What factors determine the price of silver now?

Several factors influence the price of silver as of 2015, such as the fact that it follows the price of gold. It also is connected to the popularity of copper, as they often appear in the same ore veins, and copper is in high demand for new home construction.

Silver is one of the rare and precious metals, and so in general, its overall availability drives its price. Recent trends in mining show silver production to be flattening or even declining. This could influence the price of silver upward in the near future. The older methods of producing silver, involving mining from already operational veins, are likely to slow down as overall production wanes, also impact the direction of the price.

Silver has a number of industrial uses that look to remain constant or even grow in the near future. Even though digital photography is becoming more popular, film photography still uses silver in its upper echelons of quality. Because silver is highly conductive, it's popular in circuits and switches within the electronics industry. Solar panels utilize silver paste to conduct electricity from the photovoltaic cells. In financial circles, investors use a stake in silver to hedge their exposure to currency risk.