Silver finished the Friday trading session in New York at $79.274 spot, up $7.43 an ounce, 10.34% on the day.
It's rare to see any commodity up 10% in one trading session, that kind of move usually reserved for meme stocks, or companies reporting breakthroughs (biotechs) or whipping earnings estimates (tech). To see silver do it from levels already at all-time highs was remarkable, stunning, and unprecedented. There are multiple reasons that the price of silver ended 10 percent higher on Friday than on Wednesday, with Christmas Day intervening. Those will be examined in this edition of the WEEKEND WRAP. The move touched all other asset classes and had much to do with geopolitics, supply-demand dynamics, and the future of money itself.
A few months ago, Money Daily made the bold statement that everything would change once the price of silver surpassed $50. What "everything" meant was quite literal, meaning that silver's escape from an extended period of demonetization and price suppression - dating back as far as 1873 - would change perception, from an industrial metal with limited monetary properties to a strategic precious metal essential to industry, military applications, electronics, finance, and entire economies.
The price of silver had twice before reached $50 an ounce, once in 1979 and again in 2010. When the infamous Hunt brothers attempted to "corner" the silver market, a tale of financial intrigue now seen, thanks largely to research performed by goldsilver.com's Mike Maloney, as integral to the inflationary pressure on the U.S. dollar and its eventual relief, taking the price of gold down along with it. Simply put, according to Maloney, the Hunts became convenient scapegoats as Fed Chairman Paul Volker saved the country and the dollar's reserve currency status by beating down the price of its two main competitors, gold and silver. When the CME announced that silver futures orders could be liquidation (sell) only, the price fell from near $50 an ounce in December 1979 to less than $15 by May 1980 and continued to languish in a range of $4 to $15 for the next 30 years. It brought gold down along with it, saving the reserve currency to fight another day.
In 2010-11, in the aftermath of the Great Financial Crisis (GFC), when once again, dollar supremacy was on the line, silver rocketed to near $50 an ounce on the COMEX in May, 2011, and once again it was not allowed to continue its hyperbolic path, shut down by the CME raising margin requirements on silver and other metal (gold, platinum, palladium) futures five times between November, 2010 and September 2011. With trading in COMEX futures largely the bailiwick of professional speculators and insider price suppressors, the gambit washed out the weak hands and cut the price of silver roughly in half within months and by 2015 had found a range between $13 and $20, which persisted more or less until the pandemic in 2020.
By mid-2022, silver began to show renewed signs of life, rising in fits and starts, but finally breaking above $30 an ounce in 2024 and forming a base between $30 and $35 from May '24 through August '25. And then, the lid came off. By late September, 2025, $50 had been breached, and, after a brief consolidation, by November, it was soaring and that gets us to where we are today.
It must be understood that beyond the COMEX and LBMA suppression hijinks, there has been a largely overlooked supply shortage now in its fifth year. There simply has not been enough silver mined to meet industrial, commercial (jewelry, cutlery, ornamental), and monetary demand (bullion). The supply shortage is the main reason for silver's price gains and also the inability for the COMEX and LBMA to tamp down prices via naked shorting, spoofing, or other means (like shutting down their servers a few weeks ago due to "cooling issues"). The physical side of the market has superseded the paper derivative market. COMEX futures have become irrelevant. Industrial users are willing to pay whatever price is offered to get their hands on silver needed to keep their businesses operational, and this involves everything from military contractors to EV manufacturers to chip makers and all manner of electronic-related businesses who cannot compete or survive without the essential element, silver.
From a strictly mathematical perspective, the price of silver at nearly $80 an ounce ($81.99 in Shanghai) is hardly remarkable given its history. In the 1979 leap forward, silver rose to $48 an ounce from a base of around $1.35 that had persisted since 1964, when the United States took 90% silver coins out of circulation. That's a gain of 3,555%. The 2010-11 rise began off a base of about $5.00 an ounce, again rising to $48. That's a 960% move. If the base for the latest move is $15 an ounce, a 960% move put silver at $144, while a $3,555% move puts it at $533. It may be reasonable to assume the overall gain would be somewhere within that range. Currently, using $15 as the base and $80 as the current price, it is already a 533% gain.
In an algebraic sense, the 533% gain could be considered in line with projections, from 3,555% in 1979; to 960%, 30 years hence; to $533 14 years along. Could that be the case? Has silver already topped out or is close to it? By some standards, that would make sense, but there are other factors affecting the math.
