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Silver and copper have surpassed gold as the standout metals heading into 2026, with both institutional and retail investors positioning for record-breaking rallies. iShares Silver Trust (SLV - Free Report) has gained about 96% so far this year, while United States Copper ETF (CPER - Free Report) has advanced about 31.7%. Over the past one month, CPER has gained 5.2%, SLV has surged 15.1% while gold bullion ETF GLD has added 1.9%.
Silver’s Explosive Surge and Supply Squeeze
As one can see from the return of SLV, Silver has nearly doubled in price this year, with the majority of gains concentrated in the past two months. A historic supply crunch in the London market, mainly due to soaring demand from India and silver-backed ETFs, has led to much of the move, per Bloomberg, as quoted on Yahoo Finance. Chinese inventories have also dropped to their lowest levels in more than a decade.
Silver & Copper Lately in High Momentum
Since gold hit a record on Oct. 20, it has mostly traded sideways. In contrast, silver has climbed more than 11% to new highs, and copper has advanced nearly 9%, Bloomberg indicated.
ETF Flows and Surging Options Activity
Implied volatility on iShares Silver Trust (SLV - Free Report) reached its highest level last week since early 2021, which caused a brief “meme-stock” phase for silver. Almost $1 billion has flowed into the ETF over the past week, surpassing inflows into the largest gold fund and adding momentum to spot prices. Retail participation has spiked, as mentioned in the same Bloomberg article.
How Far Can Silver Run?
With silver trading at an 82% premium to its five-year average as of Dec. 2, it’s nearing its most stretched year-end level since 1979, according to Bloomberg Intelligence strategist Mike McGlone, as quoted on Yahoo Finance. Meir went on to mention that once a chart breaks out to new highs, “there are no resistance signposts.”
Note that silver is often considered an industrial metal. About half of the metal’s total demand comes from industrial applications.The industrial demand for silver is rising, especially on the green energy front.In the automotive industry, rising vehicle sophistication will likely drive higher silver demand. Since silver is also considered a precious metal, it offers some safe-haven appeal, though not as great as gold.
Copper’s Structural Demand Boom
Unlike silver, copper’s rally is driven less by financial speculation and more by long-term fundamentals. Growing demand for electrification — from AI data centers to renewable-energy infrastructure — is expected to outpace supply in the coming years.
Morgan Stanley expects copper prices to remain strong due to a supply crunch and signs of re-emerging U.S. import demand, as quoted on Investing.com. Morgan Stanley projects a 590,000-ton copper market deficit in the market in 2026.
Morgan Stanley maintains a 2026 base case price forecast of $10,650 per ton for copper, with a bull case scenario of $12,780 per ton. Copper is currently trading at $11,620.50, the same Investing.com article noted.
A Weaker Dollar in the Cards?
The Fed has enacted two rate cuts so far in 2025 and will likely cut interest rates further this year. There is an 87.4% chance (at the time of writing) of a 25-bp rate cut in December, per the CME FedWatch Tool. A softer labor market will probably lead the Fed to walk this path. Lower interest rates typically support non-yielding assets like silver, gold and copper.
With Jerome Powell’s term ending in May, markets see growing chances for rate cuts ahead. If the Fed starts continued policy easing (albeit at a moderate pace), which could be the case ahead, given President Trump’s inclination for a lower rate and still-contained inflation rate amid tariffs, the U.S. dollar may lose strength.
Also, most metals are priced in the greenback. Hence, a weaker greenback — thanks to a dovish Fed — should favor the global metal prices. Since most metals are priced in the U.S. dollar, any slump in the dollar tends to buoy metals’ prices. Invesco DB US Dollar Index Bullish Fund UUP is off 5.4% this year (as of Dec. 5, 2025) and has lost 0.4% over the past month.
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Will 2026 Be a Year of Silver & Copper ETFs?
Silver and copper have surpassed gold as the standout metals heading into 2026, with both institutional and retail investors positioning for record-breaking rallies. iShares Silver Trust (SLV - Free Report) has gained about 96% so far this year, while United States Copper ETF (CPER - Free Report) has advanced about 31.7%. Over the past one month, CPER has gained 5.2%, SLV has surged 15.1% while gold bullion ETF GLD has added 1.9%.
Silver’s Explosive Surge and Supply Squeeze
As one can see from the return of SLV, Silver has nearly doubled in price this year, with the majority of gains concentrated in the past two months. A historic supply crunch in the London market, mainly due to soaring demand from India and silver-backed ETFs, has led to much of the move, per Bloomberg, as quoted on Yahoo Finance. Chinese inventories have also dropped to their lowest levels in more than a decade.
Silver & Copper Lately in High Momentum
Since gold hit a record on Oct. 20, it has mostly traded sideways. In contrast, silver has climbed more than 11% to new highs, and copper has advanced nearly 9%, Bloomberg indicated.
ETF Flows and Surging Options Activity
Implied volatility on iShares Silver Trust (SLV - Free Report) reached its highest level last week since early 2021, which caused a brief “meme-stock” phase for silver. Almost $1 billion has flowed into the ETF over the past week, surpassing inflows into the largest gold fund and adding momentum to spot prices. Retail participation has spiked, as mentioned in the same Bloomberg article.
How Far Can Silver Run?
With silver trading at an 82% premium to its five-year average as of Dec. 2, it’s nearing its most stretched year-end level since 1979, according to Bloomberg Intelligence strategist Mike McGlone, as quoted on Yahoo Finance. Meir went on to mention that once a chart breaks out to new highs, “there are no resistance signposts.”
Note that silver is often considered an industrial metal. About half of the metal’s total demand comes from industrial applications.The industrial demand for silver is rising, especially on the green energy front.In the automotive industry, rising vehicle sophistication will likely drive higher silver demand. Since silver is also considered a precious metal, it offers some safe-haven appeal, though not as great as gold.
Copper’s Structural Demand Boom
Unlike silver, copper’s rally is driven less by financial speculation and more by long-term fundamentals. Growing demand for electrification — from AI data centers to renewable-energy infrastructure — is expected to outpace supply in the coming years.
Morgan Stanley expects copper prices to remain strong due to a supply crunch and signs of re-emerging U.S. import demand, as quoted on Investing.com. Morgan Stanley projects a 590,000-ton copper market deficit in the market in 2026.
Morgan Stanley maintains a 2026 base case price forecast of $10,650 per ton for copper, with a bull case scenario of $12,780 per ton. Copper is currently trading at $11,620.50, the same Investing.com article noted.
A Weaker Dollar in the Cards?
The Fed has enacted two rate cuts so far in 2025 and will likely cut interest rates further this year. There is an 87.4% chance (at the time of writing) of a 25-bp rate cut in December, per the CME FedWatch Tool. A softer labor market will probably lead the Fed to walk this path. Lower interest rates typically support non-yielding assets like silver, gold and copper.
With Jerome Powell’s term ending in May, markets see growing chances for rate cuts ahead. If the Fed starts continued policy easing (albeit at a moderate pace), which could be the case ahead, given President Trump’s inclination for a lower rate and still-contained inflation rate amid tariffs, the U.S. dollar may lose strength.
Also, most metals are priced in the greenback. Hence, a weaker greenback — thanks to a dovish Fed — should favor the global metal prices. Since most metals are priced in the U.S. dollar, any slump in the dollar tends to buoy metals’ prices. Invesco DB US Dollar Index Bullish Fund UUP is off 5.4% this year (as of Dec. 5, 2025) and has lost 0.4% over the past month.