Silver, platinum and copper: how industrial demand shapes the metals trade

Gold is held mainly as a store of value. The metals next to it on a trading platform are different. Silver, platinum and copper are bought by manufacturers as well as investors, and much of their supply comes from a handful of countries or as a by-product of mining something else. That mix of industrial and investment demand is what makes them behave differently from gold.

This article explains how each market is shaped. It does not forecast prices.

Silver: half metal, half money

Silver sits between gold and the industrial metals. According to the Silver Institute’s World Silver Survey 2026, prepared by Metals Focus, total silver demand in 2025 was 1,130.6 million ounces (Moz). Industrial uses took 657.4Moz of that, more than half. Photovoltaics, the solar panels whose conductive pastes use silver, alone accounted for 186.6Moz. Coins and bars took 217.7Moz and jewellery 189.3Moz.

That industrial share is the main difference from gold. When the economic outlook worsens, silver can be pulled two ways: supported as a precious metal and weighed down as an industrial one. The survey notes that in the first months of 2025 silver was “left behind” as tariff concerns lifted gold and raised worries about global growth.

Supply is unusual too. The survey found that only 26% of silver mine supply in 2025 came from primary silver mines, a new low. Most of the rest was a by-product of mines producing other metals: 249.1Moz from lead and zinc mines, 237.3Moz from copper operations and 134.7Moz from gold mines. As the survey puts it, global silver supply is increasingly dependent on gold and base-metal prices, not only on the price of silver itself.

By country, the US Geological Survey’s Mineral Commodity Summaries 2026 estimates world mine production at 26,000 tonnes in 2025, with Mexico the largest producer at 6,300 tonnes, followed by Peru and China.

The market has also been short of metal. The Silver Institute recorded a fifth consecutive annual deficit in 2025, of 40.3Moz, and an “unprecedented liquidity squeeze” in October as metal moved into CME vaults and exchange-traded products (ETPs). Its conclusion is that the market has entered a period of reduced stocks, thinner liquidity and larger price moves.

The gold/silver ratio

The gold/silver ratio is simply the gold price divided by the silver price: the number of ounces of silver that one ounce of gold would buy. Traders watch it as a measure of how the two metals are performing relative to each other, not as a price target.

It can move a long way. The World Silver Survey 2026 reports that the ratio peaked at 107:1 in April 2025, stayed above 85:1 until late September, then fell below 55:1 in December, at the time its lowest since March 2013. The survey attributes the reversal to strong physical demand, tight inventories and firm industrial metal prices, particularly copper. The lesson for traders is that the ratio reflects the same industrial pull that separates silver from gold; there is no level it has to return to.

Platinum: a car-industry metal with concentrated supply

Platinum’s supply is highly concentrated. According to the World Platinum Investment Council’s Platinum Quarterly for Q2 2026, prepared by Metals Focus, refined platinum production was 5,557 thousand ounces (koz) in 2025, of which South Africa produced 3,957koz, roughly seven in every ten ounces. Russia produced 677koz and Zimbabwe 515koz. The USGS identifies South Africa as the world’s leading producer of mined platinum-group-metal material, and records that South African output fell by an estimated 9% in 2025, citing deep-level mining costs and disruptions to electricity supply.

Demand is led by vehicles. Of 8,671koz of total platinum demand in 2025, automotive catalysts took 3,039koz, industrial uses 2,266koz, jewellery 2,214koz and investment 1,152koz, according to the WPIC. The USGS names catalytic converters as the leading domestic use of platinum-group metals in the US.

Two features follow. First, anything that disrupts mining or power in South Africa can move the price. Second, platinum and palladium partly substitute for each other in catalytic converters, so the price of one affects demand for the other. The USGS notes that palladium replaced platinum in most petrol-engine converters because it was historically cheaper, and that price rises in 2025 were attributed partly to the substitution of platinum in automobile catalysts.

The WPIC recorded market deficits in 2023, 2024 and 2025 (802koz, 1,096koz and 1,440koz). Investment flows can swing the balance quickly: after rising by 200koz in 2025, ETF holdings fell by more than 500koz in the first half of 2026, about a seventh of their end-2025 level, according to the same report.

Copper: an economy in one metal

Copper is the clearest industrial metal of the three. The USGS estimates world mine production at about 23 million tonnes in 2025, led by Chile (5.3 million), the Democratic Republic of the Congo (3.2 million) and Peru (2.7 million). Refining is concentrated elsewhere: China produced an estimated 14 million of the world’s 29 million tonnes of refined copper.

In the US, the USGS cites Copper Development Association figures showing copper and copper alloy products used in building construction (42%), electrical and electronic products (23%) and transportation equipment (18%). Copper demand is therefore tied closely to construction and manufacturing. The CFTC makes a similar point in its advice to commodity fund investors, noting that metals such as gold, copper and palladium are affected generally by industrial and macroeconomic factors.

Policy matters too. The USGS says the COMEX copper price was projected to average a record $4.80 per pound in 2025, 14% above 2024, and that analysts attributed the rise mainly to uncertainty over US tariffs on copper imports. Its estimated 2025 averages show COMEX high-grade copper at 480 cents a pound against 440 cents for the London Metal Exchange’s grade A cash price, a gap between the two main benchmarks. In November 2025, both copper and silver were added to the US government’s list of critical minerals, according to the USGS.

LME versus COMEX

The two main exchange venues for these metals work in different ways.

The London Metal Exchange (LME) describes itself as the world centre for the trading of industrial metals. Its glossary sets out how the market works: trading takes place on an open-outcry floor known as the Ring, on the LMEselect electronic order book and on a 24-hour inter-office telephone market; “cash” contracts are for delivery two days after the trade; each contract settles on its prompt date, the LME’s term for the delivery date; delivery is made by warrants for metal held in LME-approved warehouses; and there are no daily price limits. An LME copper lot is 25 tonnes.

In New York, metals futures trade on COMEX and NYMEX, both owned by CME Group according to its annual report. The CFTC’s weekly Commitments of Traders report lists COMEX silver in contracts of 5,000 troy ounces, COMEX copper in contracts of 25,000 pounds and NYMEX platinum in contracts of 50 troy ounces. Those reports also show how commercial users and speculators are positioned in each contract.

How retail traders reach these markets

Retail traders usually reach these metals in one of four ways: exchange-traded futures through a futures broker; CFDs on the spot or futures price through a CFD provider, where permitted; physically backed ETPs; or shares in mining companies. The SEC has overseen spot ETPs holding precious metals since 2004, according to a 2024 statement by its then chair. Each route carries different costs and risks. Futures must be rolled and are settled daily. CFDs carry overnight funding charges, and the UK Financial Conduct Authority notes that CFD providers manufacture the products and sell them directly, so the provider is the counterparty. ETPs can see large inflows and outflows, as the Silver Institute and the WPIC both record. Mining shares add company-specific risk.

Whichever route is used, the drivers are the same: industrial demand, concentrated supply, stock levels and investor flows. For silver and platinum the balance between investment and industrial demand can shift within a single year, as 2025 showed. Following the annual and quarterly surveys from the USGS, the Silver Institute and the WPIC is a practical way to see which of those forces is in charge.