1 kg silver bars handpicked at Conclude Zrt bullion dealer arranged in Budapest, Hungary on Monday, February 17, 2025.
Akos Stiller | Bloomberg | Getty Images
One of the best trades of the year turned around overnight.
silver It fell 7% on Monday after topping $80 an ounce for the first time in overnight trading. The precious metal is still up more than 155% year-to-date. 2025 started trading just above $20 an ounce.
Silver futures were recently trading around $71.91 an ounce.
Year-to-date March silver futures
That’s why precious metals have outperformed even gold this year. February gold futures prices recently topped $4,550 for the first time this month, having risen more than 70% this year.
Gold futures last fell 3.1%.
There are several reasons for the large profits. Silver, along with gold, is seen as a safe-haven asset for investors wary of other risks, such as rising geopolitical tensions and ballooning U.S. budget deficits. The two metals are also seen as stores of value and can act as a hedge against a weakening U.S. dollar due to inflation and economic uncertainty. Additionally, a weaker US dollar makes assets cheaper for other countries as well.
Silver also benefited from strong industrial demand for electronics such as solar panels, data centers, and electric vehicles.
