Gold is trading near $4,980 while silver sits around $78, putting the gold-to-silver ratio close to 64:1.
That number looks normal at first glance — but once you compare it to physical supply and vault data, the imbalance becomes hard to ignore.
Mining ratio: ~1:8
For every ounce of gold mined, roughly eight ounces of silver come out of the ground.
COMEX vault ratio: ~1:11
Exchange inventories show far more silver relative to gold.
LBMA vault ratio: ~1:3
London vault holdings suggest silver is significantly tighter relative to gold.
Yet despite these realities, the market price still values gold at 64 times silver.
This gap exists largely because gold is treated as a monetary reserve asset by central banks, while silver trades primarily as an industrial metal. Paper markets, derivatives, and institutional positioning also play a major role in keeping the ratio elevated.
But history shows that extreme divergences don’t last forever.
When the ratio compresses, it rarely moves slowly — it snaps.
That move can happen through:
• silver outperforming gold
• gold correcting while silver holds firm
• or a liquidity event that reprices both metals
If silver begins to catch up even partially, the upside move can be explosive due to its smaller market size and tighter physical supply.
For now, the ratio remains stretched.
And stretched systems tend to release pressure suddenly.