Banks are halting the sales of silver bars amid surging demand, driven by increasing global uncertainties brought by U.S. President Donald Trump's tariff threats, industry officials said Friday.

Lenders also earlier suspended the sales of gold bars, which have emerged as the most popular safe-haven asset in recent months.

An official displays silver bars at the Korea Gold Exchange in central Seoul, Sept. 19. Newsis

Due to the surge in gold and silver prices and the resulting spike in demand, which has outpaced supply, the Korea Minting and Security Printing Corp. halted its supply of gold bars to banks on Wednesday.

The Korea Gold Exchange, for its part, had already suspended bank sales of 10-gram and 100-gram gold bars since October while continuing to sell 1-kilogram bars.

However, with silver bar prices also soaring, the exchange notified banks of the suspension of silver bar supply on Thursday. It also noted that the remaining stock of 1-kilogram gold bars would no longer be available.

The major banks affected by the suspension of silver bar supply are KB Kookmin Bank, Shinhan Bank, Woori Bank and NH NongHyup Bank. Hana Bank does not sell silver bars.

“As gold prices recently hit record highs, a shortage of gold bars emerged. Consequently, investors turned to silver bars as an alternative, leading to a surge in demand for silver bars,” an official at one of the major banks said.

Some lenders continued selling gold and silver bars by depleting their existing inventory or sourcing from alternative suppliers. However, sales are expected to end soon once their remaining stock is exhausted.

Gold is considered a safe-haven asset and tends to increase in value during periods of political and economic instability.

Following Trump's election as U.S. president, demand for safe-haven assets has surged, driving prices higher. International gold futures prices have repeatedly hit record highs this year.