Ehhab Wasif, head of the Gold and Precious Metals Division at the Egyptian Federation of Industries, confirmed that the global silver market is experiencing a state of imbalance leaning towards scarcity, as the supply has become less than the actual demand both in industrial and investment uses. This supports the continued rise in prices over the medium term, despite limited recent corrections in the metal’s movement.

Wasif said, according to a report issued by the Precious Metals Division at the Federation of Industries, that the current increases in silver prices—which have pushed the metal close to the historic peak at $50 per ounce—are fundamentally different from what happened during the 1980 crisis, when the Hunt brothers, Nelson and William, tried to monopolize the market by buying huge quantities, leading to a price bubble followed by a sharp collapse after US authorities intervened.

He added that the current increase is driven by real factors related to the growing industrial demand for silver in technology and clean energy fields, especially in the manufacture of solar panels and electronic chips, alongside investors returning to view it as a safe haven parallel to gold during economic turmoil.

Wasif pointed out that the share of silver jewelry in the global market has become much less than the investment demand in the form of bars and silver coins, as investors currently prefer to hold the raw metal instead of acquiring it as jewelry, due to the ease of trading and higher hedging capability.

The division head emphasized that silver is entering a new phase of stable price growth, supported by natural supply and demand factors, not short-term speculation as in the past, expecting prices to stabilize at relatively high levels in the coming period as long as global supply remains limited against increasing demand.