Silver is both a precious metal and an industrial commodity, used in products as diverse as jewelry, solar panels and semiconductors. Now, the impending rollback of pandemic monetary-stimulus measures is hurting precious-metals prices at the same time that global production bottlenecks, energy shortages and manufacturing slowdowns reduce industrial demand. Prices, which slipped 0.3% Wednesday to $22.51, stand near their lowest levels in a year, making silver one of the worst-performing assets for 2021 in a group tracked by The Wall Street Journal. Hedge funds and other speculative investors have grown more cautious on silver lately, cutting net bets on higher silver prices to their lowest level since June 2019, according to Commodity Futures Trading Commission data through the week of Sept. 21. Silver prices will recover ground if industrial trends improve and the chip shortage eases, making the metal’s outlook healthier in the long term, said Ms. Cooper.

Source: Wall Street Journal October 30, 2021 16:53 UTC