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The all-time high price for silver was $49.80 per troy ounce on April 28, 2011. This topped the January 18, 1980 price of $49.45.
The 1980 spike was driven by market manipulation by the Hunt brothers, who attempted to corner the silver market.
AI searches typically show the 1980 price as an all time high. But if you ask about 2011 specifically you get different numbers. The discrepancy is closing price vs intraday high.
1980 and 2011 is best viewed as the biggest double-top in history.
How Much Silver Does the US Produce?
The US was heavily reliant for silver during the period of 2019-2022.
- US mine production supplied around 1,000 metric tons.
- Approximately 1,100 tons of silver were recovered through recycling, representing about 16% of apparent consumption.
- The US imported silver from various countries, with Mexico being the leading source (44%), followed by Canada (18%), according to the U.S. Geological Survey.
- Overall, the United States accounted for the largest share of global silver imports in 2023, exceeding 20% of the total global imports valued at $29.5 billion USD.
US Silver Imports
- April 2025 Imports:
- Mexico: $226 million
- South Korea: $114 million
- Canada: $77.9 million
- Italy: $36.6 million
- Germany: $26.3 million
- Year-on-Year Growth:
- South Korea: +$90.5 million or 387%
- Italy: +$36.1 million or 7,610%
- Germany: +$22.8 million or 639%
- Overall Trend:
- US silver imports have been on the rise, with a 33% year-on-year increase in April 2025.
- This growth is largely attributed to increased imports from the countries mentioned above.
- The US also exports silver, with exports increasing significantly in April 2025, particularly to the United Kingdom and Canada.
The above is AI generated.
US Silver Imports and Exports May 2025
In May 2025, United States exported $378M and imported $465M of Silver, resulting in a negative trade balance of $86.5M. Between April 2025 and May 2025, the exports of Silver from United States decreased by $103M (-21.3%), from $481M to $378M. During the same period, imports decreased by $108M (-18.9%), from $573M to $465M.
The above snip is from OEC.
Gold Tariff Front Running
In the first quarter, gold imports seriously distorted GDP estimates. Gold bars and bullion are viewed by the BEA as financial assets not consumer imports.
I discussed this on March 5 in How Did Gold Imports Exacerbate the Huge Decline in GDPNow Nowcast?
On March 6, I commented Trump Makes Imports Great Again With Two New Record Trade Deficits
A big chunk of that tariff front running was gold imports that the BEA factored out of its first-quarter GDP reports.
Copper front running started in February with this Truth Social post.
Copper to Come Home!
Trump on Truth Social February 25, 2025..
Like our Steel and Aluminum Industries, our Great American Copper Industry has been decimated by global actors attacking our domestic production. To build back our Copper Industry, I have requested my Secretary of Commerce and USTR to study Copper Imports, and end Unfair Trade putting Americans out of work. Tariffs will help build back our American Copper Industry, and strengthen our National Defense. American Industries depend on Copper, and it should be MADE IN AMERICA – No exemptions, no exceptions! America First creates American jobs, and protects our National Security. It’s time for Copper to “come home.”
That is the “truth” that launched the massive imports.
A DOMINANT Copper Industry
The tariff front-running culminated with Trump’s Truth Social Post on July 9.
I am announcing a 50% TARIFF on Copper, effective August 1, 2025, after receiving a robust NATIONAL SECURITY ASSESSMENT. Copper is necessary for Semiconductors, Aircraft, Ships, Ammunition, Data Centers, Lithium-ion Batteries, Radar Systems, Missile Defense Systems, and even, Hypersonic Weapons, of which we are building many. Copper is the second most used material by the Department of Defense! Why did our foolish (and SLEEPY!) “Leaders” decimate this important Industry? This 50% TARIFF will reverse the Biden Administration’s thoughtless behavior, and stupidity. America will, once again, build a DOMINANT Copper Industry. THIS IS, AFTER ALL, OUR GOLDEN AGE!
How Trump Made Copper Arbitrage and Tariff Front Running Great Again
On July 11, I noted How Trump Made Copper Arbitrage and Tariff Front Running Great Again
The copper arbitrage trade is one for the record books but it is winding down.
Please read that post. The gyrations of rerouting silver from there to here to make enormous profits are stunning.
Trump says “America will, once again, build a DOMINANT Copper Industry. THIS IS, AFTER ALL, OUR GOLDEN AGE!”
What if he says the same thing about silver? Perhaps he doesn’t have to.
Trump Announces 30 Percent Tariffs on the EU and Mexico
Yesterday, I reported Trump Announces 30 Percent Tariffs on the EU and Mexico
Trump seems emboldened that he has not blown up the global economy yet.
Does that apply to silver? With Trump, who knows?
Short Squeeze in Silver?
That’s the latest rage discussion. It happens again over the years. It hasn’t happened and wont.
The commercials who will allegedly be squeezed are producers (the miners who sell their production), and the market makers who are hedged except when making their own big bets.
That recently happened in copper. Goldman Sachs did not respond to a Bloomberg question on copper imports.
In its market-making capacity, Goldman Sachs facilitates transactions for clients seeking to buy or sell copper and silver, connecting them with a counterparty or taking the other side of the trade if necessary. They provide various services to clients, including producers, end-users, investors, and governmental entities, according to the Federal Reserve Board.
