For the fifth year running, the world used more silver than it produced in 2025, and the World Silver Survey 2026 expects 2026 to extend that streak to six. The report, released in April by the Silver Institute and researched by the London consultancy Metals Focus, pegs the 2025 deficit at 40.3 million ounces and forecasts a wider gap of 46.3 million ounces this year. Each shortfall draws on above-ground stocks, leaving less metal readily available even as total inventories have held up.