Silver & Platinum — Why This Rally Is Built on Stronger Foundations
Back in 2011, silver spiked to nearly $48 an ounce in a speculative surge that quickly collapsed. With silver now trading around $46, it’s fair to ask: is this just a repeat? The answer is no — this time the rally rests on far stronger foundations.
In 2011, momentum and leverage drove prices. Supply was more responsive, and industrial demand hadn’t yet hit the structural highs we see today.
By contrast, 2025 silver demand is rooted in solar panels, electrification, and electronics — all hitting records — while mine supply and recycling fail to keep up. The result has been four straight years of serious(15% to 20%) supply/demand deficits, which have steadily drawn down above-ground inventories. Quite simply, the pool of available physical silver is shrinking.
The gold–silver ratio reinforces this. In 2011, silver’s run drove the ratio below 40, a clear sign of overheating. Today, even after silver’s rise, the ratio remains far higher — having only recently narrowed from extremes above 90. That tells us silver is still undervalued relative to gold, which is trading around USD 3,750 instead of USD 1,400 in 2011, leaving room for a more sustainable re-rating.
Overlay this with the backdrop of ballooning U.S. federal debt, now dramatically higher than in 2011, and the attraction of tangible assets becomes obvious. Given that US debt has nearly trippled since 2011, when it was USD 13.5 trillion, investors seeking protection from monetary debasement are looking to hard assets — and silver and platinum both fit the bill aas rising, but still undervalued, alternatives to gold.
Platinum deserves mention here as well. The market has been in consecutive deficits and the World Platinum Investment Council (WPIC) is predicting that at current deficit rates above ground reserves will be exhausted by 2028. Historically platinum traded at a premium to gold, but today it sits at a discount — another signal the market is mispricing scarcity.
In short: silver at $46 in 2025 is unlikely a repeat of the 2011 spike. Shrinking physical supplies, sustained industrial demand, an elevated gold–silver ratio, and record U.S. debt all argue for a rally with stronger legs and greater sustainability. Platinum, with its own structural shortages, offers a parallel case.
The fact that Silver was placed on the United States critical mineral list last month is likely to push prices further up. See Silver on USGS critical mineral list: stockpiling by US Government in the works?
Gregor J. Gregersen, founder of Silver Bullion Group, walks in what will soon become the group's Main Silver Vault (MSV) in Singapore. The MSV can hold around 320 million ounces of silver, being over 30% of global annual supply. As of late September 2025, the MSV holds around 18 million troy ounces of silver.
If you’d like to explore allocation approaches or secure vaulting solutions, we would be glad to discuss further.
Best regards,
Gregor J. Gregersen