Silver has room to run over the next year, according to research published this week — and the bullish case doesn't hinge on industry.
The argument from one recently-published view: monetary demand and an accelerating loss of purchasing power in fiat currencies should more than offset any drop in industrial silver use if the economy slows. In other words, silver's role as a hard-asset hedge is doing the heavy lifting, not solar panels or electronics.
Analysts making this case also point to two structural quirks. First, silver's low unit price — a few tens of dollars an ounce versus thousands for gold — is a psychological magnet for retail investors looking for an accessible store of value. Second, the silver market is relatively thin. That means when capital rotates toward hard assets, price moves can be amplified in both directions.
The takeaway from this thread of research: if fiat debasement continues and investors keep hunting for monetary alternatives, silver's upside could outpace what a weaker industrial backdrop would otherwise imply.