Silver Prices Hit All-Time High as Geopolitical Tensions Fuel Safe-Haven Demand

Exchange-traded silver prices reached a new all-time high, surpassing the 95-dollar-per-ounce mark for the first time in history.

Photo: Openverse by sprottmoney, https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/2.0/

Silver bars

On Tuesday, March silver futures rose by 7.72 percent and reached 95.37 dollars per ounce by 12:00 Moscow time, according to trading data from the Comex exchange.

The sharp surge marked one of the most significant moves in the precious metals market in recent years and established a new price benchmark for investors and industry participants.

Safe-Haven Demand Drives the Rally

The primary driver behind the spike in prices was a surge in demand for safe-haven assets. Investors sought to protect capital amid rising geopolitical and trade tensions linked to statements by US President Donald Trump regarding potential additional trade restrictions against several European countries.

The dispute surrounding Greenland moved beyond diplomacy and took on an economic dimension, increasing uncertainty across global markets.

Donald Trump announced that starting February 1, 2026, a ten-percent tariff will be imposed on all goods imported into the United States from Denmark, Norway, Sweden, France, Germany, the United Kingdom, the Netherlands, and Finland.

According to the US president, these measures will remain in place until an agreement is reached on the purchase of Greenland.

In response, EU countries are considering retaliatory tariffs and restrictions on access for US companies to the European market.

This scenario heightened the risk of an escalating trade war between the United States and Europe, a development that traditionally supports demand for precious metals as stores of value.

Greenland Dispute Adds to Market Uncertainty

Since the start of his second term, Donald Trump has repeatedly emphasized that Greenland, the world's largest island and a territory of Denmark, is vital to US national security.

These statements intensified tensions with European allies and became another source of instability that markets began to factor into asset prices.

The rise in silver prices did not occur overnight and cannot be attributed solely to the current dispute over Greenland. According to Ole Hansen, a strategist at Saxo Bank, the precious metals rally had been gaining momentum for several months.

Macroeconomic and geopolitical factors gradually created an increasingly unfavorable environment for investors focused solely on financial assets. The Greenland situation merely amplified an existing trend and acted as a catalyst that accelerated price growth.

Structural Deficit and Bullish Outlook

Over the past 12 months, silver prices have climbed by more than 190 percent, making the metal one of the most profitable commodities over that period.

Industrial demand played a major role, leading to an unprecedented deficit in the physical market last year.

Analysts at BMI, a subsidiary of Fitch Solutions, note that the shortage emerged amid growing consumption of silver in electronics, energy, and other high-technology sectors. They expect the deficit to persist throughout 2026, primarily due to strong investment demand layered on top of structural supply constraints.

Limited supply remains a defining feature of the silver market. Analysts at Alfa Investments point out that around 70 percent of global silver production occurs as a byproduct of copper and zinc mining.

This structure makes it nearly impossible to increase silver output quickly without expanding production of base metals. As long as copper mining fails to grow at comparable rates, silver supply will remain tightly constrained, intensifying upward price pressure amid rising demand.

Political and financial risks continue to provide additional support for safe-haven assets. Against this backdrop, silver increasingly attracts attention not only as an industrial metal but also as a full-fledged investment asset.

Chief Operating Officer of Allegiance Gold Alex Ebkarian points to steady demand from a wide range of buyers, including retail investors, institutional funds, and participants in the physical market.

According to Ebkarian, the silver market has entered a structurally bullish phase, with a short-term price range between 100 and 144 dollars per ounce.

He also expects the upward trend to continue into the first quarter of 2026.

Taken together, current conditions reflect a rare combination of strong investment and industrial demand, constrained supply, and heightened geopolitical uncertainty.

This makes the silver market a key indicator of global risk and explains why the new all-time high represents not a one-off spike, but a manifestation of deeper processes unfolding across the global economy and financial system.