Rush to buy silver for investment and storage amid high silver price fever

Demand for silver bars and ingots has increased sharply, businesses cannot produce enough, have to make appointments for customers to receive silver later

With silver prices rising, many investors have begun to turn to silver as a potential source of profit. The strong growth in recent times has made the precious metals market more exciting than ever. From experienced investors to newbies, everyone is looking for opportunities to maximize profits.

Investing in Silver in a Time of Rising Silver Prices: Opportunities and Challenges

On the morning of July 15, at Phu Quy store on Tran Nhan Tong street ( Hanoi ), reporters easily witnessed the bustling scene of buyers coming in and out. According to the listing, the price of silver bars has jumped to 1.46 million VND/tael (buy) - 1.505 million VND/tael (sell); silver bars are also bought and sold at around 38.8 - 40 million VND/kg. Compared to a week ago, the selling price has increased by 4%, a significant increase if placed in the silver price level which is usually quite stable.

The rising demand has caused the supply of physical silver to begin to show signs of strain. A representative of Phu Quy Group said that for customers who buy in large quantities, the store even has to set a delivery date, which can last up to 20 days depending on the processing progress. If you buy in small quantities, you can still receive it at the counter. This is a reality that rarely happened before with silver, which is not as sought after as gold.

Not only experienced investors, but also ordinary consumers are joining in. Ms. Ha Phuong (Hoan Kiem Ward, Hanoi) and 3 friends bought 20 taels of silver together, sharing gently: "Whenever I have spare money, I buy silver to save, as a precaution."

Mr. Le Manh Toan (living in Giap Bat, Hanoi) "played big" for the first time when he bought 1 kg of silver bars and 10 taels of silver pieces. According to him, investing in silver seems to be a more potential direction than gold at the moment, because the price of gold has increased too much. However, he is also careful to determine that this is a long-term investment, and he may have to hold it for at least 1 to 3 years before considering selling.

Not only that, even those who originally intended to buy gold were caught up in the "silver wave". Mr. Nguyen Van Manh (Giang Vo, Hanoi) initially went to buy 2 taels of gold, but seeing everyone else buying silver, he decided to buy an additional tael of silver to... be sure. Obviously, the "crowd" mentality has partly contributed to the increase in silver prices.

Not as bustling as the Hanoi market, in Ho Chi Minh City, some people have also begun to see the heat of this new investment channel. Ms. Lan Anh (living in Phuoc Long ward, Ho Chi Minh City) said that in the past few months, she saw the price of silver increase, some companies also introduced silver bars of 1 tael or 1 kg of silver which were quite eye-catching, so she also bought some to save. "Compared to gold bars, the price of silver is much lower while the profit rate is not bad. For example, if from the beginning of the year until now, if you buy silver with 100 million VND, the profit can be 30-35 million VND" - Ms. Lan Anh said.

Many people have turned to buying silver for investment and storage. Photo: LE THUY

Why the price increase?

What has led to this silver fever? According to Mr. Duong Duc Quang, Deputy General Director of the Vietnam Commodity Exchange (MXV), there are three main reasons. First, geopolitical tensions in the Middle East have caused money to flow into safe assets, pushing precious metals in general up. However, unlike gold, which is purely a "safe haven", silver is both a precious metal and an industrial metal, so its impact on prices is somewhat "hybrid". Second, industrial silver demand is forecast to stabilize at around 677 million ounces in 2025, thanks to its essential role in the semiconductor, renewable energy, and electric vehicle battery manufacturing industries. Third, investors also expect the US Federal Reserve (FED) to loosen monetary policy by the end of the year, causing non-interest-bearing assets like silver to continue to benefit.

Financial expert Tran Duy Phuong also said that silver investment is emerging as a new trend not only in the world but also in Vietnam, especially when the price of gold is anchored at a very high level. According to Mr. Phuong, silver prices often fluctuate in sync with gold prices because it is also a precious metal, sought by investors as a safe haven whenever there is geopolitical instability, tariff risks or inflation.

