Gold prices fluctuate erratically, should we invest or switch to silver?

(VTC News) - Gold prices are rising too high, causing many investors to turn to silver with its cheaper price and good price increase. However, is this a safe investment channel?

Ms. Nguyen Thanh Loan (Cau Giay ward, Hanoi ) said that she had only invested in gold before, but recently the price has been too high and it is difficult to buy and sell, so she started to learn about silver and saw that it has potential, so she switched to investing in silver since May.

" I used to only trust gold, but when I researched, I saw that the price of silver kept increasing. Some big brands have silver bars specifically for investment, no different from buying gold, so I tried buying them ," said Ms. Loan.

According to Ms. Loan, she bought 12kg of silver bars in February 2025, at that time the price was only 33.5 million VND/kg. Up to now, the price of silver I sold has been more than 49 - 51 million VND/kg (buy in - sell out), making a profit of up to 15.5 million VND per kg. It is more profitable than saving money and the liquidity is also very easy, just bring the silver to the store, the transaction is completed in 5 minutes.

Many investors wonder whether they should invest in gold or silver. (Illustration photo).

Should I invest in gold or silver?

According to experts, many investors have recently switched to buying silver due to the rapid increase in domestic gold prices, but buying gold is not easy because the supply of gold bars and gold rings is sometimes scarce. To buy, one must queue, take a number, and the purchase quantity is limited.

At times of strong fluctuations, the difference between buying and selling prices of gold is very large, up to 2-3 million VND/tael, not to mention the price of SJC gold bars is 19.6 million VND/tael higher than the world gold price, the difference for 9999 gold rings is 14 million VND/tael, so buying gold at this time will face many risks.

Expert Tran Duy Phuong analyzed: Gold price has increased too fast and the difference is large compared to the world gold price, so buying silver at this time is a better choice. Currently, silver price also fluctuates in parallel with gold price and is also considered an effective tool to prevent financial risks.

Silver’s profitability is not inferior to gold’s when it comes to price appreciation. With a much lower investment cost (silver is currently only about 1% of gold’s price), investors can allocate capital more flexibly. For example, with 120 million VND, you can buy nearly 85 taels of silver. If silver increases by 1%, the profit is still equivalent to gold, about 1.2 million VND. However, if silver increases more strongly, as has happened in some periods, the profit margin can exceed it.

A bank leader said that after reaching a peak of 50 USD/ounce in 2011, the price of silver has not broken the peak yet and is hovering around 37 USD/ounce. Meanwhile, since 2011, the world price of gold has broken the peak more than 30 times.

This is also the factor that makes investors put their hopes on silver, especially when the price of gold is too high compared to the income of the majority of people.

According to this person, the physical and chemical properties of silver are similar to those of gold; in addition to storage needs, this metal is applied and used in large-scale industrial production, especially in the manufacture of green energy conversion such as making solar batteries, car batteries, etc.

" In the future, silver will serve both industrial production and as a new asset accumulation option when gold prices increase and supply becomes increasingly limited. Even in a gold-loving country like India, many people also have the habit of accumulating silver alongside gold ," he said.

According to economic expert Ngo Tri Long, in case of having idle capital and having difficulty accessing the gold market, investors can consider switching to silver. However, silver prices often fluctuate more strongly than gold, investors lacking experience or not controlling risks well can face significant losses.

In addition, according to Mr. Long, silver investment in Vietnam currently still faces some barriers such as the market mainly transacts through jewelry or collectible products; silver bars for investment purposes have only recently appeared. The number of silver trading enterprises is still limited, making buying and selling not really convenient and can affect liquidity as well as investment value.

Along with that, the quality and preservation of silver also need to be noted. Silver is easily oxidized, if not preserved properly, it will reduce its value. Meanwhile, the market lacks clear evaluation standards, making it difficult to determine the quality of silver.

Associate Professor Dr. Nguyen Huu Huan also commented that this is an investment channel with many potential risks. " Unlike gold, which has high liquidity, silver faces difficulties in reselling. Some units commit to buying back products, but if the sales volume is large, they are at risk of bankruptcy like many gold and jewelry businesses have faced ," he said.

Mr. Huan advised investors to be cautious due to unpredictable fluctuations in silver prices, uneven product quality and low liquidity. He suggested that the State should strictly regulate the entities that are allowed to trade in silver bars and raw silver to avoid speculation that distorts the market.

" When people rush into speculative channels such as gold and silver, social resources will be dispersed, affecting economic development. The risks of investing in silver are much greater than those of gold, from liquidity, quality to price fluctuations ," the expert emphasized.

Ngoc Vy - Vtcnews.vn

Source: https://vtcnews.vn/gia-vang-troi-sut-that-thuong-nen-dau-tu-hay-chuyen-sang-om-bac-ar972903.html