Among factors that may influence the price of silver beyond the supply shortage in weeks, months, and years ahead, are the gold:silver ratio, stockpiling by central banks and sovereign wealth funds, re-monetization, de-dollarization, and silver as "money good" collateral.
Let's examine each of these elements briefly.
Gold:Silver Ratio
The Roman Empire officially set the ratio at 12:1. In medieval Europe, it fell to 9.4:1 in 1350 but climbed back to 12:1 in the 1450s. The U.S. government fixed the ratio at 15:1 with the Coinage Act of 1792. It has only been at these obscene levels above 40 or 50 and as high as 104 for the last 120 years or so, following the so-called "Crime of '73", the Coinage Act of 1873.
What determines the gold:silver ratio, or at least used to, is the amount of each metal mined annually, both of which increase in proportion to population growth, about two percent per annum, or less, lately. Another rough calculus would be the amount of available metal, which would send the ratio "in extremis" since silver gets used up in industry while gold is normally kept in safe-keeping as generaltional wealth. There would be much, much more "available" gold than silver, flipping the ratio on its head, so that calculation remains in the realm of the theoretical for the time being.
In 2024, there were roughly 3,300 metric tons of gold and 25,000 metric tons of silver mined, yielding a current gold:silver ratio of 7.58, a far cry from the current 57.18 and even further from the 80+ ratio that has been the de facto false, paper-inspired ratio the past few years. Would the ratio be rationalized and normalized at 7.58, the price of silver today would be $598. Even at a number more palatable to the COMEX and LBMA riggers of 20:1, silver would be priced today at $266.65.
The ratio is falling, and falling fast. the GSR was 85.76 on September 27, just before silver went parabolic. On this metric, the price of silver is still well below its eventual normalized price in comparison to gold.
Stockpiling
While silver is not a tier 1 asset as gold is, central banks and sovereign wealth funds are beginning to appreciate its usefulness as a reserve asset. The three major BRICS nations, Russia, China, and India, have all been heavy purchasers of silver the past few years. Russia allocated approximately $535 million for precious metals acquisition in its 2025-2027 federal budget, explicitly mentioning silver alongside gold and platinum. Saudi Arabia recently acquired over 900,000 shares in the iShares Silver Trust (SLV). Silver has been used as currency in China and India for thousands of years prior to the current fiat regime. Citizens of both countries are strongly encouraged by the government to purchase and hold both gold and silver.
The adoption of silver as a central bank asset provides flexibility, leading inexorably towards...
Re-Monetization of Silver
Undoubtably, the loudest voice for silver as money has been Mexican businessman and Austrian economist, Hugo Salinas Price, founder of Mexican Civic Association Pro Silver, which has been advocating for silver as money in Mexico since 2001. Since Mexico is the leading silver producer in te world, it would make perfect sense for the nation to take a good, long look at the potential for silver as money. With prices on the rise, Mexico could conceivable lift millions of peasants out of poverty and establish a solid middle class foundation with silver as its base. The very same argument could be made for China, India, Peru and a host of other African and Asian countries with either large in-ground reserves or silver already in the hands of citizens.
De-Dollarization Its no secret that one of the tenets of BRICS ideology has been encouragement of bi-lateral trade between partners and "friendly" nations, eschewing the need for dollar-based transactions. China has been developing a gold-for-yuan settlement system within the BRICS ecosystem, readying vaulting facilities in Hong Kong, Dubai, and elsewhere. The BRICS countries and their "associates", which number upwards of 70 countries, comprise the largest trading block in the world, dwarfing the G7 in population and Producer Price Parity (PPP). As opposed to GDP (Gross Domestic Product), which measures a country's economic performance, PPP (Purchasing Power Parity) adjusts for cost of living differences, providing a more accurate comparison of living standards across countries. Countries don't need U.S. dollars to conduct trade outside the U.S.. African nations have been quite vocal about this in recent years and have some pan-Afican trading models already functioning. With assistance from China, gold - and possibly silver and other commodities - will likely play a larger role in trade and finance in years to come.
Silver as Collateral
Everybody needs money for basic expenses, household needs, business expenses. That's a given. Beyond the need for money, or currency, are larger purchases, business expansion, or unusual expenses which require financing. This is where India's recent legislation to allow silver as collateral for loans comes into play. Silver will be accepted as collateral for loans, alongside gold, beginning April 1, 2026.
