Silver Institute supply and demand estimates presented by Metals Focus place the global silver market in deficit for a fifth consecutive year, at 95 million ounces. The cumulative shortfall across 2021 through 2025 reaches almost 820 million ounces.

On the supply side, mined silver output holds flat year over year at 813 million ounces. Primary silver supply rises 3 million ounces to 227 million ounces, which accounts for 28 percent of global output. All-in sustaining cost for the first half of the year fell 9 percent to $13.0 per ounce, the lowest since the first half of 2022, while the margin over that cost reached $19.7 per ounce. Recycling rises 1 percent and lands at a 13-year high.

Total demand falls 4 percent to 1.12 billion ounces. Industrial fabrication declines 2 percent to 665 million ounces as thrifting accelerates and photovoltaic modules use less metal per unit, offset in part by data center and electric vehicle demand. Bar and coin demand drops 4 percent to a seven-year low of 182 million ounces, an outcome driven by sizable retail liquidations in the United States.

US market structure features prominently in the data. Record volumes moved into CME vaults on tariff concerns, and the US government designated silver a critical mineral. Exchange-traded product holdings climbed roughly 18 percent, a year-to-date gain of 187 million ounces. The silver price set a record of $54.48 on October 17, and the gold to silver ratio fell to 78 in October from a peak above 107 in April.

Source: The Silver Institute - https://silverinstitute.org/the-silver-market-is-on-course-for-fifth-successive-structural-market-deficit/