In the domestic market, silver has only recently attracted attention when more businesses have joined the production and trading of silver. In particular, silver has become a more accessible choice than gold because the import of raw silver to produce silver bars and silver ingots is not strictly controlled, and the domestic silver price is not much different from the world price like gold. These are the reasons why silver is gradually asserting its role as a potential investment channel alongside gold at the present time.

However, investing in silver is not a path strewn with roses. A representative of Phu Quy Group frankly warned that silver prices fluctuate strongly, and can fluctuate up to 2% in just one trading day - a level of fluctuation that gold rarely achieves. This requires investors to not only have a thorough knowledge of the investment channel but also need a strong mentality to avoid being swept away by short-term fluctuations.

One point worth discussing is that if the US-China trade negotiations progress and reach an agreement to swap rare earths for technology, silver’s safe-haven demand may temporarily decrease. However, on the other hand, as the semiconductor and renewable energy supply chains become more stable, industrial silver demand will be further strengthened. This can be considered the “sweet side” of the medium- and long-term silver price picture.

Low liquidity despite high silver prices

In fact, although the profit is quite high and the purchase is also favorable, silver is still considered a rather picky investment channel due to the small market size and low liquidity. Ms. Le Thi Minh (Thong Tay Hoi ward, Ho Chi Minh City) shared that recently she was given 2 taels of silver by a partner produced by a business at a price of about 1.4 million VND/tael, the design is quite similar to SJC gold bars. However, when she brought this amount of silver to gold shops in Cau market, Thach Da, Tan Dinh... to sell, there was no place to buy it.

Similarly, Mr. Le Van Chanh, owner of a gold shop in Go Vap market (HCMC), said that his shop did not dare to buy silver from people because he did not know who he would sell it to later. Gold shops usually only buy silver from importers at a price of about 800,000 VND/tael, mainly to use as an auxiliary material for gold jewelry production. Mr. Chanh also said that the demand for raw silver is currently very low, and people buying and reselling silver is also rare, so the liquidity of silver is extremely weak. "If investors buy silver from some businesses, they can only sell it back to that business later. If unfortunately the business does not buy it back, the person holding the silver will have almost no idea who to sell it to," said Mr. Chanh.

This makes those who hold silver at the present time have to accept the form of "buying and selling", similar to gold rings or gold jewelry. Meanwhile, the silver bar and silver ingot market in Vietnam has only a few businesses participating in production and supply. An employee of a gold and gemstone company that sells silver products also admitted that if customers want to resell, they will have to go back to the company's own store system to make the transaction, and if they sell outside, gold shops only buy at the price of raw silver.

In addition, according to some investors, the difference between buying and selling prices of silver is still quite high, about 3%, which is very risky. However, Mr. Tran Duy Phuong said that if anyone decides to buy silver for long-term accumulation, there is no need to worry too much about the margin. Silver is still a promising investment channel as more and more businesses participate, the expanding market size will help narrow the buying and selling gap. Moreover, silver prices in Vietnam fluctuate closely with world prices, in the context of the prospect of increasing international silver prices being assessed positively this year.

Meanwhile, financial expert Phan Dung Khanh said that silver is a suitable investment channel for small investors because the cost is much lower than gold. However, he also noted that silver's liquidity is still poor and not popular, so investors need to consider carefully before investing.

Copper price increase shock

Not only domestic silver but also world silver prices have been continuously climbing recently. In just the last 3 sessions, the price of this metal has increased by about 5%, from 36.5 USD to over 38.3 USD/ounce (equivalent to about 1.2 million VND/tael according to Vietcombank exchange rate). Since the beginning of the year, the price of silver has increased by 10 USD/ounce, an increase of about 35%, exceeding the growth rate of gold in the same period.

Sharing on Kitco, Mr. Phillip Streible, Chief Market Strategist at Blue Line Futures in Chicago (USA), analyzed that silver prices are at their highest level since 2011 as investors worry about new developments from the US's tariff policy with other countries.

Silver has also benefited from rising gold and copper prices. Copper saw its biggest one-day gain on record last week, rising about 13% after US President Donald Trump announced a 50% tariff on imports of the metal.

Source: https://nld.com.vn/do-xo-mua-bac-de-danh-196250715214051828.htm