Silver Falls as Industrial Use Declines
After a strong run in which silver gained over 6 percent, the metal has reversed directions and coughed up most of those gains, falling close to 4 percent. Silver benefited from its position as a safe-haven asset, but the metal is also used as an industrial metal. One key industrial use is in photovoltaic (PV, which is a key component in the manufacture of solar panels. and China boasts the largest PV silver market in the world, and the coronavirus resulted in many PV factories having to close. The virus has also spread to South Korea, another industrial hub for silver.