Silver’s surge to fresh all-time highs spurs ETF records

Silver prices soaring to fresh records on Monday translated into record activity in the iShares Silver Trust.

While geopolitical factors and some signs of physical market tightness have played a role in the parabolic moves in precious metals, escalating prices are in large part a function of escalating financial demand.

Nearly $40 billion changed hands in SLV, the ticker for the iShares Silver Trust, on the opening session of the week. That’s roughly 3.8x the prior peak set in Q2 2011. Call volumes of 3.64 million were nearly a full million above the previous record high from January 2021.

So intense was the scramble to get exposure to silver through this product that SLV dollar volumes nearly eclipsed those of the SPDR S&P 500 ETF, the most heavily traded fund on the planet, and well exceeded those of the Invesco QQQ Trust, which tracks the Nasdaq 100.

It’s the first time since May 2011 that the silver fund traded more than QQQ, and the closest it’s come, bar April 25, 2011, to besting SPY on this metric.

This shiny metal product continues to enjoy more trading activity than the SPDR Gold Shares ETF, which holds its more richly valued previous peer.