Elsewhere, vaulting companies such as Money Metals Exchange are offering collateralized lines of credit, similar to HELOCs or home equity lines of credit, wherein one ships the precious metal - gold or silver - to the institution for safe-keeping, receiving the funds within days without a traditional credit check and repayment of the loan on a revolving basis, i.e., interest only or interest and principal, the choice belonging to the borrower, not the lender. This revolving credit facility is becoming known as a MELOC (Metals Equity Line of Credit).
While collateralized loans of gold and silver don't qualify as making precious metals money, they accomplish the next best thing, making precious metals available for liquidity and/or credit.
Conclusion
There are an assortment of forces at work driving the price of silver - and gold - to record heights. The examples above may merely scratch the surface of what appears to be a fundamental shift in global finance, from debt-based money to physical-based money, with gold, silver, and other hard commodities as "money good" backing. As this shift in economics becomes more prevalent, precious metals and other hard assets should appreciate in relation to pricing in fiat currencies, which have been undermined by spendthrift governments, low interest rates, inflation, and assorted maladies associated with corrupt systems.
Hard assets and honest money are quietly replacing fiat currencies, which are in terminal decline. This shift will not happen overnight, but the recent gains in the prices of gold and silver are a positive indicator that a new, or at least a parallel, system is evolving, and its roots are mostly in the East, in the BRICS countries and the Global South.
Stocks
Santa Claus came and went and with it the infamous rally, maybe. There are still three more trading days remaining in 2025, but Friday's flat-line on the majors suggests something may have changed, or, the lack of sustained upside momentum might be due to very thin trading overall. Monday and Tuesday will be the most telling, though markets appear to be heading toward a dull finish since they're already at all-time highs. Some last minute tax-related selling could take some of the shine off Santa's sleigh, but there's more likelihood of that happening the first few weeks of January and even beyond. Capital gains on stocks sold in early 2026 won't hav to be paid until a year later. It's like getting an interest-free loan on your tax remittance and there are surely accountants who would advise taking advantage of that rare, little gift.
The Dow Jones Transportation Average continued to flirt with its all-time high (17,754.38, November 25, 2024), closing at 17677.54 on December 22 and since has pulled back, closing at 17,647.24 on Friday. This keeps the three or four extant Dow Theorists remaining in the camp that believes the rally on the Industrials is not indicative of a primary trend, which remains bearish since the Transports have not confirmed. The transports are notably well above their 50-day moving average as they attempt to convince the final die-hards in the Dow Theory regime.
Treasury Yield Curve Rates
| Date | 1 Mo | 1.5 mo | 2 Mo | 3 Mo | 4 Mo | 6 Mo | 1 Yr |
| 11/21/2025 | 4.03 | 4.01 | 4.00 | 3.90 | 3.84 | 3.75 | 3.62 |
| 11/28/2025 | 4.05 | 3.97 | 3.99 | 3.88 | 3.86 | 3.74 | 3.61 |
| 12/05/2025 | 3.82 | 3.78 | 3.77 | 3.71 | 3.73 | 3.68 | 3.61 |
| 12/12/2025 | 3.76 | 3.75 | 3.75 | 3.63 | 3.64 | 3.58 | 3.54 |
| 12/19/2025 | 3.71 | 3.71 | 3.72 | 3.62 | 3.64 | 3.60 | 3.51 |
| 12/26/2025 | 3.70 | 3.69 | 3.72 | 3.64 | 3.66 | 3.58 | 3.49 |
| Date | 2 Yr | 3 Yr | 5 Yr | 7 Yr | 10 Yr | 20 Yr | 30 Yr |
| 11/21/2025 | 3.51 | 3.50 | 3.62 | 3.82 | 4.06 | 4.67 | 4.71 |
| 11/28/2025 | 3.47 | 3.49 | 3.59 | 3.78 | 4.02 | 4.62 | 4.67 |
| 12/05/2025 | 3.56 | 3.59 | 3.72 | 3.90 | 4.14 | 4.75 | 4.79 |
| 12/12/2025 | 3.52 | 3.58 | 3.75 | 3.95 | 4.19 | 4.82 | 4.85 |
| 12/19/2025 | 3.48 | 3.53 | 3.70 | 3.91 | 4.16 | 4.77 | 4.82 |
| 12/26/2025 | 3.46 | 3.54 | 3.68 | 3.89 | 4.14 | 4.76 | 4.81 |
Yields remained moored within recent ranges. If anything, recent gains in gold and silver would be an inducement to exit "safe-haven" treasuries in favor of even safer havens with potential for appreciation against debasing currencies. While just about every bond fund manager is looking for lower yields, the opposite could occur for any number of reasons, the most pronounced being runaway spending by congress and the president and lack of foreign buyers, or even, foreign sellers.
