With silver prices climbing towards historic highs, a company trading in the metal says Lithuanians are buying it even by the kilogramme.
At the start of 2025, an ounce of silver (31.1 grammes) cost about 30 US dollars. By December 29, the metal had almost tripled in price, reaching record levels of nearly $ 82 an ounce.
However, prices that rise quickly can also fall fast. By 11:00 on December 30, silver had dropped by about 10% from the previous day’s peak, with the price slipping to around 74 US dollars an ounce.
Swedbank investment strategist Vytenis Šimkus says the rise in silver prices is partly linked to growing industrial demand.
Thanks to its excellent conductivity, silver is used in solar panels and electronics, including microchips and electric vehicles.
“But the bigger reason for the price surge was a large inflow of speculative money,” he says. “Seeing gold prices rise, investors moved into the silver market. Silver is more volatile, so even smaller sums and flows of money can push prices up more sharply. Investment enthusiasm that had been centred on gold spilled over into its smaller cousin, silver.”
A shortage of silver may also be contributing to higher prices, according to Žilvinas Leškevičius, head of the company Florinus. Global demand for silver is estimated at about 36,500 tonnes a year, while annual production is around 25,500 tonnes.
“For the past five years, demand for silver has exceeded supply,” he says. “However, price increases in both silver and gold are most strongly influenced by Asia. China has been buying significant amounts of gold and, from January 1, is introducing a law that restricts silver exports. Around 70% of the world’s silver refining facilities are located in China.”
In addition, the United States added silver to its list of critical minerals in 2025. “That means silver is being bought by investment funds and governments,” Leškevičius says.
He explains that investment-grade silver includes 999-fineness silver bars, as well as bullion coins weighing one troy ounce (31.1 grammes).
“These are purely investment coins, with a fineness of at least 995. Typically, they are 99.99% pure. Silver bars are usually cheaper than coins. It is also worth noting that jewellery or items like spoons are not officially considered investment silver,” he says.
According to Leškevičius, higher prices are prompting people to buy more silver.
“We see a pattern where, when prices rise, people rush to buy silver, and when prices fall, they come to sell it,” he says.
“If I’m not mistaken, last Friday (December 26) we sold a 31-kilogramme silver bar,” he adds.
Šimkus warns that trading in precious metals over the short term is highly risky.
“Short-term trading in precious metals is very risky and highly speculative,” he says. “You can get badly burned in such a market, and jumping on the train after such a sharp rise carries a significant risk.”
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