The price of Silver has risen significantly since Friday, temporarily gaining around 5% to over $39 per troy ounce, Commerzbank's Head of FX and Commodity Research Thu Lan Nguyen notes.
"This saw the precious metal overtake its “big brother” Gold, which only managed a 1.5% increase. There is no fundamental explanation for this movement. On the contrary, the trigger appeared to be increased uncertainty due to US President Trump's recent tariff announcement, which favored safe havens. The Japanese yen and Swiss franc also gained slightly against the US dollar."
"However, Silver is far less suitable as a safe haven than Gold, as the precious metal has a high industrial use and demand therefore tends to decline during an economic downturn. The fact that Silver nevertheless outperformed Gold is more likely to be due to a catch-up effect, similar to what we saw recently with Platinum."
"With Gold having gained around 30% since the beginning of the year, the upside potential appears limited for many investors, prompting them to look for cheaper alternatives instead. This benefits Silver, Platinum, and Palladium, all of which had been trading at significant discounts to Gold. However, we do not consider further price increases for these metals to be justified, as physical demand for them is likely to suffer from the consequences of US tariffs."