What About Manipulation?
Who is accused of manipulating silver prices?
- Bullion banks: Major financial institutions like JPMorgan Chase, UBS, HSBC, and Goldman Sachs are frequently named as primary culprits within the precious metals community.
- JPMorgan Chase: The bank has been found guilty of spoofing silver and gold prices and faced fines for these actions, according to The Jerusalem Post.
- Large traders and financial institutions: Any entity with significant market power and positions in the silver futures market can influence prices.
- The US government: Some theories suggest the US government has played a role in controlling silver prices since 1965, notes Ainslie Bullion.
How is silver manipulated?
- Spoofing: Placing large buy or sell orders with no intention of executing them, then cancelling them quickly to create a false impression of demand or supply.
- Strategic timing of large contract dumps: Selling large volumes of paper silver during periods of low liquidity (like overnight trading) to artificially depress prices and trigger stop-losses.
- Controlling price near option strike levels: Keeping the silver price below specific strike prices to ensure options expire worthless, saving banks from paying out millions.
- Paper selling vs. physical market: Bullion banks may dump large volumes of paper silver (futures contracts or derivatives) not backed by physical metal, pushing down prices and creating bearish momentum.
- Coordinated action: Evidence suggests some traders across different institutions have coordinated their efforts to manipulate the market.
The above is from AI.
It’s impossible to deny manipulation, but if anything, that makes a short squeeze less likely.
But in this case, I expect JPMorgan Chase, UBS, HSBC, and Goldman Sachs are all in on the act and would benefit from higher silver prices just as they did copper.
Silver Fundamentals
Silver is a crucial material for its high electrical and thermal conductivity, making it essential for conductive layers in advanced chips and printed circuit boards. Silver is used in various chip components and applications, including bonding wires, interconnects, and soldering.
All we need is for Trump to say …. “America will, once again, build a DOMINANT Silver Industry. THIS IS, AFTER ALL, OUR GOLDEN AGE!”
Then again, tariffs and increased demand is enough to explain the lead chart.
God’s Work
Flashback November 12, 2009 God’s Work and Goldman’s Prayer
Our chairman who art at Goldman
Blankfein be thy name
Thy rally’s come, God’s work be done
In the Dow as it is in the Nasdaq
Give us this day our daily gain
And forgive us our frontruning, as we punish those who frontrun against us
And bring us not under indictment
But deliver us from regulators
For thine is the cashflow, and the power, and the bonuses, forever and ever. Amen
Just consider tariff front running as God’s Work and you will get the right idea.
Trump’s tariffs will discourage trade with the US because profits on the trade will diminish via eating the cost to maintain market share or passing the cost on to consumers which will lower volumes or some combination of the two. Another result is the trading partners will be receiving fewer that loose value and we will be receiving fewer goods that have the potential to retain value. Seems to me one could argue with all the tariff machinations; Trump is putting our trading partners first.
Gold, silver, and copper are the 3 best conductors of electricity. I would have used gold in my house, because it doesn’t corrode or tarnish, except it is more expensive than copper.
I’m buying those silver Penny stocks with silver in the ground here in the states, they look ripe for the picking
1M GC is doing nothing for 4 months. During QT SPX and gold were up. If SPX rises to 7K, no rate cuts. If down, the idiotic gold will plunge and DX will rise. Demand for the stupid silver will plunge. 1M SPX is standing on ONE leg like a cripple. Most of the activity in the upper half. The Fed has enough ammunition – down from $9T to $6.67T, plus $2.4T cash – to prevent a bank run. If not, JP can short again. JP serves until May 2026. No exact date. He might extend his term a little, unless Trump terminates him. By Q2 2026 Fed rates 2.5%/3.5%
If the goal is to isolate China or be less dependent on China Trump’s actions are counterproductive.
USMCA was a great deal for the US, especially with Canada. The way to make it better is shut down Mexico’s passthrough from China.
The EU needed some improvements. But hardly the disaster Trump thinks.
It is idiotic to believe sneakers, underwear, etc. need to be made in the US. To attempt that will make the US the high-cost producer of everything.
U know hiking shoes and I know gold.
Your comment shows you know neither
I don’t care about hiking shoes. Most people don’t understand how much they will lose selling silver, or gold, or both.
In the United States, approximately 2.7 billion pairs of shoes are consumed each year. This translates to roughly 8 pairs of shoes per person annually. The average prices is $124. That makes the US shoe market $334.8 billion annually.
A 50 percent tariff is a big deal.
Your comments on “idiotic gold” and the dollar are also stupid.
It’s hard to say which is stupider.
8 pairs annually? Are these people related to Imelda Marcos or Frank Shorter?
U know shoes but u know nothing about gold.
There was a poster on this very blog named Gaudia Ray who over the course of 2007 – 2009 called the GFC as if he had a crystal ball tuned to 3 months ahead. Anyway he once posted ~ 2008 ($US at that time) that a $1,000,000 of gold could be held in his briefcase, but $1,000,000 silver would fill up the back of his Suburban.
There is no telling what Taco will do next. In fact, he doesn’t know; only that he thrives on controversy and discontent.