🔥On December 24, 2025, the physical silver price on the Shanghai Gold Exchange (SGE) closed at $78.49 per ounce, as PHYSICAL silver premiums over the COMEX silver futures prices exploded to over $8/oz!
This widening gap between Asia's primary physical delivery market and the Western paper futures benchmark highlights growing strains in global silver supply chains.
The SGE, through contracts like Ag(T+D), facilitates direct physical trading and delivery, making its benchmark a closer reflection of immediate physical demand—particularly in China, the world's largest consumer of silver for industrial uses such as solar panels, electronics, and electric vehicles.
In contrast, COMEX futures are predominantly paper contracts, often settled in cash or via exchange-for-physical (EFP) mechanisms that can delay or divert actual metal delivery.
An $8+ premium in Shanghai indicates robust buying interest for deliverable physical #silver in Asia, outpacing the willingness of sellers to supply at COMEX-aligned prices.
This divergence often emerges during periods of physical tightness, where importers and industrial users in China bid aggressively to secure metal amid import restrictions, vault outflows, or surging domestic demand.
Recent reports have noted sharp drawdowns in Shanghai vaults and elevated premiums persisting even in volatile markets, driven by structural deficits and geopolitical hedging.
