Silver’s Surge: Can It Eclipse Gold in 2025?

Silver Outperforms Gold

Silver has enjoyed a stellar 2025, with a year-to-date return exceeding 26%, closely mirroring gold's performance. Over the past month, however, silver has truly shone, outpacing the yellow metal by nearly 12%. The question remains whether this outperformance is sustainable and whether investment in precious metals is beginning to shift towards silver.

Precious metals are frequently sought as alternative investments and safe havens, and speculation about silver’s perceived value, driven by gold’s strong performance before the last month, may have fuelled its recent outperformance.

Genuine demand for silver, driven by its use in solar panels, semiconductors, and potential safe-haven buying, is evident. However, whether this is sufficient to displace gold as the preferred precious metal remains to be seen.

Gold/Silver Ratio

The gold/silver ratio has typically oscillated around 75 since 1987. It currently stands at 90, suggesting that gold remains relatively expensive compared to silver. However, dismissing gold’s dominance may be premature, especially given the persistent uncertainty in the market.

Moreover, from a technical perspective, silver lacks momentum over the longer term.

Monthly Chart

Consider Chart 1 (monthly period), which shows the inverse of the gold/silver ratio, with silver as the numerator (i.e., silver/gold). For silver to gain momentum, the RSI needs to rise above 50 and sustain that level (red arrow). A positive crossover of the EMAs would also be a bullish signal, particularly if they develop angle and separation to the upside.

Such developments would suggest that silver is gaining the upper hand in terms of demand. In other words, if these conditions occur, it would be plausible for silver to continue outperforming gold on a sustainable basis.

Conclusion

Silver’s standout 2025 performance, outpacing gold by nearly 12% in the past month, underscores its rising appeal, driven by demand in solar panels, semiconductors, and safe-haven buying. However, with the gold/silver ratio at 90 and silver lacking long-term technical momentum, its ability to challenge gold’s dominance remains uncertain. Sustained outperformance hinges on key technical signals, such as an RSI above 50 and a positive EMA crossover, alongside shifting investor sentiment in a volatile market.