New York, Feb 24, 2026, 12:48 (ET) — Regular session
- Spot silver (XAG/USD) slips back following yesterday’s steep surge
- The dollar edged higher, with traders weighing fresh U.S. tariff moves and developments in Iran negotiations.
- SLV, the ETF tied to silver, edged lower as the metal retreated.
Spot silver edged lower Tuesday, trimming part of Monday’s sharp 4.3% climb as the dollar steadied and traders tracked U.S. tariff headlines and geopolitical news. Silver (XAG/USD) was off around 0.2% at $87.98 an ounce as of 12:45 p.m. ET, after swinging between $84.98 and $88.92 during the session.
Silver’s back to behaving like a risk barometer, moving in step with trade headlines and rate speculation instead of just tracking its own fundamentals. Spot prices surged 3.2% to $87.23 on Monday, mirroring gold’s rally as investors piled into safe havens. That rush followed President Donald Trump’s pledge to hike tariffs after the U.S. Supreme Court tossed out his prior duties. “Once activity picks up, our expectation is that prices could rise sharply this week,” said Jeffrey Christian, managing partner at CPM Group, noting the typically subdued trading during China’s Lunar New Year. https://www.reuters.com/business/gold-rises-dollar-falls-us-supreme-court-tariff-verdict-2026-02-23/ Reuters
Tuesday’s pullback had the hallmarks of profit-taking, not a wholesale exit. The dollar edged up 0.1%, according to Reuters, while gold slid 1.6% to $5,148.28 an ounce. Jim Wyckoff at Kitco Metals described the move as “just a corrective pullback.” He pointed to the dollar’s strength as “having a negative influence.” With gold prices hovering close to record highs, Wyckoff said another jump would probably need “a fresh geopolitical catalyst.” Traders are eyeing U.S.-Iran nuclear talks in Geneva set for Thursday and tracking the latest U.S. tariff measures. https://www.reuters.com/world/india/gold-falls-three-week-high-dollar-firms-2026-02-24/ Reuters
Silver’s slide weighed on stocks tied to the metal. iShares Silver Trust (SLV), which follows silver bullion prices, slipped roughly 1.2% to $79.57, per Investing.com.
Macro numbers peppered the session too. U.S. consumer confidence jumped more than analysts had forecast for February, with the Conference Board’s index coming in at 91.2 as households turned more upbeat on the jobs outlook; January was bumped up to 89.0, according to Reuters. “Confidence ticked up as consumers’ pessimistic expectations for the future eased somewhat,” said Dana Peterson, chief economist at the Conference Board. https://www.reuters.com/world/us/us-consumer-confidence-improves-february-2026-02-24/ Reuters
Metals markets are still grappling with rates volatility. Outgoing Atlanta Fed President Raphael Bostic, speaking to Reuters, cautioned that any renewed uptick in inflation could force rate hikes back onto the agenda, saying, “if inflation starts to move in the opposite direction again … you’d have to have hikes on the table.” Despite those words, traders are betting on nearly 60 basis points of rate cuts this year—a basis point equals 0.01 percentage point. Reuters also flagged that “core” PCE inflation, the Fed’s favorite measure excluding food and energy, ticked up to 3.0% in December. Tim Duy of SGH Macro Advisors, in a client note, pointed out, “incoming data raises concerns that core inflation will prove stickier than the December SEP assumed.” https://www.reuters.com/markets/next-fed-move-hike-bostics-parting-shot-raises-alarm-2026-02-24/ Reuters
Silver swings with the headlines—it draws safe-haven flows when news turns sour, but its big footprint in industry leaves it exposed if growth falters. Rising dollar or bond yields? Both can curb appetite for this non-yielding, dollar-priced metal.
All eyes shift to Friday’s U.S. producer price index (PPI) for January, set for release at 8:30 a.m. ET. After that, personal income and outlays numbers — which fold in the PCE price index — land on March 13.
