Global Silver Demand Expected to Reach All-Time High and Other Silver News

Global silver demand is expected to reach a record high of 1.112 billion ounces in 2022. This is one of several silver-related stories in the latest edition of Silver News published by the Silver Institute.

Silver demand will primarily be driven by record silver industrial fabrication. The industrial use of silver is projected to grow by 5% this year as its use expands in both traditional and critical green technologies.

Industrial demand makes up more than half of total silver demand.

According to the Silver Institute, the use of silver in the automotive sector will continue robust growth as vehicles increase their use of electronic devices. Meanwhile, as chip fabrication shortages abate, more silver will find its way into consumer devices.

The outlook for silver’s use in the solar energy industry remains bright.

Government commitments to carbon neutrality have resulted in a rapid expansion of green energy projects.”

The institute also expects strong growth in investment demand for silver.

Silver physical investment should see double-digit gains in 2022 and hit a seven-year high as investors seek a safe haven from inflation and other economic uncertainties.”

On the supply side, mine output is expected to increase. Nevertheless, the silver market is expected to record a supply shortfall of 20 million ounces this year.

The latest edition of Silver News also highlights some other fascinating technological advances utilizing the white metal, along with some developments in the silver market. Here are some highlights.

• Ancient bacteria may play a role in forming silver deposits, according to researchers who found silver in 500-million-year-old fossilized feces from ancient worms in Canada’s Northwest Territories.
• Archeologists are rethinking the purpose of 5,000-year-old silver and gold tubes on display in a Russian museum. Experts once thought that the tubes were either ceremonial staffs or canopy supports, but they may be reusable drinking straws.
• Researchers at Stanford University have produced what they say is the world’s first stretchy, high-frequency diode using silver “ink.” This device allows high-frequency current to flow in one direction but not the other. Practically speaking this could be useful for radio frequency identification (RFID) tags often used for inventory control, shipping sensors, and anti-shoplifting tools, as well as body sensors.
• The durability of a dental filling is only as good as the bond between the resin that composes the filling material and the tooth itself. While searching for new and better bonding materials, researchers have found promise in an adhesive protein found in mussels and are using silver to help test how well that material adheres to teeth.
• A new laser method could expand the use of silver nanowires.
• A US silver bullion coin commemorating the women’s suffrage movement won first place in the 2022 Coin of the Year’s “Most Historically Significant Coin” category

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