LONDON, March 16, 2026, 18:31 GMT
Spot silver barely budged, holding at $80.52 an ounce as of 1731 GMT Monday, traders caught between a less robust dollar and renewed jitters over oil-fueled inflation threatening to prolong elevated U.S. rates. Gold shed 0.5% for the session. Platinum jumped 3.9%, and palladium climbed 3.1%, pushing silver well behind the rest of the precious metals pack. Reuters
The calendar isn’t lost on traders: the Federal Reserve kicks off its March 17-18 gathering Tuesday. Markets are weighing whether surging energy prices—fueled by the war—will keep officials hesitant to move on rate cuts. Oil remains more than 60% higher for the year after the Strait of Hormuz was shut, Reuters noted, even with the dollar slipping from a 10-month high. Reuters
“Higher oil prices bring higher inflation,” said Bob Haberkorn, senior market strategist at RJO Futures, speaking with Reuters. That scenario could keep central banks from lowering rates—a tough setup for bullion, since it doesn’t yield any interest. Reuters
Silver brings something extra compared to gold: it’s not just a haven, but an essential industrial metal, cropping up in everything from jewellery and electronics to electric vehicles and solar panels. The Silver Institute projected last month that the market is on track for its sixth consecutive structural deficit—demand is set to outpace supply again. The group also sees physical investment jumping 20% this year, while industrial fabrication edges down 2%. Reuters
Even with backing, the wild moves haven’t let up. Silver tumbled 3.5% to $85.34 on March 11, then slid another 3.3% to $81.00 by Friday, following a harsh washout earlier in February. “Volatility remains elevated,” said Fawad Razaqzada, market analyst at City Index and FOREX.com at the time. Reuters
Silver remains well under its Jan. 29 peak of $121.60. On Feb. 5, JPMorgan flagged the metal’s lofty prices as a risk for deeper drops during wider market downturns, but the bank pointed to support holding near $75-$80, with a potential bounce to $90 on the horizon next year. Reuters
Rhona O’Connell, who leads market analysis at StoneX, said Monday silver was “finding support just below $80” after pulling back from the triple digits. She suggested the market might require “a breather”—unless Gulf tensions flare up again. StoneX
But demand is feeling the pinch from higher prices. Last month, Reuters noted solar manufacturers moving quickly to develop copper-based tech to keep costs down. LONGi Green Energy, for its part, said it’s aiming to ramp up mass production of base-metal designs sometime between April and June. Reuters
Silver’s stuck in the middle: macro headwinds on one side, lingering strength from both industrial and investor interest on the other. A weaker dollar, plus ongoing geopolitical tensions, help steady the price, but any sign of a hawkish Fed, higher yields, or quicker adoption of alternatives in solar could trigger renewed selling. So for now, traders are watching the $80 level—StoneX and JPMorgan both highlight it as crucial support. Reuters
