Silver Demand
Total silver demand saw a decline of 7 percent to 1,195 Moz in 2023; however, this was coming off a record 2022. The price-sensitive physical investment, jewelry, and silverware sectors mainly contributed to last year’s drop. In sharp contrast,
Industrial demand hit another record high, led by the electrical and electronics sector, which grew 20 percent to 445.1 Moz last year. This gain reflects silver’s essential and growing use in PV, which recorded a new high of 193.5 Moz last year, increasing by a massive 64 percent over 2022’s figure of 118.1 Moz. Underpinning these overall gains was the limited scale of thrifting and substitution, as silver remains irreplaceable in many applications.
Chinese silver industrial demand rose by a remarkable 44 percent to 261.2 Moz, primarily due to growth for green applications, chiefly PV. Last year, China’s rapid expansion of PV production accounted for over 90 percent of global panel shipments. Industrial demand in the United States stood at 128.1 Moz, essentially flat over 2022, while Japan’s industrial offtake was also basically unchanged at 98.0 Moz
Global Silver Jewelry Fabrication
Silver jewelry fabrication fell by 13 percent in 2023 to 203.1 Moz. The losses were concentrated in India, where demand eased after reaching its highest total in 2022. Excluding India, total global losses were modest at 3 percent. This was mainly due to the weakness of US and European jewelry consumption (due to such drivers as cost-of-living issues) plus destocking by retailers.
Global Silver Jewelry Fabrication Graph
Global Silverware Fabrication
Silverware demand in 2023 fell by 25 percent to 55.2 Moz. This mainly reflected an elevated base in 2022 when fabrication achieved a record high. As with jewelry, overall losses were almost entirely due to India, owing to high local silver prices.
Global Silverware Fabrication Graph
Material and statistics in this section were adapted in part from the Silver Institute’s World Silver Survey 2024.