Some jewellers have been switching from silver to platinum plating in their products, following an increase in prices.
This reflects an upward shift in the price of silver, which has doubled over the last 12 months. People investment planning in Oswestry and Cheshire may be wondering if this is a temporary trend, or presents evidence of a longer-term shift towards white metals.
In January, silver prices achieved record highs of $100 per ounce before dropping back to $75. This was still high compared to the previous year. It is well known that precious metals like gold or silver have benefited from recent global factors such as economic volatility and geopolitical uncertainty, and are considered ‘safe havens’ in times of turbulence.
Silver has an important use too in the production of everything from batteries and solar panels to electronics and medical equipment. In recent years, it has also been utilised in clean energy production and artificial intelligence (AI). AJ Bell’s head of financial analysis, Danni Hewson, has said that silver, as such, is bound to global economic prosperity.
Precious metals are rated highly by investors for their ability to maintain their value, but this does not mean that they are invulnerable to external events and speculative trading, particularly in areas such as China. Some analysts are predicting that silver has further to go than gold because the underlying fundamentals are stronger. Industrial demand continues to increase whilst supply is still tight following a long period of underinvestment in mineral exploration and mining.
