NEW YORK, March 13, 2026, 14:16 EDT
Silver slid over 3% on Friday, dropping toward $81 an ounce. The precious metal is now staring at another weekly decline, squeezed by a stronger U.S. dollar and fresh inflation concerns.
Silver’s surge—up over 146% last year—has made it a standout among major commodities. But on Friday, the metal pulled back, a clear reminder of how fast expectations for Fed rate cuts can evaporate when war-fueled oil prices and a resilient dollar threaten to keep monetary policy on a short leash.
Silver for immediate delivery slipped 3.3% to $81.00 an ounce as of 1:44 p.m. ET. Losses weren’t limited to silver—gold dipped 0.5% to $5,052.15, platinum slid 4% to $2,047.20, and palladium lost 2.5% at $1,569.00.
The dollar looked set for a weekly gain, which pushes up costs for metals priced in greenbacks for those buying with other currencies. Commerzbank pointed to tighter monetary policy bets as the key drag on gold. “Bullion is grinding towards lows,” said independent metals trader Tai Wong, as the dollar hovers near four-month highs since the Iran conflict began. Reuters
Selling pressure had been mounting. Silver slipped 1% Thursday to $84.90, with Phillip Streible, chief market strategist at Blue Line Futures, pointing out that a firmer dollar index, higher Treasury yields—the payout on U.S. government bonds—and the absence of rate cuts all weighed on the metal. Despite ongoing tensions in the Middle East, which continued to stir some safe-haven buying, those negatives held sway.
BMI analysts are sticking with their call for silver to average $93 per ounce in 2026, counting on investment demand to pick up the slack as elevated prices sap some interest from solar-panel manufacturers and jewelry buyers. Silver keeps one foot in both worlds: a safe-haven metal, but also a key industrial commodity. It tends to react sharply as sentiment toward rates, oil, or the dollar shifts.
Silver stocks took a hit too. In Toronto, the materials sector slipped 3.1% as silver miners headed lower—Vizsla Silver and Fortuna Mining both tumbled, tracking a slide of over 3.5% in silver prices.
The outlook is still up in the air. After Friday’s U.S. inflation report landed cooler than many expected, traders shifted gears and now see a first Fed rate cut likely in September, not October. That could give silver some support if the dollar slips. Still, Peter Cardillo at Spartan Capital Securities flagged that inflation remains “elevated, sticky,” and with energy prices high, the Fed isn’t likely to rush. Reuters
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