Silver Logs Biggest Single-Day Drop in Years After Setting All-Time High

 

Silver Logs Biggest Single-Day Drop in Years Following All-Time High

(Bullion News Network) – The spot price of silver shed more than $7, or around 8%, per troy ounce on Monday. The pullback is the market’s largest in years and comes just days after the precious metal logged an all-time high. Silver fell to approximately $72.32 per troy ounce on Monday, losing over $7 after setting an all-time high above $80 per troy ounce the day after Christmas. The spot price of gold also retreated, losing over $150 per troy ounce after setting an all-time high of more than $4,500/ozt on Dec. 26. The price action favored silver, driving the gold-silver ratio higher to 59.94:1. Platinum and palladium prices slid even further, with each platinum-group metal retreating by more than $300 per troy ounce.

Growing industrial demand and an ongoing supply shortage helped drive silver to a record-breaking performance in 2025. The precious metal surged to 142% higher than its Jan. 1 price on the Friday before Christmas. Monday’s reversal may have signaled a large sell-off as silver hit record highs. On the silver futures market, peak-to-trough losses totaled around 15%, the largest single-day drop since Aug. 2020’s 16.85% fall. 

Some investors began to sound alarm bells about the rising price of silver over the weekend. Tesla and SpaceX CEO Elon Musk responded to a post on X highlighting a forthcoming Chinese policy that will force companies to obtain government licenses before exporting silver. “This is not good,” Musk said. “Silver is needed in many industrial processes.” The Chinese law will go into effect on Jan. 1 and could have a major impact on the international silver market. In September, China announced an ambitious plan to increase its solar energy output by 10% in the next decade, a move expected to increase Chinese industrial demand for the precious metal, which is a key component in the production of solar energy cells.

On Wall Street, the Nasdaq, Dow, and S&P 500 all retreated moderately amid a post-Christmas stock sell-off. Nvidia, one of the largest markets on the U.S. stock market, shed just over 1.2% to begin the trading week. This is a notable stall in the annual “Santa Claus” rally, a stock phenomenon in which U.S. markets typically gain in the week between Christmas and New Year’s Day. In 2024, stocks actually decreased in the first known reverse “Santa Claus” rally in recent history. Analysts say that profit-taking is likely behind the retreat on Wall Street after Christmas.

This shortened trade week will only see a couple key U.S. economic data reports. Tuesday’s release of the December FOMC meeting minutes is slated to be the most vital report for investors. While experts expect few surprises in the meeting minutes, traders may find a few cues about where the FOMC could be heading in the document. The Federal Reserve will meet to decide on interest rates on Jan. 28 of 2025. The U.S. central bank ended 2025 with three consecutive interest rates cuts, all of which drove precious metals higher as inflation concerns drove heightened demand for safe haven assets like gold and silver. CME FedWatch’s rate cut probability projections remained largely unchanged on Monday, retreating 0.5% from 17.7% to 17.2% over the weekend. Heading into 2026, rate cut speculation is likely to remain a major driver in the precious metals market.

Gold and silver recouped at least a small portion of their losses in after-hours trading, but both precious metals remain considerably lower than last week’s peaks. The spot price of gold is down over $150 compared to its all-time high of $4,500 per troy ounce, while the spot price of silver retreated by around $7 per troy ounce during Monday’s sell-off.