NEW YORK, December 29, 2025, 1:47 PM ET — Regular session
- Spot silver fell about 10% after earlier touching a record $83.62 an ounce.
- iShares Silver Trust (SLV) dropped nearly 10% in afternoon trading.
- Traders cited year-end profit-taking and higher futures margin requirements as key drivers.
Silver fell sharply on Monday and silver-linked shares slid as the metal retreated from a fresh record, with traders pointing to profit-taking and tighter trading conditions late in the year.
The pullback matters now because silver’s late-December surge drew heavy, leveraged positioning, making the market prone to abrupt reversals when volatility spikes.
It also matters because silver sits at the intersection of safe-haven demand and industrial use, so big moves can quickly spill into exchange-traded funds and mining shares.
Spot silver was down 8.4% at $72.51 an ounce by 12:00 p.m. ET after earlier hitting a record $83.62, Reuters data showed. “All the metals moved up to recent and all-time highs. We are seeing profit-taking pullbacks off of those spectacularly high levels,” said David Meger, director of metals trading at High Ridge Futures. 1
By early afternoon, spot silver was around $71.94 an ounce, down 10.83% on the day, according to pricing data posted by JM Bullion. 2
In the stock market, iShares Silver Trust — a popular ETF that aims to track the day-to-day price of silver bullion — was down 9.49% at $64.37 as of 1:22 p.m. ET, after closing at $71.12 on Friday, data from Stock Analysis showed. 3
The selloff also followed a move by CME Group to change performance bond requirements for metals futures after the close of business on Monday, according to a CME notice. Performance bond, often called margin, is the cash traders must post to hold futures positions; higher requirements can make leveraged bets more expensive and accelerate position-cutting during volatile moves. 4
Silver’s sharp swing came after a year-long run that left the metal more than doubled for 2025, aided by tight supply narratives and strong industrial demand tied to sectors such as solar and data centers, according to AP. 5
Silver miners also weakened as the metal slid. First Majestic Silver fell about 4%, Pan American Silver dropped roughly 6%, and Hecla Mining was down about 4% in midday trading.
Other precious-metal proxies moved in tandem. SPDR Gold Shares (GLD) was down about 4.6%, while the U.S. dollar index was slightly higher and the 10-year Treasury yield eased, according to Investing.com market data. 6
Traders are watching whether silver can stabilize around the $70 area, a key round-number level near Monday’s session low, and whether the margin changes after the close add to forced selling into thin year-end trade.
The next test is whether momentum buyers step back in once volatility cools, or whether the market demands a deeper reset after one of the year’s strongest commodity rallies.
