Silver ETF inflows at record pace in 2025 amid surging prices — report

[Ben Graham]

Silver has emerged as one of the most attractive investment assets of 2025, with funds flowing into exchange-traded products (ETP) backed by the metal already surpassing all of last year, says the Silver Institute.

During the first half of 2025, silver-backed ETPs saw net inflows totalling 95 million oz., taking the total global holdings to 1.13 billion oz. — only 7% below the peak level of 1.21 billion oz. in February 2021, according data compiled by the Institute.

Boosted by rising silver prices, the total value of ETP holdings hit a series of all-time highs in June, exceeding $40 billion for the first time. Nearly half of the year’s gains were recorded in that month alone, coinciding with silver’s surge to a 13-year high. By month-end, the metal’s price had gone up by a quarter for the year.

The Silver Institute notes that June 2025 was the most significant monthly increase since the Reddit-driven silver squeeze in early 2021, when prices leaped to nearly $30 an ounce.

Those gains extended into July, with a recent surge that took silver prices briefly above $39 an ounce — the highest in 14 years — and its year-to-date gains to 27%, matching that of gold.

Futures trading also demonstrated a strong commitment to silver as a store of value, the Institute says. Data available showed that net long position on the CME was a staggering 163% from the 2024 year-end levels as of June 24, with average net longs at their highest levels since H1 2021.

On the retail front, the investment trend varies by region. In Europe, retail investment (in volume terms) still lags behind the elevated levels seen during 2020–2022 despite its recovery over the past year and a half. India, on the other hand, continues to see strong demand, posting a 7% year-over-year gain over the first six months of 2025.

This contrasts with the US, where selling back by retail investors remains high. This dynamic, along with weak retail purchases, has weighed heavily on new bar and coin sales, the Silver Institute says. As a result, overall retail demand in the US is estimated to have fallen by at least 30% this year.

Looking ahead, in the coin and bar market, the research group sees “potential for strong two-way activity in the months ahead,” though demand for newly struck products may remain subdued.

One area of uncertainty, however, is how investors will react should the silver price eclipse $40. “The market could see a mixture of profit-taking by some, while other investors jump in, expecting further price gains,” it says.