NEW YORK, Jan 6, 2026, 17:18 EST — After-hours
- iShares Silver Trust (SLV) rose about 6.7% in after-hours trading, tracking a sharp lift in the metal.
- Spot silver climbed above $80 an ounce and hovered near last week’s record.
- Traders are watching U.S. labor data on Wednesday and Friday for the next cue on Fed rate cuts.
Shares of iShares Silver Trust, a silver-backed trust that trades like a stock, rose 6.7% to $73.71 in after-hours trading on Tuesday, as spot silver — the cash price for immediate delivery — jumped 5.4% to $80.68 an ounce. “Precious metals traders see more risk on the horizon than stock and bond traders do at present,” said Jim Wyckoff, a senior analyst at Kitco Metals, citing the weekend U.S. raid in Venezuela and renewed safe-haven demand. 1
The jolt matters because SLV is a heavily used proxy for silver in equity portfolios, letting investors take direct exposure without trading futures. Big swings in the metal can also ripple into miners’ earnings expectations, since many producers’ revenue tracks realized silver prices.
The rally is landing as markets revisit the U.S. rate path after the Federal Reserve’s December cut and ahead of a dense run of labor indicators. Richmond Fed President Thomas Barkin said further moves must be “finely tuned” given risks to both inflation and unemployment, reinforcing the idea that incoming data will steer the next policy call. 2
SLV held 16,353.60 tonnes of silver in trust as of Jan. 5, with net assets of about $39.47 billion, according to iShares fund data. The trust seeks to reflect the performance of the LBMA Silver Price benchmark and charges a 0.50% sponsor fee, the website shows. 3
Silver miners moved with the tape. First Majestic Silver rose about 9.9% to $18.72 and Pan American Silver added about 4.5% to $55.51 in extended trading.
Morgan Stanley said in a note dated Jan. 5 that 2025 marked the peak silver deficit, adding that China’s export licence requirements — which took effect at the start of this year — add “upside risk” for the metal. The bank also pointed to strong industrial and investor appetite after silver’s 147% surge in 2025. 4
But the speed of the move leaves silver-sensitive stocks exposed to a reversal if U.S. data cool rate-cut bets or lifts the dollar and Treasury yields. A pullback in risk appetite can also trigger profit-taking after a run that has already pushed prices close to record territory.
Next up is the Job Openings and Labor Turnover Survey on Wednesday and the U.S. employment report on Friday at 8:30 a.m. ET, while the Fed’s next policy meeting is scheduled for Jan. 27–28. Traders are also watching whether spot silver can break above last week’s $83.62 record. 5
