Silver prices surged to a record high above $52.50 an ounce, surpassing the 1980 peak, as a tightening physical market and elevated borrowing costs fuelled a powerful rally.
Lease rates — the cost of borrowing silver in London — have been exceptionally high throughout 2025 and spiked above 30% on a one-month basis on Friday, creating steep costs for traders maintaining short positions.
Analysts at Goldman Sachs said the rally has been intensified by the metal’s smaller and less liquid market, which is about one-ninth the size of gold’s, making prices more volatile. They warned that, unlike gold, silver lacks central-bank demand to stabilise prices, meaning even a modest pullback in investment flows could trigger a sharp correction as London market tightness unwinds.
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