It’s probably all of these factors, but price is going up due to supply inelasticity. It’s similar to oil: demand is what it is, and even if it doesn’t fluctua

It’s probably all of these factors, but price is going up due to supply inelasticity. It’s similar to oil: demand is what it is, and even if it doesn’t fluctuate much, a refinery exploding or political instability in a producer nation can cause prices to rise by large amounts, even if supply only drops by a few hundred thousand barrels per year. In the 1980’s when the Hunt brothers tried to corner the market, households responded by liquidating their Sterling silver and other silver items. That’s ultimately why their strategy failed. Today that domestic source of supply is much smaller, contributing even more to supply inelasticity. This is more of a supply story than a demand story.