White Metal Hits Record Territory: Silver Breaks Through $60 Barrier Amid Fed Shift

Silver reached an unprecedented milestone this week, surging to $60.56 per ounce on December 9. The rally reflects a confluence of macroeconomic factors and technical momentum that has caught market attention, with the precious metal now outpacing its golden counterpart in year-to-date performance.

Policy Winds at Silver’s Back

The December Federal Reserve meeting concluding on Wednesday (December 10) is shaping up as a major catalyst. Market participants have shifted their stance considerably — CME Group’s FedWatch tool now signals robust probability for a rate reduction, a reversal from earlier uncertainty. This expectation finds additional support from developments in Washington, where President Donald Trump indicated on November 30 that his choice for the next Fed chair has been determined. While Trump withheld the name publicly, sources reported to Bloomberg that Kevin Hassett, chief of the White House’s National Economic Council, represents the frontrunner. Given Trump’s well-documented pushback against current Fed Chair Jerome Powell over the pace of rate adjustments, a transition toward a more accommodative leadership is widely anticipated.

Hassett’s recent remarks on CBS captured the market’s attention: “I think that the American people could expect President Trump to pick somebody who’s going to help them have cheaper car loans and easier access to mortgages at lower rate.” His comments, coupled with market positioning around his potential appointment, have reverberated through precious metals trading.

Why Lower Rates Matter for Silver

Precious metals, particularly silver and gold, typically perform more favorably in lower interest rate environments. The combined effect of anticipated Fed easing and the Hassett succession narrative has energized the silver complex. The performance gap between the two metals is particularly striking: silver has appreciated roughly 100 percent year-to-date, whereas gold has climbed approximately 59 percent. Gold currently trades above $4,200 per ounce but remains beneath its all-time record.

Multiple Catalysts Sustaining the Momentum

Silver’s explosive move this year stems from diverse sources beyond monetary policy. The breakout that commenced on November 28 gained an impetus from a notable disruption at CME Group’s Comex operations — the exchange halted trading after identifying a “cooling issue” at a CyrusOne data center in the Chicago region. Trading resumed by 5:46 a.m. PST, though the incident marked one of the most significant outages CME has experienced in considerable time, raising caution flags among participants.

Beyond the trading infrastructure incident, other drivers have fueled silver’s ascent. A liquidity squeeze in the London market propelled silver past the $50 mark in October, though that constraint has since eased. More recently, Bloomberg’s reporting on November 25 revealed that Chinese silver inventories have fallen to their lowest point in a decade following substantial transfers to London. Geopolitical considerations have also surfaced — tariff concerns and silver’s designation as a critical mineral in the United States have lent support throughout 2025.

Industrial Demand Remains Robust

The industrial consumption narrative deserves emphasis. According to the Silver Institute, industrial demand for silver touched a record 680.5 million ounces in 2024, underpinned by applications in electrical grid modernization, vehicle electrification, and photovoltaic systems. Though total silver demand declined 3 percent year-over-year in 2024, supply constraints persisted — the market registered a 148.9 million ounce deficit for the fourth consecutive year.

Looking Ahead

Market observers increasingly see silver continuing its outperformance trajectory into 2026. As one analyst from VRIC Media observed: “The sure money is made in the gold sector, but the big money is made in the silver sector — that’s proven true over the last couple of precious metals cycles. I believe it will be true in this one as well.” Silver’s current momentum, underpinned by policy expectations, supply-demand dynamics, and industrial utility, positions it as a focal point for investors monitoring precious metals developments.