The global silver market is on track for its sixth consecutive annual supply deficit in 2026, according to the World Silver Survey released in April by the Silver Institute and Metals Focus. The survey projects a shortfall of 46.3 million troy ounces this year, widening from the 40.3 million ounce deficit recorded in 2025.

The cumulative effect of these repeated deficits is significant. Since 2021, the market has drawn down 762 million troy ounces from above-ground stocks to cover the gap between supply and demand. That sustained drawdown has left the market more exposed to price squeezes, as the buffer of readily available metal continues to shrink.

The demand mix is shifting. Industrial consumption fell 3 percent in 2025 to 657.4 million ounces and is forecast to decline another 3 percent in 2026 to 639.6 million ounces. Jewelry fabrication is projected to drop 16 percent to a five-year low of 159.4 million ounces, while silverware demand is slated to fall 20 percent.

Investment demand has moved the opposite direction. Global coin and net bar demand rose 14 percent in 2025, and the survey forecasts an 18 percent increase in physical investment in 2026, the highest level since 2022. The data shows a market where weaker industrial and decorative use is being offset by investors accumulating physical metal, even as the structural deficit deepens for a sixth straight year.

Source: The Silver Institute -- https://silverinstitute.org/silver-supply-demand/