NEW YORK, Dec. 28, 2025, 1:33 a.m. ET — Market closed
Sprott Physical Silver Trust (NYSE Arca: PSLV) is having a very “good problem” to have: it’s doing exactly what it’s designed to do—track physical silver—during a historic move in the metal. With U.S. markets closed for the weekend, investors are now staring at a simple but high-stakes setup into Monday’s session: silver just rewrote the price map, liquidity is thin, and PSLV is trading at a discount to its underlying bullion value.
Here’s what matters now, what drove the latest surge, and what to watch before the next U.S. trading day.
PSLV stock recap: Friday’s jump and the key valuation metric
PSLV last closed at $26.04 (NYSE Arca), up about 8.68% on the day, after trading between roughly $24.65 and $26.07 as volume swelled into the tens of millions of shares. [1]
But the headline detail for PSLV holders isn’t only the price move—it’s the gap between market price and net asset value (NAV).
As of Dec. 26, 2025, Sprott reports:
- NAV:$27.20
- Market price:$26.04
- Premium/discount:-4.26% (a discount)
- Silver held:208,805,141 ounces
- Total net asset value: about $16.61 billion
- Management expense ratio:0.57% [2]
That discount matters because PSLV is structured as a closed-end trust holding fully allocated, unencumbered London Good Delivery silver bars, with bullion custody at The Royal Canadian Mint. [3]
In plain English: the trust’s shares can trade below (or above) the value of the silver it owns, and right now it’s below.
The real driver: silver’s latest record run (and why it’s getting wild)
In the last 24–48 hours, the story has been less “PSLV company news” and more “silver is in the physics-lab portion of the chart.”
On Friday, spot silver breached $77 for the first time, hitting around $77.40/oz intraday, according to Reuters, as precious metals extended a record run. Reuters tied the move to expectations for future Fed easing, a weaker dollar backdrop, geopolitical risk, and tight conditions in thin markets. [4]
Peter Grant, vice president and senior metals strategist at Zaner Metals, warned that year-end conditions can amplify swings, noting there’s “some risk of profit-taking” but that “the trend remains strong.” He also flagged $80 silver as “within reach” by year-end (his view, not a guarantee). [5]
Other outlets have underscored how unusual the relative-value picture has become. The Wall Street Journal highlighted that silver has climbed so far in 2025 that an ounce of silver has been worth more than a barrel of U.S. crude—a rare crossover that reflects both metals strength and oil weakness. [6]
Barron’s, covering the breakout above $75, pointed to a mix of currency-debasement fears and industrial demand, and cited Victoria Greene of G Squared Private Wealth among voices discussing how investors have been treating precious metals as a hedge in 2025’s macro environment. [7]
The fundamentals bulls keep chanting: structural deficits and investment flows
When silver moves like this, it’s never just one thing—it’s fundamentals meeting positioning in a narrow doorway.
One widely cited pillar is the market’s multi-year supply/demand imbalance. The Silver Institute has described 2025 as the fifth consecutive year of deficit, estimating the 2025 shortfall at about 95 million ounces and putting the 2021–2025 cumulative deficit near 820 million ounces. [8]
At a Silver Institute industry event in New York, Philip Newman (Metals Focus) and Sarah Tomlinson (Metals Focus) presented 2025 supply/demand estimates and noted that exchange-traded product holdings were up materially through early November amid investor concerns ranging from macro risk to market structure stresses. [9]
Meanwhile, an Investing.com analysis published Saturday argued that the rally has been powered by the intersection of rate expectations, tight physical conditions, and industrial demand, referencing long-running deficit narratives and warning that pullbacks wouldn’t be surprising after such a steep run. [10]
What PSLV is (and isn’t): why investors choose it instead of “paper silver”
A lot of the weekend search traffic around PSLV boils down to one question: Why PSLV and not another silver vehicle?
Sprott positions PSLV as a way to gain exposure to physical bullion through an exchange-traded product, with bars held at the Royal Canadian Mint and detailed trust reporting. The trust is also redeemable for physical metal on a monthly basis, subject to minimum redemption amounts and procedures. [11]
That structure is one reason PSLV often gets discussed in the same breath as “physical” ownership—although investors should still remember it trades like a security, and its market price can deviate from NAV.
Market is closed now—so what should PSLV investors watch before Monday?
Because it’s early Sunday in New York and U.S. equity markets are shut, PSLV won’t print a new price until Monday. But silver itself doesn’t fully go to sleep.
Key things to monitor before the next session:
1) Sunday evening silver futures open
CME notes that silver futures trade on CME Globex from Sunday through Friday, 6:00 p.m. to 5:00 p.m. ET, with a daily break. That reopening can set the tone for Monday’s early trading sentiment in silver-linked products like PSLV. [12]
2) The PSLV discount/premium to NAV
PSLV was last reported at about a -4.26% discount to NAV. Discounts can persist or narrow quickly, especially when volatility spikes and liquidity thins out. If silver continues ripping higher, some investors will watch whether PSLV’s discount tightens (or whether it stays “cheap” versus NAV). [13]
3) Liquidity and “profit-taking” risk
Reuters explicitly flagged thin-market volatility risk, and that’s not academic. When price discovery gets jumpy, silver-linked funds can gap at the open, spreads can widen, and intraday swings can get dramatic. [14]
4) When PSLV can trade
On NYSE Arca, the early trading session runs 4:00 a.m. to 9:30 a.m. ET, the core session runs 9:30 a.m. to 4:00 p.m. ET, and late trading runs 4:00 p.m. to 8:00 p.m. ET. That matters for investors planning entries/exits around volatility or headlines. [15]
5) Share issuance mechanics: the updated “at-the-market” program
While not a last-48-hours headline, it’s relevant context as investors think about premiums/discounts: Sprott announced earlier in December that PSLV updated its at-the-market (ATM) equity program to allow additional issuance capacity (an additional US$1 billion in units) via multiple agents, sold at prevailing market prices. [16]
ATM programs can matter most when a product trades at a premium, because issuance can potentially expand the float and pull premiums back toward NAV. (When a trust is at a discount, issuance tends to be less attractive—but markets change fast.)
Bottom line: PSLV is doing its job—now the job is risk management
PSLV is fundamentally a silver price vehicle with structure: fully allocated bullion, custody at the Royal Canadian Mint, and a market price that can trade at a discount or premium to NAV. [17]
With silver printing fresh records and strategists like Zaner Metals’ Peter Grant calling out both upside momentum and near-term profit-taking risk in thin markets, the next session’s playbook is less about finding a new narrative and more about respecting the one already here: big trend, big volatility, and valuation quirks (premium/discount) that can either help you—or bite you—depending on timing. [18]
References
1. ycharts.com, 2. sprott.com, 3. sprott.com, 4. www.reuters.com, 5. www.reuters.com, 6. www.wsj.com, 7. www.barrons.com, 8. silverinstitute.org, 9. silverinstitute.org, 10. www.investing.com, 11. sprott.com, 12. www.cmegroup.com, 13. sprott.com, 14. www.reuters.com, 15. www.nyse.com, 16. www.nasdaq.com, 17. sprott.com, 18. www.reuters.com
