An interesting anomaly has appeared in the market: silver is "eating" the lunch of crude oil.

Recent quotes are quite straightforward—spot silver has soared to $79.19 per ounce, while US WTI crude oil futures are only $56.74 per barrel. It sounds a bit absurd, but the data is clear: silver is actually more valuable than oil.

How rare is this situation? Looking at history, you'll understand. The last time was around April 2020, when the pandemic threw the energy markets into disarray, but oil prices rebounded shortly after. Going further back, you have to go to 1980 to find a similar scenario. In other words, this is indeed an uncommon signal.

So why is silver so "reckless"? The answer is quite simple—both demand and supply are pushing it.

From an investment perspective, silver as a precious metal is being heavily absorbed. Whether through physical hoarding or financial assets, investors are using silver to hedge against currency risks like the US dollar and to store wealth. This wave of demand is quite strong.

More importantly, industrial demand. Jewelers, medical device manufacturers, electric vehicle producers, data center operators... almost everyone is lining up to buy silver. Notably, the solar energy industry has an astonishing appetite for silver. Citibank's analysis shows that nearly 30% of the silver mined and recycled worldwide each year is used to manufacture solar panels. As the green energy boom blows fiercely, the demand for silver naturally rises.

The combination of strong demand and supply pressure makes it no surprise that silver prices are rising.