2s-10s spread held at +68. Full spectrum did the same, +111.
Spreads:
2s-10s
2025
1/3: +32
1/10: +37
1/17: +34
1/24: +36
1/31: +36
2/7: +20
2/14: +21
2/21: +23
2/28: +25
3/7: +33
3/14: +29
3/21: +31
3/28: +38
4/4: +33
4/11: +52
4/17: +53
4/25: +55
5/2: +50
5/9: +49
5/16: +45
5/23: +51
5/30: +52
6/6: +48
6/13: +45
6/20: +48
6/27: +56
7/3: +47
7/11: +53
7/18: +56
7/25: +49
8/1: +54
8/8: +51
8/15: +58
8/22: +58
8/29: +64
9/5: +59
9/12: +50
9/19: +57
9/26: +57
10/3: +45
10/10: +53
10/17: +56
10/24: +54
10/31: +51
11/7: +56
11/14: +52
11/21: +55
11/28: +55
12/5: +58
12/12: +67
12/19: +68
12/26: +68
Full Spectrum (30-days - 30-years)
2025
1/3: +38
1/10: +54
1/17: +41
1/24: +40
1/31: +36
2/7: +32
2/14: +32
2/21: +31
2/28: +13
3/7: +24
3/14: +25
3/21: +23
3/28: +26
4/4: +5
4/11: +38
4/17: +44
4/25: +40
5/2: +41
5/9: +46
5/16: +52
5/23: +68
5/30: +59
6/6: +69
6/13: +67
6/20: +69
6/27: +66
7/3: +51
7/11: +59
7/18: +65
7/25: +55
8/1: +32
8/8: +37
8/15: +44
8/22: +41
8/29: +51
9/5: +49
9/12: +40
9/19: +54
9/26: +55
10/3: +47
10/10: +43
10/17: +42
10/24: +48
10/31: +61
11/7: +69
11/14: +70
11/21: +68
11/28: +62
12/5: +97
12/12: +109
12/19: +111
12/26: +111
Oil/Gas
WTI crude closed out the week at $56.93, not materially different from last week's Friday close of $56.54. There's oversupply everywhere, indicative of slowing economies, at least in the West. High-seas piracy is a clumsy attempt by the Trump administration to boost the price of crude oil. All it actually accomplishes is smearing the face of U.S. foreign policy with more greasepaint. Swashbuckling has never been an advisable policy and never will be. Shame, shame, shame.
The U.S. national average for gas at the pump fell to $2.79, the lowest price in roughly five years and another three cents lower than the prior week, according to Gasbuddy.com. Given the current state of play, gas prices should continue to decline over the near term.
California remains the highest in the lower 48 states, at $4.25 per gallon, but even that figure is down substantially from six months and a year ago. Washington ($3.85) is down another seven cents, leaving the Golden State alone in the $4+ club. Oregon ($3.42), was down another six cents. The lowest prices remain in the Southeast, with Oklahoma catching down six more cents to $2.18,, a multi-year low. Arkansas ($2.33) and Colorado ($2.32) were nearby. Texas ($2.33), Louisiana ($2.38), and Tennessee ($2.39) follow, each marginally lower. The remaining Southeast states are all below $2.64 with the exception of Florida ($2.73).
In the Northeast, prices remain slightly elevated, though now part of the general decline. Only Vermont ($3.06), Pennsylvania ($3.05), and New York ($3.04) are above $3.00.
In the midwest region, where the price relief has been significant, Illinois ($2.91) remains below $3.00 for a second consecutive week. At the low end were Colorado ($2.32), Iowa ($2.35), and Nebraska ($2.42).
Sub-$3.00 gas was reported in fully 40 states, the same as last week and up 14 over the past three weeks. Arizona may be the next to fall, checking in at $3.03 this week. Not including Alaska and Hawaii, there are just eight states with gas prices above $3.00 and just one, California, over $4.00.
