A comprehensive study commissioned by The Silver Institute of the gold to silver ratio  was recently released and illustrates the continued relevance of this measure to today’s active precious metals markets, according to the institute.

The group’s 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. It also analyzes gold and silver price data and their relationship with supply and demand and economic variables 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, with more money flowing through.

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, a structural relationship between gold and silver has continued into the modern era.

Statistical analysis in the report confirms that the gold to silver ratio is not a “random walk.” Based on data for January 1970 through 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 to 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 to silver price ratio as the ratio of above-ground gold to silver bullion stocks, which acts in tandem with the ratio of gold to silver investment demand.

A noteworthy observation is that the ratio of above-ground gold to 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 to silver ratio above its long-run equilibrium level.

A historical review of the gold to silver ratio shows that from at least 3000 B.C.E. through to well into the 19th century it was arguably the single most important financial indicator.

The demise of formal bimetallic or silver monetary standards in the 1871 to 1897 period (China being an exception)significantly reduced its profile.

The ending of the Gold Standard  and, later in 1971, its successor the Gold Exchange Standard, finally broke the official monetary link with precious metals. However, notwithstanding this formal demonetization, the private sector has never broken off its relationship with gold and silver.

Moreover, in gold’s case, in spite of heavy net sales from 1989 through 2008, central banks have in the era of purely fiat currency maintained high gold holdings and, in aggregate, even added to bullion reserves, such that their market value currently exceeds that of central banks’ U.S. Treasury holdings.

Insights

The Silver Institute is the silver industry’s primary voice in expanding public awareness of silver’s essential role, especially in green applications, and providing the global market with reliable statistics and information on silver, while creating and executing programs that help drive silver demand.

For more information, 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 Gold Fields Mineral Services, acquired by Thomson Reuters in 2011) principal Philip Klapwijk.

To see the free 32-page report, visit https://silverinstitute.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/07/Is-the-Gold-Silver-Ratio-Relevant-Today.pdf.