Regarding the soaring silver prices, top refiners say there are two reasons behind it: demand and speculation.

A top refining and trading firm said that unprecedented physical demand along with speculative interest in a relatively illiquid market has fueled the surge in silver prices to record highs. "The demand for silver is huge, at a level we have never seen before," said James Emmett, CEO of MKS PAMP SA, in an interview. "This is not a market historically known for such strong speculation, and there will inevitably be more ups and downs driven by short-term participants in the future."