This week is seeing opinions from both sides of the market.
On Thursday, silver dropped to a one-month low, experiencing significant volatility after recent surges.
By midday in New York, spot prices had plummeted over 15%, settling around $75 an ounce and wiping out all gains made during the previous sessions.
The selloff started during Asian trading hours and carried into dealings in New York, echoing the historic drop from last Friday.
Over the past year, silver had increased more than 130% due to rising demand from industrial sectors and investors seeking refuge in safe-haven assets.
Notably, China saw a huge uptick in speculative purchases, propelling prices upward dramatically in the latter half of 2025. Investors in various regions also built substantial positions in precious metals throughout January.
However, that rally sharply halted last weekend, resulting in silver’s steepest daily decline on record. This drop persisted into early this week, contributing to ongoing volatility. Presently, silver trades 35% lower than last month’s peak of $121.64 an ounce.
Ross Norman, CEO of Metals Daily, pointed out that speculation—particularly in China—”is wreaking havoc on the bullion pricing process.” He noted that the volatility in precious metals has become self-perpetuating and disconnected from actual market fundamentals.
In parallel, gold has declined about 3%, now sitting at $4,800 an ounce, and is down 10% since Friday’s crash.
Volatility Remains
Silver is inherently more volatile than gold, largely because of its smaller market size. Analysts expect the current high volatility in silver to persist, driven by a surge in speculative capital.
“Silver has entered a very flow-driven phase, with price movements dominated by speculative and CTA positioning rather than physical fundamentals,” observed Daria Efanova and Victoria Kuzak from Sucden Financial.
Sucden’s analysts also highlighted that despite ongoing structural tightness, silver’s high beta and strong macro links make it susceptible to sharp corrections during price upticks.
“Volatility is likely to remain notable, with upward movement hinged on new capital inflows, while downward shifts are expected to be limited yet inconsistent due to evolving positioning influencing exaggerated market changes,” they concluded.
Mark Cranfield, a strategist at Bloomberg, mentioned that traders are eyeing this week’s low just above $71, though the $70 level is “arguably more significant.”
“Precious metals haven’t been in the $60 range since December, and returning there could drive deeper risk aversion across assets,” he noted.
