Silver Hits New Yearly Highs, Spot Discounts Widen Amid Sluggish Trading [SMM Silver Market Weekly Review]

From a macro perspective, US economic data released on Tuesday this week was mixed. Uncertainty in the US labour market drove traders seeking safe-haven demand into the precious metals market. Gold, platinum, and silver all rose on Wednesday, with silver leading the gains due to a combination of factors including inventory shortages and industrial demand. Silver hit a new yearly high again on Thursday, with year-to-date gains exceeding 110% in 2025. As silver prices surged in December, the gold/silver ratio quickly fell to around 65 times. Persistent silver inventory shortages and market speculation continue to drive short-term silver prices higher. Although the medium and long-term outlook for silver remains bullish, caution is warranted against the risk of a high-price correction.
[Economic Data]

Positive:
US November unemployment rate: expected 4.4%, actual 4.6%
US October seasonally adjusted non-farm payrolls: expected -25,000, actual -105,000
US October retail sales monthly rate: expected 0.1%, actual 0%
US EIA crude oil inventories for the week ending December 12: expected -1.066 million barrels, actual -1.274 million barrels
Negative:
US November seasonally adjusted non-farm payrolls: expected 50,000, actual 64,000

[Spot Market]
In the domestic silver spot market this week, silver prices continued their upward trend. Domestic spot market inventories saw a slight accumulation, and the spot market maintained slight discount quotations with limited trading volume. This week, mainstream quotations for national standard silver ingots in the Shanghai market were at discounts of 5-10 yuan/kg against TD or discounts of 10 yuan/kg against the SHFE silver 2502 contract. As the spot-futures price spread widened towards the weekend, some suppliers raised their premium/discount quotations, with discounts against the SHFE silver 2502 contract widening to 20-30 yuan/kg. Individual holders of non-delivery brands or speculative traders sold at high prices, with discounts against TD widening to 50-80 yuan/kg, resulting in significant disparities in market quotations. Due to the sharp rise in silver prices, downstream end-users showed a strong fear of high prices. Actual transactions were primarily driven by traders and bank traders building positions, and spot trades remained sluggish. PV silver paste: This week, the reference average price for solar cell rear-side silver paste was 9,252-9,765 yuan/kg; the reference average price for solar cell front-side finger was 13,912-14,681 yuan/kg; and the reference average price for solar cell front-side busbar was 13,862-14,631 yuan/kg.