Silver’s historic 2025 rally hit another milestone on December 23, 2025, with global prices breaking above $70 per ounce—a level that traders and investors had watched for years. The move quickly echoed into India’s commodity market, where MCX silver jumped to fresh lifetime highs, reinforcing a new narrative: in 2025, silver isn’t just “gold’s cheaper cousin”—it’s a high-demand industrial metal with an increasingly tight supply backdrop. [1]
And as silver surged, attention inevitably turned to Hindustan Zinc (HZL)—a major domestic silver producer and a Vedanta Group company that investors increasingly treat as a listed “silver play.” The company’s share price has been climbing with the metal’s momentum, and market chatter has shifted from whether silver’s strength matters to HZL to how much of the price spike can flow through to earnings. [2]
What happened on December 23: Silver crosses $70, MCX spikes to new records
In global markets, spot silver pushed through $70 per ounce for the first time, with Reuters noting the metal traded around $70.06 after hitting an intraday record near $70.18. The drivers were a familiar cocktail—but now more potent: strong industrial demand, investment interest, tightening inventories, geopolitical tensions, and expectations of additional U.S. rate cuts. [3]
India’s commodity market followed quickly. On December 23 evening trade, MCX silver rose sharply, with coverage noting a jump of roughly ₹5,000 per kg to a fresh all-time high near ₹2,17,791 per kg. Another report from earlier in the day pegged MCX silver around ₹2,16,596 per kg, underlining how fast prices were moving intraday. [4]
The takeaway from December 23 wasn’t just “silver hit a record.” It was the quality of the rally: strong enough to pull global and domestic benchmarks higher in tandem, and broad enough to spill into related equities.
Why Hindustan Zinc is suddenly at the center of the “silver trade”
Hindustan Zinc is widely tracked as a key beneficiary when silver runs hot because silver is not an incidental side business—it has become central to the company’s profit story.
Recent market coverage described Hindustan Zinc as one of the top five global silver producers, with production capacity of about 800 tonnes, and with silver contributing nearly 38% of EBIT—a statistic that explains why the stock often moves like a leveraged play on the metal. [5]
In short: when silver breaks records, Hindustan Zinc’s earnings narrative tends to strengthen—at least in the market’s imagination—and the stock often re-rates accordingly.
Hindustan Zinc share price action: from steady climb to silver-fueled spikes
The silver rally didn’t arrive all at once—it built through December and accelerated into the final stretch of 2025.
December 22: The first big jump as silver makes fresh highs
On December 22, Hindustan Zinc shares jumped more than 3% and hit a fresh 52-week high around ₹606.70, with the stock up over 33% in one month. That move aligned with another surge in silver futures: March-expiry contracts were reported near ₹2,14,275 per kg, while longer-dated contracts also printed new highs. [6]
December 23: Silver breaks $70; HZL stays on the radar
By December 23, silver had made the headline move—crossing $70—while Hindustan Zinc remained a market focus as the “equity angle” to a commodity breakout. Stock data from that session shows HZL trading around the ₹610 zone (with reporting showing levels near ₹609.85 during the day, and a close near ₹607.95). [7]
December 24: The follow-through as silver breaches $72 and metal stocks react
Momentum did not cool off. In the next session, coverage highlighted silver pushing above $72 per ounce, with MCX silver touching new highs again (around ₹2,20,490 per kg in one report). Hindustan Zinc shares, in turn, were reported to surge to an intraday high of ₹632 in early trade. [8]
A separate market update noted HZL gaining about 1.66% to roughly ₹619.95, marking a record high near ₹620.4, and showing a ~36.6% gain over one month—dramatically outpacing broader benchmarks over the same period. [9]
Put together, the timeline tells a clear story: silver’s breakout acted as the catalyst, and Hindustan Zinc increasingly traded as the liquid, listed expression of that breakout.
What’s powering silver’s 2025 surge: industrial demand meets a tighter market
Silver’s rally in 2025 has been notable not only for its size (well into triple digits year-to-date in many reports), but also for its underlying narrative: silver has both investment demand (like gold) and industrial demand (unlike gold at the same scale).
