observed in the value of Silver can only be near-term.
But the long-term status should be a priority as there is huge anticipation of a recession that is expected to begin soon. In that event, Silver could experience a jolt in value by at least 50% from its current valuation per ounce.
What is the silver price in 10 years?
While we advise buyers not to go for Silver if they plan to go short-term on their investment, it is good to consider why the long term might be a good idea. Silver is a precious metal that has performed excellently over time.
Hedging a couple of physical Silver or Silver ETFs will be a wise investment choice as long as you see how Silver can benefit you.
We will take three perspectives to consider how much Silver will be worth in a decade.
The commodity bear market
The commodities market was steeped in an ugly bearish market between 2010 and 2020. Silver lost more than 50% of its value within that period. This kind of sync with the events of the previously bearish market, such as the 1980-2000 bear market, which fell from $49.95 to as low as $5 per ounce. That was a dip of about 90% in price.
It recovered quite well over the next decade to reach $30, only to lose some of its value to settle at around $15 in the 2010s. We are saying the silver market can be brutal during a bear market.
From the current valuation, another bear market could see the value of Silver fall to $12.5 and $3 from its current value. However, Silver has not been that low in decades, so if that were to happen, we could say that the economy is in a hyperinflationary environment.
Commodity Bull Market
As much as we consider the bears’ ugly side, let us look at a forecast of the bulls. The price could grow within the range of 500%-2500% in ten years. We have a track record supporting this prediction; between 1970-1979, the price grew from $1.70 an ounce to about $50, a 3000% growth in 10 years.
Another instance is the surprising move of the price of Silver from $5 to $30 an ounce (600%+). The case is the reverse here in the bull market; though silver price reacts badly in a bear market, its performance in a bull market is quite astonishing.
We can rely on these data to suggest that in ten years, Silver can grow to a minimum of $150 an ounce from the current price of $20.75 an ounce. On the upside, it could reach up to $750 an ounce if the conditions are right. These are all highly realistic in the long term.
From here, silver price prediction for 2025 suggests that the value could regain the $25 price level if Silver gets used more as a hedge against inflation or to develop more technology.
The projected price of Silver in 5 years is $30 considering a build-up in investor interest as interest sways further away from the digital currency market to the more solid commodities market.
We also need to consider the incidence of a hyperinflationary collapse, which may become real as the US public debt increases in a long-term silver price forecast. The price of Silver could rise infinitely against the dollar, given that it is severely limited to 3 billion ounces. The value of Silver would arise from just how much it could buy. A single ounce of Silver can buy a car in the ultimate collapse of the dollar.
Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)
How to buy Silver
Are you looking for how to invest in Silver and other precious metals? You can buy Silver in different forms, such as in silver bars, physical silver coins, or junk silver. Junk silver talks about smaller coins or dimes with silver content, among other metals.
You can also buy into silver futures contracts and exchange-traded funds.
What factors affect the price of Silver?
The strength of the dollar, Supply, Demand, Technology, Inflation, and Gold Prices are among a few factors influencing the price of Silver.
What is Silver’s highest price?
The all-time high value of Silver is $50, attained between 1970-1980.