Silver prices experienced a sharp pullback after reaching record highs, driven by profit-taking and developments regarding potential US tariffs on critical minerals. The price of silver fell as much as 7.3 per cent on Thursday after surging more than 20 per cent over the previous four sessions, hitting an all-time high near $US93.75 on Wednesday. Silver futures on New York’s Comex later rose 1 per cent. The volatility follows a period of intense investor activity in the precious metals market.
US President Donald Trump refrained from imposing sweeping tariffs on critical mineral imports, including silver and platinum. Instead, the US president indicated he would pursue bilateral negotiations and floated the idea of price floors. This decision, following a months-long review into whether foreign shipments posed a threat to US national security, eased concerns that broad-based tariffs could disrupt the market.
Daniel Ghali, a senior commodity strategist at TD Securities, noted that Trump’s decision “suggests the administration will take a more surgical approach in making future decisions,” alleviating fears of a broad-based approach that could have inadvertently impacted benchmark metals prices. About 434 million ounces of silver are currently held in warehouses linked to the Comex futures exchange in New York, significantly more than a year ago. Silver closed at $92.4225 an ounce in New York, down 0.8 per cent, while gold declined 0.2 per cent. Platinum gained slightly, and palladium remained relatively unchanged.
