Silver prices, Dec. 16 -- This year's rally in silver prices has caught investors by surprise. The white metal has surged a whopping 125% and is poised to post the best annual returns in 46 years. Last week, the silver rate on MCX crossed the Rs.2 lakh per kilogram mark for the first time - a new milestone.

The silver price rally has also eclipsed the returns offered by gold, which is up around 65% on a year-to-date (YTD) basis.

"While gold remains the primary hedge for Indian investors, silver is increasingly behaving like a leveraged play on both global growth and the energy transition. Its dual role as a monetary and industrial metal makes it particularly sensitive to shifts in interest rates, the dollar, and manufacturing demand," s...