Silver got a brief boost when the Reddit Raiders turned their attention to the white metal. The online investors weren't able to pull off a short-squeeze in the silver market, but we've said all along that there are fundamental reasons to be bullish on silver, the attention of Reddit Raiders notwithstanding.

New demand projections for silver in 2021 bear this out. Silver demand is expected to rise 11% this year and reach 1.025 billion ounces, according to the Silver Institute's forecast.

If demand meets this projection, it will mark an 8-year high.

The Silver Institute forecasts both investment and industrial demand will rise in 2021.

Investment demand hit a 5-year high in 2020. The projection is that it will top that in 2021, hitting a six-year high of 257 million ounces as investors continue to add silver to their investment holdings.

The average annual silver price rose from $16.19 in 2019 to $20.52 last year, a 27% increase. With the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic, the market saw an increasing number of countries introduce looser monetary policies. This helped drive down real interest rates. Together with a rotation in favor of safe-haven assets, this encouraged investors to buy into silver and other precious metals.