Since the beginning of this year, silver prices have been steadily rising, making them a focal point of attention in the global commodity market. In June, the international spot price of silver surged past $37 per ounce at one point, reaching a new high in nearly a decade. Domestically, the spot price of silver also briefly broke through 8.46 yuan per gram, demonstrating strong upward momentum.

Silver prices are surging rapidly, driving a sharp increase in investment and consumer interest. This year, as silver prices continue to climb, silver investment products are experiencing a new wave of consumer enthusiasm. Data shows that sales of investment silver bars and silver ingots have surged by more than 40% year-on-year.

Wang Hongyuan, head of the Jewelry Trading Center: Investment in silver bars saw a 20% increase in sales in June compared to May. Currently, one-kilogram investment silver bars are particularly popular among consumers, and 500-gram silver bars are also highly favored by buyers.

Some people are optimistic about future market prices and are choosing to buy silver now, while others who purchased earlier are opting to sell their silver holdings at this time to realize profits. Mr. Mao from Shenzhen recently visited a professional recycling company to sell the silver products he had purchased previously.

Peng Baohua, head of a silver recycling company, told reporters that nowadays, when buying back silver, it generally first undergoes purity testing using a spectrometer, followed by melting and refining to check for any impurities. Currently, the proportion of counterfeit silver in buybacks is relatively low, though occasionally such cases do occur.

Will the price of silver go up or down in the future?

What are the main factors influencing this year’s rise in silver prices?

Liang Yonghui, Deputy Secretary-General of the Gold and Silver Branch of the China Nonferrous Metals Industry Association: Silver demand has been experiencing supply shortages for five consecutive years. From an industrial perspective, silver consumption in new energy vehicles, AI, semiconductors, and 5G has increased significantly.

In the coming period, what will be the actual trend of silver prices? Will they rise or fall?

Liang Yonghui, Deputy Secretary-General of the Gold and Silver Branch of the China Nonferrous Metals Industry Association: From the technical perspective of silver, we’re now approaching the key resistance level of $37 per ounce. Combined with the current trends in international capital flows, we believe this resistance level should be relatively easy to break through. Furthermore, given the likelihood that the Federal Reserve may face prolonged expectations of interest-rate cuts, other precious metals such as silver could also see price increases.

Platinum surges 36% year-to-date.

Spark an investment boom

Like silver, platinum prices have also been soaring this year. After a relatively sluggish market performance over the past two years, platinum prices have recently surged rapidly, breaking through 300 yuan per gram. Since the beginning of the year, platinum’s cumulative increase has exceeded 36%, outperforming gold’s year-to-date gain.

The reporter observed at the Shuibei Market in Shenzhen that many stalls have reduced their gold sales and started offering more platinum products—some even switched entirely to selling platinum.

Following gold, silver and platinum are emerging as the new favorites in the precious metals market. However, experts caution that the precious metals market is currently experiencing significant volatility due to international geopolitical factors. Consumers must remain rational and avoid blindly chasing price hikes to prevent potential losses.