Silver investment demand surges but U.S. investors still on the sidelines

With the price of silver up 25 percent through the first six months of 2025, investment demand has surged. However, U.S. investors have not hopped on the bandwagon – yet.

The increase in investment demand is reflected by a big jump in ETF silver holdings. Through the first six months of the year, 95 million ounces of silver flowed into silver-backed funds globally. That’s more than the silver inflows for the totality of 2024.

Currently, global silver ETF holdings stand at 1.13 billion ounces, about 7 percent below the all-time high set during the pandemic.

While holdings are still below all-time highs, the total value of silver ETFs is at record levels, eclipsing $40 billion for the first time in June.

Physical silver investment demand is a mixed bag with strong offtake in Asia and recovering demand in Europe, as American investors remain on the sidelines.

According to data compiled by the Silver Institute, Indian silver demand has been particularly strong, with a 7 percent year-on-year increase through the first half of ’25.

Europe has seen a recovery in silver demand, although the Silver Institute notes that it is from “a relatively low base.”

“Retail investment (in volume terms) still lags behind the elevated levels seen during 2020–2022. Nevertheless, the market has benefited from a slowdown in secondary market liquidations, which has lifted demand for newly-minted bars and coins.”

However, in the U.S., we’ve seen investors taking advantage of higher prices and selling to take a dollar profit. This is similar to the dynamic in the gold market, where U.S. investors have also remained on the sidelines.

According to the Silver Institute, retail silver investment is down about 30 percent in the U.S.

Silver Institute analysts say a price over $40 could drive more American investors into the market, but this could still be offset to some degree by profit-taking.

During a recent interview, Money Metals CEO Stefan Gleason called $40 a key level, saying that with gold prices at record levels, silver will become an increasingly attractive option. 

“People will start looking at silver as a bargain, and even though it's at $45 or $50 or $55, I think it's going to gain momentum, and especially if it gets over that $50 price, I do think that we're going to be challenging the $50 level by next year. So, we'll see. And then if it breaks - and I think it breaks through that - it's going to go quite a bit higher from there.”

Silver demand: The big picture

According to the Silver Institute, physical silver investment has ranged between a low of 157.2 million ounces in 2017 and a record high of 337.6 million ounces, set in 2022.

The Silver Institute recently commissioned Metals Focus to create a report on trends in the physical silver investment market. The report examines the leading global physical silver markets:  the United States, India, Germany, and Australia.

The United States

• The scale of US buying has been astounding, with a combined total of 1.5 billion ounces (Boz) of silver purchased by retail investors between 2010 and 2024.
• The value of US silver physical investment has averaged around 70% of the value of gold investment purchases, compared to just 6% in the rest of the world. 
• Investment in Individual Retirement Accounts (IRAs) remains a significant part of US physical silver investment. However, precious metals account for a small share of the total IRA market, offering considerable room for IRA silver demand to grow further.
• Through late 2023, there was an exceptionally low level of retail liquidations, but these have increased since then. Even so, US investors still hold much of the 1.5 Boz acquired over the last 15 years.

India

• India is the second-largest physical silver investment market, but it has occasionally eclipsed the US, which has traditionally been the largest physical silver market. 
• The country has a long-standing tradition of owning physical silver, typically in the form of silver bars, which in 2024 comprised 70% of total retail demand.
• Attractive local prices helped boost retail silver investment up 21% in 2024
• Between 2010 and 2024, the cumulative demand for Indian bars and coins totaled 840 million ounces. Even at today’s higher and sometimes record-setting rupee prices, the scale of selling back has been surprisingly modest.

Germany

• Germany has long held the position of the third-largest market for retail silver bar and coin investment, a market that has been volatile in recent years, with physical investment averaging 48.5 million ounces (Moz) from 2020 to 2022.
• The German physical silver market has long been dominated by bullion coins, accounting for roughly 80% of the market.
• However, the end of favorable tax treatment at the end of 2022 has weighed on the German physical silver market, with German net silver demand slumping by 39 million ounces (Moz) since 2023, and the gold market also seeing a sharp decline.
• This year has seen a partial recovery supported by ongoing economic and geopolitical uncertainties, with a forecasted 25 percent year-over-year increase in physical silver investment demand in Germany.

Australia

• Australia has emerged as the world’s fourth-largest physical silver market in recent years.
• As recently as 2019, Australian silver coin and bar demand stood at just under 3.5 million ounces. By 2022, it had surged to a record high of 20.7 Moz.
• Two factors have contributed to the growth of the Australian market: the increasing popularity of investing in silver in retirement accounts and the favorable tax structure applicable to physical silver investment products.
• Australian physical silver demand is forecast to rise by 11 percent this year as cost-of-living-related selling of precious metals eases, with inflation edging lower and interest rates falling. 

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