A comprehensive study of the gold:silver ratio illustrates the continued relevance of this measure to today’s active precious metals markets. The Silver Institute’s newly released Market Trend Report, “Is the Gold:Silver Ratio Relevant Today?” produced by Precious Metals Insights, narrates the history of the ratio over more than 3,000 years and analyzes gold and silver price data and their relationship with supply/demand and economic variables for the period from 1970 to 2026.

The Report indicates that the price correlation between the two precious metals has actually strengthened over the past two decades as gold and silver markets have become increasingly financialized. And, while the demise of formal bimetallic, silver and gold monetary standards over more than a century through to 1971 structurally shifted the baseline ratio, the structural relationship between gold and silver has continued into the modern era.

Statistical analysis contained in the Report confirms that the gold:silver ratio is not a “random walk.” Instead, based on data for January 1970-May 2026, the ratio shows an absolute long-run, mean-reverting equilibrium of just under 60:1. Moreover, despite the historic, massive price-scale inflation experienced by both metals over the past half century, the fundamental gold:silver relationship remains strictly bound to its central axis. Periods of extreme market disequilibrium serve as clear signals of major over- or undervaluation in either gold or silver, rather than a permanent structural break.

The Report isolates the primary driver of the gold:silver price ratio as the ratio of above-ground gold:silver bullion stocks, which acts in tandem with the ratio of gold:silver investment demand. A noteworthy observation is that the ratio of above-ground gold:silver bullion stocks may be strongly influenced by the volume of official-sector net sales or purchases, which these days are in gold only. The Report concludes that very high central bank gold bullion demand in recent years has likely pushed the gold:silver ratio above its long-run equilibrium level.

Click here to download the complimentary Report.

The Silver Institute is the silver industry’s primary voice in expanding public awareness of silver’s essential role in today’s world, especially in green applications. Its mandates are to provide the global market with reliable statistics and information on silver and create and execute programs that help drive silver demand. For more information on silver, including its use in the green economy, please visit www.silverinstitute.org.

Precious Metals Insights Limited is a Hong Kong-based specialized consultancy providing macroeconomic analysis and insights on the four major precious metals markets. It was established in 2013 by former GFMS (the precious metals consultancy) principal Philip Klapwijk.