Jul. 16 at 5:59 PM
Silver fell 1.7% to
$56.82 per ounce on Thursday as escalating U.S.-Iran hostilities fueled inflation concerns, lifting expectations that the Federal Reserve could raise interest rates in September. Higher oil prices driven by geopolitical tensions have increased the cost of holding non-yielding assets such as silver, contributing to the metal's sharp decline. Silver has now fallen about 52% from its January 2026 record high of
$121.62 per ounce, while the gold-to-silver ratio has climbed to around 69:1, signaling significant underperformance versus gold.
Silver miners amplified the selloff due to their operating leverage to metal prices. Scotiabank lowered its price target on Hecla Mining to
$21 from
$25, citing sustained weakness in silver prices, while Coeur Mining, Endeavour Silver, and Silvercorp Metals also moved lower. The broader U.S. metals and mining sector has lost roughly 25% in recent weeks.
$HL $CDE $EXK $SVM $XME