London, Feb 2, 2026, 15:11 GMT — Regular session
The silver price slid again on Monday, with spot silver down 3.3% at $81.75 an ounce by 1148 GMT after earlier falling as much as 15%, leaving it about 32% below last week’s record. Spot gold was down 3% at $4,718.35, and CME Group said it would raise margin requirements — the cash traders must post to hold futures contracts — after the market closes on Monday. John Meyer of SP Angel said gold and silver were on a “rollercoaster ride”, while Michael Hsueh at Deutsche Bank said “the conditions do not appear primed for a sustained reversal”. Reuters
The silver slump is now bleeding into other markets as leveraged investors raise cash, dealers said. That kind of forced selling can exaggerate moves even when the flow of physical metal has not shifted much. Reuters
Silver is still headed for its biggest two-day loss since at least the 1980s after a sprint to a record $121.64 on Jan. 29, and it is down about 30% since Thursday’s close. Ole Hansen, head of commodity strategy at Saxo Bank, said a “massive retail frenzy” in options tied to silver helped set up the scramble when the trade flipped. Markets also have European Central Bank and Bank of England decisions on Thursday, and traders still bet on two rate cuts from the Federal Reserve this year; Reserve Bank of Australia also meets this week. Reuters
In a clearing notice, CME said initial margin on E-mini silver futures would rise to 15% from 11% for non-heightened risk accounts, and to 16.5% from 12.1% for heightened-risk profiles. Margin rates are set by the exchange and determine how much cash a trader must post to carry a position.
The rout accelerated on Friday after Donald Trump picked Kevin Warsh as his choice to lead the Fed, a jolt to trades built around fears of a weaker dollar. “It was fuel on the fire,” said Brian Jacobsen, chief economic strategist at Annex Wealth Management. Reuters
The slump hit iShares Silver Trust, an exchange-traded fund, or ETF, that holds bullion and trades like a stock. Shares were down about 6% at $70.72, after Friday’s close at $75.44, according to Investing.com. Investing.com
JPMorgan Chase said it sees a higher floor for silver around $75-$80 an ounce for now, but warned the market lacks central banks as structural dip buyers, unlike gold. It also flagged the risk of a higher gold-to-silver ratio — the price of gold divided by silver — in the weeks ahead. Reuters
But the tape is still thin and the liquidation may not be done. If the margin reset triggers another round of selling, silver could revisit last week’s lows.
The next key marker is the Employment Situation report for January 2026, due Friday at 8:30 a.m. ET from the Bureau of Labor Statistics. bls.gov
