Silver Hits $50 For The First Time Since 1980: Its Technical Chart Is A Purist's Delight

As global uncertainties keep rising, commodities are stealing the spotlight this year with spot silver crossing the $50-mark for the first time. This comes amid a surge in demand for safe-heaven assets, triggered by the US government shutdown and tariff uncertainties.

The precious metal rose as much as 4% to $51.24 an ounce on Thursday. This is the highest since the commodity boom in 2011—which was stoked by the European debt crisis—and also surpasses the highs seen in 1980, when silver had shot up due to a notorious squeeze that was orchestrated by the billionaire Hunt brothers.

Silver is up over 67% in the last one year, while the metal rose over 72.33% so far this year.

The metal has been on the rise due to 'debasement trade' as investors move to the safety of gold, silver and Bitcoin, while pulling away from major currencies. This is due to the concerns that the value of financial securities will be eroded by unsustainable fiscal deficits and inflation.

“The conversation around debasement, irrespective of its realities, has ignited investors' enthusiasm towards gold and silver to the point where regression analysis gives way to something more akin to how investors view AI or the technology sector,” Kieron Hodgson, commodity analyst at Peel Hunt Ltd. told Bloomberg.

Silver first hit its high in 1980, when Hunt brothers, the Texan oil billionaires, tried to corner the global market because of their fear of inflation and belief in the metal as a store of wealth. They stockpiled over 200 million ounces and drove the price over $50 an ounce before it crashed below $11.

Another time silver neared $50 was when the European debt crisis grew in 2011. The metal hit a high of $49.80 on April 4, 2011.