Silver and industrial demand – what are we thinking for 2024?
- •Been thinking a lot about silver lately, beyond just the investment side.
- •We all know the drill with gold – safe haven, inflation hedge, all that good stuff.
- •But silver… it feels like it’s got this whole other layer of complexity with industrial demand.
Been thinking a lot about silver lately, beyond just the investment side. We all know the drill with gold – safe haven, inflation hedge, all that good stuff. But silver… it feels like it’s got this whole other layer of complexity with industrial demand. I’m a retiree, a former Navy guy out here in San Diego, and frankly, financial security is pretty much my number one priority after serving all those years. My Gold IRA is sitting around the $400k mark right now and I'm always looking for ways to shore it up, and silver has been part of that strategy for a while.
I remember a few years back, everyone was hyping up solar and EVs, and how that would send silver to the moon. We saw some good jumps, sure, but it never quite hit the stratospheric levels some were predicting. Now with all the geopolitical stuff, talk of reshoring manufacturing, and continued pushes for green energy, I'm wondering what the real impact will be on silver demand. Is it just going to be a slow and steady climb, or do you guys see some major catalysts on the horizon?
I was messing around with this tool the other day, "Silver vs Stocks" at Silver vs Stocks (I set it to 10 years, pretty eye-opening), and it got me thinking. We talk about investment demand, but what about the actual physical consumption? We’re not just buying it to hold – it’s being used! For those of you who track this stuff more closely, what are your thoughts on the industrial numbers we’re seeing? Are actual production figures keeping pace with expected demand increases from new tech and infrastructure projects?
And on a related note, are any of you adjusting your silver allocations based on these industrial forecasts? I've been considering upping my physical silver a bit, maybe another $20k-$30k over the next year if I feel confident about the industrial narrative. Would love to hear some other perspectives on this before I make any moves. Is the smart money betting on a significant bump from industrial uses, or focusing more on its traditional role as a precious metal?