New York, February 4, 2026, 06:09 EST — Premarket
- Comex silver surged roughly 7% following several days marked by forced selling and volatile swings
- Safe-haven buying surged amid renewed U.S.-Iran tensions, as traders recalibrate their bets on the Fed
- ADP private payrolls data is set for release Wednesday, but the timing of the U.S. jobs report remains unclear
Comex March silver futures climbed $5.77, or roughly 6.9%, to $89.07 an ounce in early New York trading, building on a sharp rebound following last week’s historic plunge.
This shift is significant as silver now acts as the flashpoint in a wider sell-off among precious metals. Margin calls and positioning are fueling intraday swings that are strikingly volatile, even by this market’s standards.
Traders now face a key question: is this bounce driven by new buying, or merely a short-covering rally that will fade as liquidity returns and the U.S. rate outlook clarifies?
Geopolitics re-entered the scene as the U.S. military reported shooting down an Iranian drone near the Abraham Lincoln aircraft carrier in the Arabian Sea. The incident triggered a flight to safety among investors.
Silver jumped 6.1% to $90.34 an ounce in spot trading early Wednesday, following a peak at a record $121.64 last Thursday and a drop to $71.33 on Monday, Reuters calculations showed. ANZ analyst Soni Kumari said the dip after the steep rally was anticipated, with the overall outlook remaining largely unchanged.
Silver often moves in step with gold during periods of fear, yet its dependence on industrial demand can cause sharp swings when concerns about growth or funding pressures emerge.
Tuesday’s bounce was far from gentle. Silver jumped 4.8% to $83.23, following a historic 27% plunge on Friday and another dip Monday, Reuters reported. “I view the recent losses as corrective within the long-term uptrend,” said Peter Grant, vice president and senior metals strategist at Zaner Metals. Reuters
The recent selloff partly reflects shifting expectations about U.S. monetary policy. Reuters’ global markets report pointed to President Donald Trump’s nomination of Kevin Warsh to head the Federal Reserve and increased margin requirements at CME Group — the extra collateral futures traders must post — as triggers that can accelerate selling. “We expect elevated volatility to continue in the near term, but stabilization should return once the market finds its footing,” said Joshua Chim, general manager at online broker FSMone. Reuters
But the rebound remains delicate. A stronger dollar or a fresh surge in bond yields could quickly undercut demand for non-yielding metals like silver. On top of that, another wave of margin adjustments might trigger forced liquidations all over again.
Investors will be digging into the ADP private payrolls report Wednesday morning at 8:15 a.m. ET for hints on the Fed’s next move. Traders are also waiting on word about the release date of the delayed U.S. government employment report.
