Silver futures fell sharply off record, posting their worst day since 2021.
Selection of 1 kg silver bars from Conclude Zrt bullion dealer placed in Budapest, Hungary on Monday, February 17, 2025.
Akos Stiller | Bloomberg | getty images
One of the best deals of the year has had a huge twist.
silver gift It fell 8.7% on Monday after topping $80 an ounce for the first time in overnight trading. The precious metal was trading at $70.46 per ounce. It was the worst day for silver futures since February 2021.
These movements are even more dramatic on an intraday basis. From peak to trough, silver plunged 15%, the largest peak-to-trough change since August 2020, when it fell 16.85%.
“This is a historic move,” said Jeff Kilburg, CEO and Chief Investment Officer of KKM Financial. “We haven’t seen movement like this in a long time.”
Year-to-date March silver futures
He attributed the downside to profit taking and tax-loss harvesting at the end of the year, slowing silver’s rise after a huge rally. Precious metal prices are still more than 140% higher year to date. In 2025, it started trading just above $20 per ounce.
This has helped the precious metal outperform gold this year. February gold futures, which recently surpassed $4,550 for the first time this month, have risen more than 60% this year.
Gold futures were trading at $4,343.6, down about 4.6% on the day.
There are many reasons for making huge profits. Along with gold, silver is considered a safe haven for investors wary of rising geopolitical tensions and other risks, such as a surging U.S. deficit. Both metals are also considered stores of value. In other words, it can act as a hedge against a weakening U.S. dollar due to inflation or economic uncertainty. A weaker dollar also makes assets in other countries cheaper, increasing demand.
Moreover, silver benefited from strong industrial demand for electronics such as solar panels, data centers, and electric vehicles.
KKM Financial’s Kilburg expects these tailwinds to continue pushing silver prices higher in 2026. He thinks silver could rise to $90 or even $100, which would mean an upside of about 27% or 40%, respectively, from when last traded.
“I think this is a reset, a reprieve, a one-day year-end move, but I think the precious metals, both gold and silver, continue their higher trajectory,” Kilburg said.
“There’s a dramatic supply problem. There’s a dramatic demand problem. And when you combine those two things, it’s going to push the price of silver higher,” he said. “So, I think the rally never ends.”
— CNBC’s Chris Hayes contributed to this report.
