Silver hits a new high again, strong ETF inflows support the rise.

Silver prices hit a record high during Friday's trading session, marking a second consecutive week of gains. The strong inflow of funds into ETFs injected more momentum into this hot rally. On Friday, spot silver rose by 3.9%, reaching a historic high of $59.33 per ounce. The influx of funds into silver ETFs has been a key factor driving this rally. As of Thursday, in just four trading days, the total inflow of funds into silver ETFs has reached its highest weekly record since July. Dilin Wu, a research strategist at Pepperstone, stated: "These fund flows can quickly amplify price fluctuations and trigger short-term short covering." On Friday, the performance of gold showed a divergence, initially rising by 1% before turning lower. This caused the gold-silver ratio to fall below the May 2024 low point to about 72 times. Hebe Chen, an analyst at Vantage Markets, stated: "The excess rally in silver indicates that it is no longer the quiet sidekick to gold. The market is recognizing the structural scarcity and rapid growth in industrial demand, not just safe-haven demand." Supply and demand imbalances support silver, with Wall Street bullish on next year's prices. The upward momentum of silver has accelerated over the past two months, partly due to historic squeezes in the London market. Although the tension has eased in recent weeks as more metal flows to this global silver trading center, other markets are currently facing supply shortages. Global silver demand has exceeded mine production for five consecutive years. Silver prices have risen approximately twofold this year, surpassing gold's 60% increase. Some market participants are worried about a repeat of the crash scenarios of 1980 and 2011, where silver quickly retraced all gains after breaking $48. However, analyst Craig Hemke of Sprott Money believes that the current economic, monetary, and physical supply environment is completely different from history. Hemke believes that the current price action of silver is more similar to the breakthrough process of gold in 2023-2024. Hemke expects silver's true breakout to occur in early 2026, stating: Just like gold two years ago, silver is consolidating and forming a base near historic highs. If a breakthrough is achieved next year, similar to gold's doubling in price since March 2024, silver may reach $100 per ounce by the mid to late 2027. Furthermore, analysts at Citigroup stated in a report this week that based on the Federal Reserve's rate cuts, strong investment demand, and physical shortages, silver prices could rise to $62 per ounce in the next three months. This article is translated from Wall Street News, edited by GMTEight: Li Fo.