VIDEO - Collin Plume: Silver Demand Through the Roof, Shortage to Come

Silver’s price performance so far in 2021 has left some investors wanting more. Despite increased interest, the white metal hasn’t been able to break though the US$30 per ounce level.

Speaking to the Investing News Network, Collin Plume, CEO of Noble Gold Investments, said he expects the situation to change in the relatively near-term future, partially due to silver’s industrial uses.

“Silver broke US$49 in September of 2011, and it hit that number also in the early 1980s. If you look at the early 1980s (and) you look at 2011 … the amount of industrial uses that have come into the market even in the last 10 years, let alone the last 40 years, is a strong indicator that silver is going to be something that is going to be definitely needed and wanted,” he explained.

“I think my belief is that there will be shortages by next year — I think it’s going to get much more difficult to get it, which we saw during the pandemic. I think we’re going to start to see that again.”

Solar panels are one of silver’s best-known industrial uses, but Plume noted that the white metal also has high-tech applications, for example within electronics and electric vehicles.

To his knowledge, silver can’t be replaced in its key end-use markets. “I’ve never heard any strong arguments of any other metal that has all the properties that silver has,” said Plume. “And so in a way as an investor in silver, owning silver, that’s a great thing. But from an industrial standpoint, it’s probably pretty scary out there for some of these solar panel companies. Because if they can’t find it, they’re going to have to be slowed down, and they’re not going to be able to keep up production.”

Silver is of course bought as an investment as well as for industrial uses, and Plume noted that recent inflation concerns are pushing more and more people out of savings accounts and bonds and toward precious metals as a hedge. “I think that investors now today are saying, ‘If I can buy limited supply items and hold on to them, even for a few years, like precious metals, I’m going to do much better than keeping the money in a savings account and making a half a percent,'” he said.

In terms of what all of these circumstances mean for the metal’s price, Plume said he expects to see a rise fairly soon. “I wouldn’t be surprised if we see it break … US$40 again (in the next 12 to 18 months),” he said. “Just the demand is really through the roof right now.”

Watch the interview above for more from Plume on silver, as well as gold.

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Securities Disclosure: I, Charlotte McLeod, hold no direct investment interest in any company mentioned in this article.

Editorial Disclosure: The Investing News Network does not guarantee the accuracy or thoroughness of the information reported in the interviews it conducts. The opinions expressed in these interviews do not reflect the opinions of the Investing News Network and do not constitute investment advice. All readers are encouraged to perform their own due diligence.