Silver has stormed past its previous records, touching an unprecedented $53 an ounce, as a dramatic short squeeze in London sent shockwaves through global commodity markets. What’s adding fuel to the frenzy is a liquidity crunch in London, where traders are scrambling to source physical metal.

Spot silver spiked as much as 1% to $52.8983 an ounce. Silver price in Mumbai touched Rs 1,85,100 per kg. Silver lease rates — which represent the annualized cost of borrowing metal in the London market — surged to more than 30% on a one-month basis on Friday, creating eye-watering costs for those looking to roll over short positions.

Behind silver’s rally were concerns over a depleting silver inventory in London, which drove prices to a premium over those seen in New York and prompted traders to ship metals across the Atlantic for a profit. As of Monday, the premium was at about $1.60 an ounce.

The silver market “is less liquid and roughly nine times smaller than gold’s, amplifying price moves. Without a central bank bid to anchor silver prices, even a temporary pullback in investment flows could trigger a disproportionate correction, as it would also unwind the London tightness that drove much of the recent rally.