NEW YORK, Jan 13, 2026, 06:18 EST — Premarket
- Silver hovered close to its record peak ahead of the U.S. inflation report.
- Silver-linked stocks edged up in premarket action, along with gains in the SLV ETF.
- The dollar and expectations for rate cuts continue to drive the swings.
Spot silver inched up Tuesday, staying just below a new record high as investors awaited U.S. inflation figures due later. The metal gained 0.7% to $85.57 an ounce, after hitting an all-time peak of $86.22 on Monday. 1
This shift is significant since silver, much like gold, quickly responds to shifts in U.S. interest-rate forecasts. Rising yields can dampen appetite for bullion, which offers no interest, whereas a softer dollar usually lowers costs for buyers dealing in other currencies.
Political risk remained a factor. Investors are still processing the Trump administration’s threat to indict Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell, stirring fresh doubts about the Fed’s independence and weighing on the dollar. “This just ended the dollar’s New Year bounce,” noted Marc Chandler, chief market strategist at Bannockburn Global Forex in New York. 2
Gold stayed close to its recent high, while platinum slipped slightly, leaving the wider precious metals space on watch for momentum traders.
Fed messaging shifted course Monday. New York Fed President John Williams said the central bank isn’t under immediate pressure to change policy. That eased the initial flight to safety and allowed the dollar to regain footing across parts of Asia and Europe.
Early U.S. trading showed COMEX March silver futures near $85.70 an ounce. 3
Silver-linked shares surged in premarket action, mirroring the metal’s rally. iShares Silver Trust jumped roughly 6.7%, Pan American Silver added around 2.7%, First Majestic climbed about 7.0%, and Hecla Mining soared nearly 8.9%.
Miners tend to magnify the shifts in the metal’s price, since swings in operating profits are often steep when prices rise. That same leverage works against them, sending stocks down fast if silver loses momentum.
The immediate risk is clear: a hotter-than-expected inflation reading could quickly push Treasury yields and the dollar higher, triggering a swift pullback following silver’s recent rally to new highs. Profit-taking is already cropping up in parts of the precious metals sector, especially after Monday’s jump.
Economists surveyed by Reuters anticipate the U.S. Consumer Price Index, a key inflation measure, to climb 0.3% in December and to be 2.7% above last year’s level. Core CPI is also expected to increase 0.3% monthly and 2.7% annually. “We expect the CPI report to show a meaningful payback” following disruptions from government shutdown-related data issues, said Oscar Munoz, chief U.S. macro strategist at TD Securities. 4
