Although the Federal Reserve is expected to maintain interest rates at restrictive levels through most of 2024, geopolitical uncertainty will continue to support gold prices in the next 12 months, according to sentiment during the London Bullion Market Association 2023 Global Precious Metals Conference.
According to the LBMA’s annual end-of-conference survey, conference participants said they expect gold to outperform within the precious metals market. However, anecdotal observation and comments during the conference show solid support for silver, with some analysts saying it is cheap compared to its fundamentals.
“Silver is a metal we need to keep an eye on,” said Suki Cooper, precious metals analyst at Standard Chartered.
The LMBA conference survey shows that participants see silver prices trading around $26.80 an ounce by next year’s conference in Miami, Florida. The bullish outlook comes as silver is currently trading around $23 an ounce.
Although both gold and silver have struggled through 2023 as the Federal Reserve has aggressively raised interest rates, the grey metal has managed to hold on to solid gains compared to where prices were trading during last year’s conference. Silver prices were trading around $18.60 an ounce.
Analysts have said that silver industrial demand in the solar sector has provided solid support for the precious metal as investors focus on the global green energy transition.
“Silver’s use in Photovoltaic (PV) solar panels is going to drive silver prices higher,” said Phillips Baker, CEO of Hecla Mining, on the sidelines of the conference. “This is not an issue that will be going away anytime soon. The need for Photovoltaic solar panels will drive demand for the next decade.