The World Silver Survey 2026, published by the Silver Institute and Metals Focus on April 15, 2026, projects a 46.3 million troy ounce market shortfall, marking the sixth consecutive year that global silver demand has exceeded total supply. The cumulative drawdown from above-ground stocks has reached 762 million troy ounces since 2021.

Supply is struggling to respond. Mine production is forecast at 844.1 million ounces for 2026, essentially flat even though silver averaged $40.03 per ounce in 2025, a 42 percent year-over-year increase. A structural constraint helps explain the sluggish response: roughly 74 percent of silver is produced as a byproduct of copper, lead, and zinc mining, so output tracks the economics of those base metals rather than silver's own price.

Investment demand is a key growth area. The survey forecasts coin and net bar demand of 257.6 million ounces, up 18 percent from 217.7 million ounces in 2025. Much of that growth is expected to come from the United States, where retail demand is projected to rebound by 57 percent.

The Silver Institute described a market that has entered an era of reduced stocks. It cautioned that tightness will not be constant, but that liquidity will generally be thinner, lease rates more volatile, and price swings larger than investors have grown accustomed to in prior years.

Source: Silver Institute - https://silverinstitute.org/global-silver-investment-to-remain-strong-in-2026-against-the-backdrop-of-a-sixth-consecutive-annual-market-deficit/