A Sprott Asset Management report published September 8, 2026 includes a chart plotting the silver price against silver lease rates from August 31, 2025 through August 31, 2026. The chart tracks how tight lending conditions in the London market coincided with one of the largest silver price advances on record.

Silver lease rates peaked near 35 percent on October 9, 2025, far above their historical average, and had largely rebalanced by November. Silver rose more than 140 percent from October 31, 2025 to a January 28, 2026 peak of 116.70 dollars per ounce, according to the report. That advance continued well after lease rates eased. The October 25, 2025 low was 46.85 dollars per ounce.

Prices then retreated. Silver traded at 57.60 dollars per ounce on July 31, 2026, and closed August 31 at 66.58 dollars, a monthly gain of 8.98 dollars or 15.59 percent. Year to date, silver was down 7.10 percent at the end of August.

Inventory figures from the report add context. London vaults held about 136 million ounces at the end of September 2025, less than one third of 2025 daily over-the-counter trading volume of 450 million ounces. The report states that up to 83 percent of London inventories were spoken for at that point. The authors describe nearly six consecutive years of supply deficits.

Investment flows resumed in mid-July. Total known holdings of silver exchange-traded products rose 1.54 percent in August to 801.29 on the tracking index, and remain 7.08 percent lower year to date. The gold to silver ratio ranged between 56 and 72 from February onward, against a post-1971 average of about 62.9.

Source: Sprott - https://sprott.com/insights/gold-and-silver-surge-as-fiscal-credibility-erodes/