Silver is spiking to record highs hitting $94.68 per ounce and up 33 percent in just 19 days of 2026 because the world is running out.
Shanghai premium has exploded to $11 per ounce above global markets, meaning Chinese buyers are paying $105 for the same metal trading at $94 elsewhere. This $11 gap is nearly double the previous record from 2011, and it signals that the global silver market is fracturing.The core problem is structural scarcity colliding with surging demand. The market has been running a deficit for five consecutive years, and about 75 percent of silver is a byproduct of copper mining, miners can't just produce more when prices spike. Meanwhile, demand is explosive. Solar panels consume roughly 197 million ounces annually because silver is the only metal that works for their electrical layers, and each EV uses double the silver of a traditional car. Data centers for AI are adding yet another consumption layer. Industrial demand hit a record 680 million ounces last year, and supply can't keep pace.What's changed everything is that China implemented harsh export controls on silver, restricting it to only 44 state approved firms and effectively ringfencing supply for its own industries solar, EVs, electronics. China is the world's second largest silver producer and controls roughly 70 percent of the global refined market. By tightening exports, it's signaling that silver, like rare earths before it, is now a strategic commodity, not just a traded one. Western traders have been buying silver at spot and shipping it to China to capture the premium, draining Western inventories. Lease rates have spiked above 8 percent and visible stockpiles are collapsing.Expecting this shortage to continue throughout 2026 and into 2027.Source: StockMarket.News
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