Silver Hits 12-Year High: Peter Schiff Says Rally's Just Starting

Silver's not just glittering – it's surging. The white metal rocketed past $35.60 an ounce Thursday, a level last seen in 2012, and gold bull Peter Schiff says it's just warming up.

"This train has left the station and there's no stopping it," Schiff posted on X, noting silver's push to $36 and a 4% jump in early action.

While gold flirted with $3,400, it was silver that stole the spotlight, driven by a perfect storm of weak U.S. economic data, rising geopolitical tensions, and intensifying expectations of a Fed rate cut in September. The latest ADP report showed the weakest job growth since March 2023, and the ISM Services PMI fell into contraction territory for the first time in nearly a year – fueling bets that the Fed will have little choice but to ease.

Read Also: Gold Now Worth 100x More Than Silver: Analysts Say It’s Time To Buy The Underdog

Fed Doves And Trade Tensions Fan The Fire

It's not just macro softness driving this surge. The market is also reacting to Washington's tariff thunderclap – doubling import duties on steel and aluminum to 50% – raising fears of another trade slugfest just as investors react to a market-moving call between President Donald Trump and Chinese President Xi Jinping.

For silver, which straddles the line between precious metal and industrial workhorse, this is jet fuel. Whether it's flight to safety or hedging against inflation and trade turmoil, demand is coming from all corners.

SLV And Silver Miners Shine Bright

Retail investors are already piling in. The iShares Silver Trust SLV (proxy for silver price) is up over 16% year-to-date and 14% over the past year, with technicals flashing green across the board.

Chart created using Benzinga Pro

SLV is currently trading above its eight, 20, 50 and 200-day simple moving averages and maintains a bullish MACD (moving average convergence/divergence) indicator and an RSI (relative strength index) of 68.23.

For those seeking exposure to this breakout, silver miners like First Majestic Silver Corp AG, Pan American Silver Corp PAAS and Wheaton Precious Metals Corp WPM are catching bids alongside the metal.

For diversified exposure, the Global X Silver Miners ETF SIL offers a direct line to the producers riding silver's high.

If Schiff's right and the rally's just beginning, silver bugs may have a lot more to smile about this summer.

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