Several drivers repeatedly surfaced across December 23 coverage:
- Industrial pull: strong consumption linked to sectors like solar energy, EVs, and electronics, which use silver for conductivity and components. [10]
- Investment flows: persistent investor interest, including ETF-related demand mentioned in market commentary. [11]
- Inventory and supply pressure: “tightening inventories” and a market sensitive to shortages were cited as accelerants. [12]
- Macro tailwinds: expectations of further U.S. rate cuts were repeatedly flagged as supportive for precious metals. [13]
- Geopolitical risk: December 23 reporting also tied the rush into precious metals to heightened geopolitical uncertainty. [14]
This mix is crucial for equity investors, because it suggests silver may be less dependent on “fear trades” alone—and more tied to long-cycle technology and manufacturing demand.
The Vedanta factor: “Silver’s story is just beginning,” says Anil Agarwal
Silver’s breakout also triggered high-profile commentary from within the Vedanta ecosystem.
On December 23, reports noted Vedanta chairman Anil Agarwal calling 2025 an extraordinary year for silver and arguing the metal’s strength is supported by both intrinsic value and functional demand—citing technology use cases like solar and defense and positioning Hindustan Zinc as a direct beneficiary. [15]
Whether or not investors agree with that framing, the market impact is real: silver’s surge has become part of the corporate storyline—not just a commodity chart.
How much of the silver rally can actually flow into Hindustan Zinc earnings?
Here’s the nuance that matters for serious investors: high silver prices do not always translate one-for-one into near-term profits, especially when companies hedge.
In a December 22 report, brokerage commentary cited by the publication pointed to Hindustan Zinc hedging a portion of future silver volumes—one estimate referenced hedging about 37% of 2HFY26 silver volumes at levels far below current spot pricing, suggesting that the “full price benefit” may be felt later, with a bigger impact projected into FY27. [16]
Still, the broader bullish case is that even partial participation in a structurally higher silver regime can lift realizations, sentiment, and valuation—particularly for a company repeatedly described as India’s largest silver producer with refined silver output at high purity. [17]
Meanwhile, another report highlighted expectations from Jefferies that Hindustan Zinc’s earnings growth could remain strong, projecting EPS growth of 22% in FY26 and 29% in FY27, followed by further gains—driven in part by higher silver realizations and cost dynamics. [18]
Risks investors are watching: why silver (and HZL) can still swing hard
Even in a powerful uptrend, silver is historically volatile—and the same volatility can transmit into silver-linked equities.
Some of the key risks flagged in coverage include:
- Price risk: a pullback in silver (or zinc) prices can quickly change the earnings narrative. [19]
- Operational risk: issues like mine grades and long-term mine renewals were cited as considerations. [20]
- Market structure risk: thin holiday liquidity can amplify moves (up or down), and crowded positioning can lead to sharp corrections. [21]
- Policy/supply headlines: commentary around future supply constraints—such as potential export restrictions and low inventories in key markets—can move prices quickly, but such narratives can also reverse if policy expectations change. [22]
For readers tracking Hindustan Zinc, the key point is this: when the market buys HZL as a silver proxy, it can outperform quickly—but it can also reprice quickly if silver’s momentum pauses.
Bottom line: December 23 marked a new era for silver — and a new spotlight for Hindustan Zinc
December 23, 2025, will stand out as the day silver decisively broke $70, triggering a fresh wave of attention across global markets and India’s MCX. [23]
That breakout has also reinforced a stock market theme: Hindustan Zinc is increasingly treated as India’s frontline equity exposure to silver—supported by the company’s scale in the metal and the growing share of profits tied to silver realizations. [24]
As 2025 closes, the central question for 2026 isn’t simply “Can silver go higher?” It’s whether the forces behind this rally—industrial demand, supply tightness, and rate expectations—remain strong enough to keep silver elevated and keep silver-linked equities like Hindustan Zinc in the market’s fast lane. [25]
References
1. www.reuters.com, 2. m.economictimes.com, 3. www.reuters.com, 4. economictimes.indiatimes.com, 5. m.economictimes.com, 6. www.moneycontrol.com, 7. www.livemint.com, 8. m.economictimes.com, 9. www.business-standard.com, 10. m.economictimes.com, 11. www.moneycontrol.com, 12. www.reuters.com, 13. www.reuters.com, 14. www.livemint.com, 15. economictimes.indiatimes.com, 16. www.moneycontrol.com, 17. www.moneycontrol.com, 18. m.economictimes.com, 19. www.moneycontrol.com, 20. www.moneycontrol.com, 21. www.reuters.com, 22. www.moneycontrol.com, 23. www.reuters.com, 24. m.economictimes.com, 25. www.reuters.com
