New York, Feb 6, 2026, 10:09 (EST) — Regular session underway.
- Spot silver jumped roughly 7% to near $75.6 an ounce, rebounding from a drop below $64 overnight.
- After Friday’s close, CME raised margin requirements for COMEX silver futures from 15% to 18%.
- After a short government shutdown, traders have their eyes on Feb. 11 for the postponed U.S. jobs report.
Spot silver surged early Friday in U.S. trading, jumping 6.7% to $75.56 an ounce after dipping as low as $63.98 overnight, data from Kitco showed. The iShares Silver Trust (SLV) climbed roughly 3%, reaching $68.76. 1
Silver staged a rebound following a tough run that pushed it toward a second consecutive weekly decline despite gains on Friday. Gold found some footing too, as investors sought refuge amid a stock market selloff and ongoing U.S.-Iran tensions. “I do see a bit of a safe-haven investment coming in,” said Kelvin Wong, senior market analyst at OANDA, noting traders are still wary after last Friday’s sharp drop. 2
Volatility is shaking up the market’s underpinnings. CME Group raised initial and maintenance margin requirements on its COMEX 5,000-ounce silver futures from 15% to 18% for standard accounts. This change kicks in after Friday’s close. Margins, the cash traders must put up to hold futures, are now higher, nudging leveraged players to reduce risk quickly. 3
Silver’s wild ride has been clear since it soared to a record $121.64 last week before plunging back down. Traders blame forced selling and stop-loss triggers. “We saw extreme volatility… and what we are witnessing today are some aftershocks,” said IG market analyst Tony Sycamore. 4
Thursday’s drop highlighted just how fast the market can shift. “Some investors are dealing with margin calls and might be offloading metal positions,” said Bob Haberkorn, senior market strategist at RJO Futures, as both precious metals and equities fell. Fawad Razaqzada of City Index and FOREX.com cautioned that volatility remains elevated. 5
Shockwaves are rippling through retail products as well. In China, the UBS SDIC Silver Futures fund hit its 10% daily limit down for the fifth day in a row, now more than 40% below its Jan. 26 high, after an earlier trading halt. UBS SDIC Fund Management cautioned investors about “severe losses” if they buy units at a steep premium to net asset value — the value of the fund’s underlying assets per unit. Consultant Duan Shihua described the situation as a “perfect storm” of flawed product design and investor behavior. 6
As of Feb. 5, the iShares Silver Trust in the U.S. posted a net asset value of $71.32, marking a steep one-day NAV decline of $10.77, or 13.12%, per BlackRock’s iShares site. The fund, which owns physical silver, aims to mirror the LBMA Silver Price. 7
The selloff spilled beyond metals. Reuters noted that silver and gold took a hit Thursday amid a wider liquidation sparked by a tech-driven equity slide, forcing investors to free up cash and unwind crowded positions. Spot silver tumbled to $72.21 before settling around $73.62. 8
Friday’s rebound hasn’t calmed fears that deleveraging still has room to run. The dollar hovered near two-week highs as investors jettisoned riskier bets, spooked partly by concerns over a spike in AI-related spending, said City Index strategist Fiona Cincotta, calling the greenback “the best bet” among safe havens. Saxo’s chief investment strategist Charu Chanana labeled the cross-asset selloff a “positioning flush” that involved “a silver-driven liquidity/margin flush.” 9
Traders are eyeing Feb. 11, when the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics will drop the January employment report at 8:30 a.m. EST. This latest snapshot of jobs and wages hits a market already strained by rising margins and headline risks—and it could steer silver’s direction heading into next week. 10
