LONDON, Feb 6, 2026, 22:02 GMT — The market has shut down for the day.
- Spot silver clawed its way back above $65 after an earlier drop, though it still ended the week in the red.
- CME Group bumped up margin requirements on COMEX silver futures once more, with the change set to kick in after Friday’s close.
- The China-listed silver futures fund slid to its daily limit down again, marking five consecutive sessions in the red.
Spot silver wrapped up a turbulent week by surging 8.6% to $77.33 an ounce on Friday, bouncing back from a sharp drop below $65 seen earlier during Asian hours. Even with the late jump, prices remained more than 8.7% lower for the week. Gold, meanwhile, picked up close to 4% as a weaker dollar and continued uncertainty over U.S.-Iran negotiations pulled investors into safe-haven assets. “What we’re seeing in silver is huge speculation on the long side,” said Jim Wyckoff, senior analyst at Kitco Metals, who suggested the rally in metals may now be slipping into a “commodity bust” phase. Reuters
Leverage is hardwired into the silver market, so these whipsaws hit differently. Price gaps trigger margin calls from brokers—traders suddenly need to come up with more cash, sometimes having to unload positions in illiquid conditions, right when it stings most.
CME Group plans to hike initial and maintenance margins for COMEX 5,000-ounce silver futures, pushing them up to 18% from the previous 15% for certain accounts, starting after Friday’s close. Margins—essentially the required cash to back a futures trade—will now cost more for those with larger positions. Since Jan. 13, the exchange has been using percentage-based margining for major metals contracts, and this marks the third increase since then.
Friday saw a rebound after Thursday’s punishing drop, when silver plunged up to 15% as traders pulled back from hard assets. The shift followed news of U.S.-Iran talks and a friendlier tone between Washington and Beijing. “Losses feeding into one another … amid thin market liquidity,” wrote OCBC strategist Christopher Wong. IG analyst Tony Sycamore summed up the week’s volatility as “aftershocks.” Reuters
XAG/USD swung between $64.09 and $77.05 on Friday, per Investing.com data, after opening close to $70.98 — a volatile session, quick enough to trigger margin calls and stop-losses in short order.
Silver-linked products are getting hit too. Over in China, the UBS SDIC Silver Futures Fund has now dropped by its daily 10% limit for five sessions running—wiping out more than 40% from its Jan. 26 high, despite triggering a trading suspension at the open. UBS SDIC Fund Management cautioned against snapping up units at hefty premiums versus net asset value, the difference between market price and underlying assets. Duan Shihua at Shanghai Changer Investment Management Consulting pointed to a “perfect storm” caused by how the product is structured and the mechanics driving retail activity. Reuters
BlackRock’s iShares Silver Trust closed out Feb. 5 with a net asset value of $71.32, a sharp drop of $10.77, or 13.12%, in just one session. The swing highlights just how abruptly silver-linked vehicles can move when the metal itself jolts.
Even with higher margins, trading doesn’t always settle down. Margins might put the brakes on speculation, but they can just as easily accelerate a downturn if traders scramble for cash—particularly if the dollar strengthens or if risk premiums tied to geopolitics start to unwind.
Traders are zeroed in on U.S. data next week—potential rate shifts and dollar moves hang on it, with metals markets especially sensitive. The Labor Department is set to release January’s employment numbers on Feb. 11, followed by the CPI data for the month on Feb. 13, both scheduled for 8:30 a.m. ET per its calendar.
A short partial government shutdown, which forced the Bureau of Labor Statistics to close for several days, delayed those dates, according to MarketWatch.
CME has started promoting a 100-ounce silver futures contract, set for launch on Feb. 9 if regulators sign off, though the exchange is simultaneously ramping up risk controls on its mainstay contracts.
Once trading resumes, investors will quickly find out if Friday’s rebound can withstand the pressure from steeper margin calls and revived liquidity — or if another wave of forced selling is in store.
