The silver price hit a new all-time high on Tuesday (December 9), rising as high as US$60.56 per ounce.
The white metal’s rise continues a breakout that began on November 28 after CME Group (NASDAQ:CME) halted trading on the Comex, citing a ‘cooling issue’ at a CyrusOne data center located in a Chicago suburb.
All markets were open and trading by 5:46 a.m. PST that day, but the disruption raised concerns among traders — according to Reuters, the outage was one of the longest in years for CME Group.
Adding fuel to the fire are increased expectations for an interest rate cut from the US Federal Reserve.
The Fed’s next meeting is set to wrap up on Wednesday (December 10), and while market participants were previously divided on whether another cut is coming, CME Group’s FedWatch tool now shows strong expectations for a reduction.
Target rate probabilities for December Fed meeting.
Chart via CME Group.
In addition to that, US President Donald Trump said on November 30 that he has decided who the next Fed chair will be. While he didn’t give a name, people familiar with the news told Bloomberg that Kevin Hassett, director of the White House’s National Economic Council, is seen as the likely candidate.
Trump has frequently criticized current Fed Chair Jerome Powell for not lowering rates quickly enough, and Powell’s replacement is widely expected to be more in line with Trump’s views.
Speaking on CBS after Trump’s comments, Hassett was relatively tight-lipped about the Fed chair position.
“I think that the American people could expect President Trump to pick somebody who’s going to help them have cheaper car loans and easier access to mortgages at lower rate,” he commented.
“That’s what we saw in the market response to the rumor about me.”
Silver price chart, December 1 to 9, 2025.
Silver and its sister metal gold tend to fare better when rates are lower, meaning that December rate cut expectations coupled with the Hassett rumor have helped to stoke prices for the precious metals.
While silver is known for lagging behind gold before outperforming, it’s now ahead in terms of percentage gains — silver is up about 100 percent year-to-date, while gold has risen around 59 percent.
The yellow metal is currently trading above US$4,200 per ounce, but remains below its all-time high.
In addition to rate-related factors, silver’s breakout this year has been driven by various elements.
As a precious metal, it’s influenced by many of the same factors as gold, but its October price jump, which took it past the US$50 level, was also driven by a lack of liquidity in the London market.
While that issue appears to have resolved, a new situation has recently emerged — Bloomberg reported on November 25 that Chinese silver stockpiles are now at their lowest level in a decade after huge shipments to London.
Tariff concerns and silver’s new status as a critical mineral in the US have also provided support in 2025.
The white metal’s industrial side also shouldn’t be forgotten — according to the Silver Institute, industrial demand for silver reached a record 680.5 million ounces in 2024, driven by usage in grid infrastructure, vehicle electrification and photovoltaics. Total silver demand was down 3 percent year-on-year in 2024, but still exceeded supply for the fourth year in a row, resulting in a deficit of 148.9 million ounces for the year.
Watch five experts share their thoughts on the outlook for silver.
Time will tell what’s next for silver, but some experts see it continuing to outperform gold in 2026.
‘The sure money is made in the gold sector, but the big money is made in the silver sector — that’s proven true over the last couple of precious metals cycles. I believe it will be true in this one as well,’ said Jay Martin of VRIC Media.
Securities Disclosure: I, Charlotte McLeod, hold no direct investment interest in any company mentioned in this article.