NEW YORK, Jan 8, 2026, 13:51 (EST) — Regular session
- iShares Silver Trust (SLV) slid about 3.5% in midday trade, tracking a broad pullback in silver-linked assets
- Traders pointed to commodity index rebalancing flows and a firmer dollar ahead of Friday’s U.S. payrolls report
- Silver miners were down modestly, lagging the move in the metal-tracking ETFs
Shares of iShares Silver Trust fell 3.5% to $68.50, extending a slide in silver-linked assets as the metal came under fresh selling pressure. Peer ETF abrdn Physical Silver Shares (SIVR) dropped 3.4%, while silver miners First Majestic Silver, Pan American Silver and Wheaton Precious Metals were down between 0.4% and 1.0%.
The timing matters. A mechanical shift in commodity benchmarks is landing at the same moment traders are trying to price Friday’s U.S. jobs report, and silver has a habit of moving hard when liquidity thins.
Spot silver was down 2.5% at $76.19 an ounce by late morning, while RJO Futures senior market strategist Bob Haberkorn said the Bloomberg Commodity Index rebalance would “pressure” gold and silver for the next few sessions. An index rebalance is a reset of benchmark weights, which can force funds that track the index to buy or sell futures to match the new mix. Reuters
Others focused on the scale. “Over the next five days, COMEX futures could see selling in the region of $6 to $7 billion in each metal,” Ole Hansen, head of commodity strategy at Saxo Bank, said in a Reuters report. Kitco
The dollar has not helped. Sterling slipped for a third straight day as the greenback edged up after mixed U.S. data, keeping markets cautious heading into the payrolls release — a setup that often weighs on metals priced in dollars.
Wednesday showed how quickly the mood can flip. Spot silver fell 4.1% to $77.93 an ounce in the prior session as investors booked profits, and David Meger, director of metals trading at High Ridge Futures, described the pullback as “general profit taking after that recent surge.” HSBC, in the same report, lifted its 2026 average silver price forecast to $68.25 but warned volatility could stay high as supply eases. Reuters
Goldman Sachs, in a note flagged by Business Insider, warned that thin inventories in London — where benchmark pricing is set — can create “squeeze” conditions that push prices up fast, then reverse just as sharply when tightness eases. The bank pointed to metal shifting into U.S. vaults amid tariff worries and new Chinese export controls that could further fragment the market, while noting silver ETF holdings remain below their 2021 peak. Business Insider
But the path is not one-way. The Chicago Fed estimated the U.S. jobless rate held at 4.6% in December, and markets were pricing only a small chance of a cut at the Fed’s Jan. 27-28 meeting — odds that rise sharply into spring; a softer payrolls print could pull the dollar down and give silver a bid. Separately, Fed Governor Stephen Miran said he was looking for about 150 basis points (1.5 percentage points) of cuts this year, a reminder that rate expectations can still shift quickly.
Traders now watch Friday’s U.S. nonfarm payrolls report and the rest of the commodity-index rebalance window into mid-next week for signs the selling has run its course.
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