With silver prices surging in 2025 and global demand reaching historic levels, investors are asking:

Is buying silver bullion still a good investment this year?

In our view at Cole Metals Group, the answer is yes—and 2025’s performance only strengthens that case.

Silver has been one of the best-performing major assets of the year, rising from the mid-$20s in late 2024 to around $57 per ounce in December 2025. That’s an increase of roughly 80–100% year-to-date, depending on the timeframe.

However, and this is key, we do not believe 2025’s rally is a speculative spike.
The drivers are structural. And they remain in place.

1. Silver’s 2025 Performance Reflects a Structural Supply Deficit

The global silver market is experiencing its fifth consecutive annual supply deficit, meaning demand has exceeded mine supply and recycling every year since 2021.

This matters because:

  • More than 70% of global silver output is a byproduct of mining for other metals (zinc, lead, copper, gold).
  • Even doubling the silver price does not double silver production.
  • Mine output in 2024 rose less than 1%, and 2025’s gains are similarly limited.

Silver’s strong 2025 performance is not irrational exuberance—it’s the market recognizing long-term scarcity.

2. Industrial Demand in 2025 Is the Highest in History

Silver has become a strategic industrial metal, essential in sectors that are expanding rapidly:

– Solar Panels (PV Technology)

The solar industry set installation records in 2024 and 2025, driving silver consumption to all-time highs.

– Electric Vehicles & Transportation

EVs and hybrids require significantly more silver than traditional vehicles.

– Semiconductors, 5G/6G, AI, Robotics

Silver’s unmatched electrical and thermal conductivity makes it non-substitutable in high-end electronics.

– Medical Devices & Clean Energy Infrastructure

Everything from circuit boards to advanced sensors relies on silver.

These industries grew aggressively in 2025—and they are all long-term structural consumers of silver.

This is why silver outperformed gold in 2025 on a percentage basis.

3. Monetary Conditions Continue to Support Hard Assets

Beyond industrial demand, silver is also benefiting from the broader financial backdrop:

  • Large U.S. fiscal deficits (2025’s deficit near $1.8T)
  • Rising interest costs on federal debt
  • Softening foreign appetite for Treasuries
  • Continued expectations of long-term money-supply expansion

Even with modest rate moves, investors are increasingly gravitating toward tangible assets with no counterparty risk, and silver is benefiting from that shift.

Silver’s 80–100% gain in 2025 coincides with rising concern about the dollar’s purchasing power, echoing moves seen during past periods of monetary stress.

4. Silver Remains Undervalued Relative to Gold

Even at $57 per ounce, the gold-to-silver ratio (GSR) remains historically stretched.

With gold near $4,200/oz, the current GSR still leaves room for silver to outperform:

  • At 40:1, silver = $105/oz
  • At 20:1, silver = $210/oz

The 2025 rally did not eliminate undervaluation, it merely began correcting it.

5. Physical Silver Bullion Offers Pure Exposure

ETFs and mining stocks have their place, but they introduce:

  • Counterparty risk
  • Management expenses
  • No guarantee of physical redemption
  • Potential exposure to market disruptions

Physical bullion, by contrast:

  • Is private, tangible, and fully owned
  • Cannot be defaulted on
  • Performs historically well during currency weakness
  • Is not dependent on financial intermediaries

This is why long-term silver investors overwhelmingly prefer physical silver over paper substitutes.

Conclusion: Yes — Silver Bullion Is a Strong Investment in 2025

In our opinion at Cole Metals Group, silver bullion remains an attractive investment because:

  • Silver prices moved sharply higher in 2025—but for fundamental reasons.
  • Industrial demand is at all-time highs with no signs of slowing.
  • Supply remains structurally constrained.
  • Monetary conditions continue to favor hard assets.
  • Silver remains undervalued relative to gold.
  • Physical silver offers protection outside the financial system.

With silver up nearly 100% in 2025, and the underlying forces still strengthening, we believe buying physical silver bullion remains a compelling long-term investment going into 2026 and beyond.