Precious Metals

[ed plrbs unm]

Silver today is different from a classic bubble situation in at least three major factors:

-It is an industrial input in industries with explosive growths, including solar panels and chips, not unlike say copper or nickel. There is a a solid demand for the metal.
-It is also, like gold, a currency play and a monetary reserve asset in an increasingly volatile global financial environment with growing debt.
-Its supply and production is limited, cannot scale up as much as for other metals in response to higher prices and greater demand, as most silver produced is a byproduct of the mining of other metals like lead or zinc.

This being said, I agree about the importance of a diversified portfolio.

I recall reading something along the lines of, every cruise missile the US produces requires about 5kg silver, while naval ships require several tonnes of it. Apparently there has been a production deficit (i.e. demand outstripping what comes out of the ground) for several years now.

 

[Cooper]

^It's future EV battery demands that might be driving silver consumption, with up to 1kg required in a solid state battery array per car. That would also present a problem with car theft in many countries, as if things are not bad enough with muffler thefts for the tiny bit of platinum inside...