New York, March 24, 2026, 07:40 EDT
Spot silver gave up ground on Tuesday, sliding toward $66.80 an ounce after briefly bouncing the previous day. Fresh wagers that elevated energy prices will sustain higher borrowing costs weighed on the metal. Early in the session, prices hovered around $66.50. By 0820 GMT, spot silver had dropped 3.4% to $66.80.
This shift is notable: silver’s not acting like a pure safe haven anymore. Prices hit $69.39 an ounce Monday morning, marking a rise from the previous day but still sitting almost 18% lower than a month ago. Unlike gold, silver’s volatility is amplified by its heavy industrial demand alongside its role as a store of value.
Tuesday saw any reprieve from Donald Trump’s five-day pause on strikes against Iranian energy targets evaporate. Oil prices were pushing up toward $100 a barrel, the dollar clawed back losses, and Treasury yields moved higher. Futures continued to suggest the Federal Reserve will hold rates steady this year, though a hike isn’t completely off the table.
“Markets are in a flux right now,” said Kelvin Wong, senior market analyst at OANDA, referencing mixed signals from Iran-U.S. interactions alongside new missile strikes in Israel. Silver, meanwhile, is feeling the weight of inflation worries and expectations for higher rates, which are overruling its typical safe-haven appeal. Reuters
Monday’s snapback in markets looked fierce, but didn’t hold for long. Spot silver climbed 2.5% to $69.47 after Trump announced a five-day delay on strikes. “Expectations of rising interest rates” had triggered the earlier metals selloff, according to David Meger, director of metals trading at High Ridge Futures, but that quickly flipped after the news, sending metals, energy, and stocks higher. Reuters
Charts aren’t offering much encouragement. The 100-day simple moving average was breached last week, marking the first daily close beneath that threshold since April 2025. Resistance stands up in the $73–$74 range, while support shows up near $63, then $60.
It wasn’t just silver taking a hit. Gold slipped 0.2% to $4,396.74 an ounce on Tuesday. Platinum dropped 2.1%, palladium even further, down 2.7%. Pressure rippled through the entire precious-metals space.
Pressure had been mounting ahead of this week’s rout. Back on March 19, silver plunged 14% and gold dropped 7% as markets sold off hard. That morning, silver traded at $66.93, marking a 13.93% slide versus the prior session.
But headlines are steering the trade as much as technicals right now. Standard Chartered expects liquidity pressures will likely weigh on precious metals for another four to six weeks, even if the Strait of Hormuz reopens or diplomatic efforts pick up, which could otherwise calm oil and rate jitters and help silver stabilize. Societe Generale’s Kit Juckes doesn’t see much chance of lower rates unless that waterway reopens soon—he said higher rates are “more likely than not.” Reuters
