In this photo illustration, banknotes of Euro, Japanese Yen, Chinese Yuan and US dollar bill are placed under one-ounce silver bullion coins arranged on February 20, 2021 in Katwijk, Netherlands.
Yuriko Nakao | Getty Images News | Getty Images
The price of silver moved sharply higher on Thursday morning and hit its highest level in more than a decade.
Silver futures rose more than 4%, trading above $36 per troy ounce. That is the highest price for the metal since early 2012.
Silver futures were trading at their highest level since 2012 on Thursday.
Silver has been a high performing asset in 2025 and is now up more than 20% year to date. That is still lagging the move in gold, however, which has jumped about 25%. The price of gold was little changed on Thursday, meaning silver's rally closed some of the gap between the two.
Silver has industrial uses, including in solar panels, and is also seen by some investors as a defensive precious metal, like gold. A recent survey from the Silver Institute estimated that the supply of silver was about 15% lower than demand in 2024 and projected another deficit in 2025.