Bitcoin
This week: $87,661.04
Last week: $88,044.85
2 weeks ago: $89,338.22
6 months ago: $102,394.40
One year ago: $96,193.61
Five years ago: $26,449.16
This is dead money. Actually it's not even money. It's pure speculation in a vacuum. Michael Saylor's Strategy (MSTR) gambit is down 45% year-to-date. Prospects for a repeat performance in 2026 are very good. In fact, with bitcoin's price headed below $30,000, the losses may be even greater. Whatever befalls the company, Mr. Saylor will surely get his, just as John Law got his share of the loot before his Mississippi bubble burst. At one time the wealthiest man in Europe, Law died penniless in Venice. Saylor should be so fortunate.
Precious Metals
Gold:Silver Ratio: 57.18; last week: 64.54
Futures, per COMEX continuous contracts:
Gold price 11/28: $4,256.40
Gold price 12/5: $4,227.70
Gold price 12/12: $4,329.80
Gold price 12/19: $4,368.70
Gold price 12/28: $4,562.00
Silver price 11/28: $57.08
Silver price 12/5: $58.80
Silver price 12/12: $62.08
Silver price 12/19: $67.39
Silver price 12/28: $79.68
SPOT:
(stockcharts.com)
Gold 11/28: $4,216.71
Gold 12/5: $4,196.63
Gold 12/12: $4,297.29
Gold 12/19: $4,337.83
Gold 12/26: $4,533.00
Silver 11/28: $56.37
Silver 12/5: $58.28
Silver 12/12: $62.01
Silver 12/19: $67.21
Silver 12/26: $79.27
The past two weeks, and the entire year for that matter, have been simply incredible for silver. Friday close to Friday close spot rose $12.06, exactly the same as Money Daily's weekly gold and silver survey results and the SOSMPB below, indicating that buyer's on eBay know a good deal when they see one, even if its at record high prices. Gold has gained the past three weeks and continues to make all-time highs. Consolidation appears to be an afterthought.
The gold:silver ratio continues to descend. When it hits 50, fiat money will begin to disintegrate more rapidly. By the time it gets back to historic levels of 20:1 or 15:1 or 10:1, fiat currencies will be absolutely worthless, sending the world into an economic depression. Give it a few more years, or months, or maybe weeks. Gold and silver were covered extensively in the opening commentary. No need to rub it in on the no-metals horde, which, incidentally, is roughly 90% of the population in the U.S.. Asian nations have much higher percentages of gold and silver ownership.
Here are the most recent prices for common one ounce gold and silver items sold on eBay (free shipping included, numismatics excluded):
| Item/Price | Low | High | Average | Median |
| 1 oz silver coin: | 74.99 | 94.95 | 84.73 | 86.00 |
| 1 oz silver bar: | 79.99 | 92.74 | 86.03 | 86.23 |
| 1 oz gold coin: | 4,654.88 | 4,870.47 | 4,765.43 | 4,736.12 |
| 1 oz gold bar: | 4,697.85 | 4,853.34 | 4,752.21 | 4,740.91 |
The Single Ounce Silver Market Price Benchmark (SOSMPB) delivered, for the fifth straight week, what can only be described as a monumental gain, the first time marking over $80, to $85.75, up an incredible $12.06 from the December 21 price of $73.69 per troy ounce. The small-denomination, physical market continues to add premia over spot and derivative market pricing. The continued survey of prices on eBay indicate that the public is beginning to take notice but the activity has not yet reached mania stages.
WEEKEND WRAP
Got silver?
Happy New Year!
At the Close, Friday, December 26, 2025:
Dow: 48,710.97, -20.19 (-0.04%)
NASDAQ: 23,593.10, -20.21 (-0.09%)
S&P 500: 6,929.94, -2.11 (-0.03%)
NYSE Composite: 22,246.56, +17.45 (+0.08%)
For the Week:
Dow: +576.08 (+1.20%)
NASDAQ: +285.48 (+1.22%)
S&P 500: +95.44 (+1.40%)
NYSE Composite: +322.63 (+1.47%)
Dow Transports: +89.28 (+0.51%)
Disclaimer: Information disseminated on this site should not be construed as investment advice. Downtown Magazine Inc., Money Daily and it's owners, affiliates and/or employees are not investment advisors and do not offer specific investment advice. All investments have risk. You should consult a professional investment advisor or stock broker or use your individual judgement when making investment decisions. By viewing this site, you hold harmless Downtown Magazine Inc., Money Daily, its owners, affiliates and employees against any and all liability. Copyright 2025, Downtown Magazine Inc., all rights reserved.
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