<p>Strong silver jewelry sales in the U.S. are one of the many factors that pushed<span> the silver market to </span><a href="https://www.moneymetals.com/news/2025/04/17/silver-market-records-fourth-straight-supply-deficit-amidst-record-industrial-demand-003994" rel="noreferrer">its fourth straight supply deficit in 2024</a><span>.</span></p>
<p>This was one of several interesting stories featured in the latest edition of the Silver Institute's <a href="https://silverinstitute.org/wp-content/uploads/2025/07/Silver-News-Jun-2025_D5.pdf" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">bi-monthly <em>Silver News</em> report</a>. <in a="" recent="" survey="" 53="" percent="" of="" u="" s="" jewelry="" retailers="" said="" their="" sales="" increased="" in="" 2024="" and="" 63="" indicated="" that="" holiday="" season="" saw="" increases="" over="" 2023="" seventy-one="" they="" silver="" inventory="" by="" an="" average="" 15="" last="" year="" nbsp="" p=""></in></p>
<p>Based on the survey, 92 percent of retailers are optimistic that silver jewelry sales will continue to grow for the next several years. That's up from 88 percent in 2022.</p>
<div x-data=" item_id: undefined, view: null " x-html="view || 'Product-Random-Featured'" x-init="view = await (await fetch('/shortcodes/product/random/featured?category=1')).text()">!!–Product-Random-Featured-1–!!</div>
<p>This robust U.S. silver jewelry demand helped drive global jewelry sales up by 3 percent to 208.7 million ounces in 2024.</p>
<p>Global demand outstripped the silver supply for the fourth consecutive year in '24. The structural market deficit came in at 148.9 million ounces. That drove the four-year market shortfall to 678 million ounces, the equivalent of 10 months of mining supply in 2024.</p>
<p>Silver News also featured several stories involving new uses for silver in technology and industry. </p>
<ul>
<li><strong>A new class of "nano-lubricants" using silver is being developed to lubricate tiny nanoscale devices</strong>. A technique developed by Chinese researchers introduces silver nanoparticles to boron nitride nanosheets. According to researchers, "The silver-modified boron nitride nanosheets produce extremely low friction and wear, contributing to the development of lubricants with high load-bearing pressure and low wear rate."</li>
<li><strong>Scientists in South Korea are working on a more environmentally friendly method for silver plating that doesn't rely on toxic chemicals such as cyanide</strong>. Silver plating is a crucial process for producing semiconductors, circuit boards, and other electronic components, as silver is one of the world’s best electrical conductors.</li>
<li><strong>Doctors can use nanosilver particles to track cancer cells throughout the body</strong>. However, the fact that these particles come in many different shapes and sizes complicates this process. Researchers at Oregon State University may have discovered a way to produce nanoparticles with a more uniform size using ultraviolet light combined with oxygen.</li>
<li><strong>An artist is using silver as his medium</strong>. The work consists of a thin copper fabric, connected to an electric current, stretched over a wooden frame. A stainless-steel rod with a fleece cover tip is immersed in a silver electrolyte and used as a brush. When the brush touches the mesh, silver ions are combined with the copper to produce an ‘abstract landscape’ of blue shapes upon a sky-like background. </li>
<li>In silver market news, <strong>Idaho has repealed its capital gains tax on gold and silver bullion.</strong> </li>
</ul>
