The silver market has just experienced an extremely volatile period. Since the beginning of May 2026, silver prices have continuously created strong waves, with a sharp increase to nearly 88 - 90 USD/ounce on May 14 - this is the highest level in 2 months. However, in just a few sessions after that, the price plummeted more than 14%, to the 75 - 76 USD/ounce range on May 17. In this morning's session (May 19), world silver prices recovered slightly to the threshold of 76.28 USD/ounce.
Talking to reporters, Mr. Nguyen Hoang Viet - Director of Hanoi branch, Business Representative of Ancarat Gem Company - said that the core point to understand the current diễn biến of silver prices lies in the "double nature" of this metal, which is both a safe haven asset and a strategic industrial raw material.
Mr. Viet said that unlike gold, which mainly plays the role of value reserve, silver has a more specific demand structure when about 50% of global aggregate demand comes from industry. Silver is not only a financial asset, but also an essential material in many new technology industries, especially solar panels, electric vehicles, semiconductors and artificial intelligence (AI) infrastructure. This factor makes silver prices can move relatively independently of gold in economic cycles, especially when industrial demand recovers.
Another important factor is the supply shortage that has lasted for the 5th consecutive year in the global silver market. According to Mr. Viet, the development of a new silver mine usually takes 7-10 years, making the possibility of expanding supply in the short term very limited.
Ancarat's representative added that the gold-silver ratio is still higher than the historical average, suggesting that silver is being relatively undervalued compared to gold. This implies that when the market adjusts to a long-term balanced state, silver has more room to increase in price than gold, especially during periods when cash flow returns to the precious metal group.
In addition, global demand for physical silver investment is also increasing, with forecasts that it may increase by about 20% in 2026, reaching a 3-year high of 227 million ounces.
In the short term, Mr. Viet cited the views of major financial institutions such as UBS, saying that after a period of strong fluctuations from a recent peak, the precious metals market may continue to adjust in the period from May to August 2026. In addition, expert Jeffrey Christian from CPM Group also forecasts that silver and gold will maintain fluctuations in the short term before investment demand returns at the end of the year.
However, in the long term, Mr. Nguyen Hoang Viet said that fundamental factors such as supply shortages, AI demand and the trend of shifting to green energy are still considered sustainable drivers for silver.
From a market perspective, Ancarat representatives recommend that investors should not gather all capital at once, but should accumulate in installments to reduce the risk of price fluctuations; and at the same time only use idle money with a minimum vision of 3-5 years, avoiding short-term surfing activities.
From an international perspective, Mr. Philip Streible - Chief Market Strategist at Blue Line Futures - believes that the market's fundamental picture is trending more positively for silver.
According to him, the level of global geopolitical tension has somewhat cooled down as conflict hotspots enter a state of stalemate, thereby reducing psychological pressure on investors. At the same time, the weakening of the USD continues to be an important supporting factor for the group of precious metals, as the depreciation of the greenback makes USD-valued assets such as gold and silver more attractive in the international market.
As of 9:35 am on May 19, the price of silver bars 2024 Ancarat 999 (1 tael) at Ancarat Gem Company is listed at 2,870 - 2.944 million VND/tael (buying - selling).
The price of 2025 Ancarat 999 silver bars (1kg) at Ancarat Precious Metals Company is listed at 75,666 - 78,006 million VND/kg (buy - sell).
The price of 999 silver (1 tael) of DOJI Gold and Gems Group Joint Stock Company is listed at the threshold of 2.557 - 2.961 million VND/tael (buying - selling).
