NEW YORK, December 29, 2025, 17:03 ET — After-hours
Shares of iShares Silver Trust (SLV), a widely used proxy for silver prices, fell 7.1% to $66.01 in after-hours trading on Monday. The abrdn Physical Silver Shares ETF (SIVR) was down 7.2% at $69.33.
The late-day slide matters because it lands after a blistering year-end surge that pulled more speculative money into silver and the “silver stocks” tied to it. Sharp reversals this close to year-end can spill quickly into mining shares and risk appetite when traders are forced to cut exposure.
Silver can move like a safe-haven hedge and like an industrial commodity, depending on the day. That mix leaves it prone to bigger swings when positioning unwinds, especially after a fast run-up.
Spot silver was last at about $72.11 an ounce, down roughly 9% from its prior close, after trading as high as about $83.99 earlier in the day, according to Investing.com data.
“All the metals moved up to recent and all-time highs. We are seeing profit-taking pullbacks off of those spectacularly high levels,” David Meger, director of metals trading at High Ridge Futures, said. Reuters
CME Group said higher performance-bond requirements — the margin traders must post up front to hold futures contracts — would take effect after the close of business on Monday. Higher margins raise the cash needed to keep leveraged bets on, which can trigger position cuts when prices swing.
With U.S. markets heading into a holiday-thinned stretch, liquidity has been patchy across metals and related equities. That can amplify intraday moves when sell orders stack up.
Silver-linked miners also fell. The Global X Silver Miners ETF (SIL) was down 5.3% at $85.25, while Pan American Silver dropped 5.7% to $52.24, First Majestic Silver slid 4.1% to $16.70 and Hecla Mining fell 4.9% to $19.20.
The selling pressure spread across precious metals proxies. SPDR Gold Shares (GLD) was down 4.4% at $398.60 in after-hours trading.
Macro markets offered a mixed backdrop on Monday, with Treasury yields easing as investors recalibrated expectations for Federal Reserve rate cuts in the year ahead. A softer rate outlook can support non-yielding metals over time, but margin-driven selling can overwhelm that in the short run.
Traders now have a near-term macro catalyst on the calendar: the Federal Reserve’s minutes from its December 9–10 meeting are scheduled for release at 2:00 p.m. ET on Dec. 30, according to the central bank’s calendar.
For silver, the next test is whether prices can stabilize around the $70 level after the failed push above $80, or whether the tighter margin regime sparks another round of forced liquidation into the final sessions of 2025.
