NEW YORK, February 27, 2026, 17:10 EST — After-hours
- Spot silver was up 4.8% at $92.60 an ounce in afternoon New York trade
- iShares Silver Trust (SLV) closed up 5.6% at $84.99; after-hours trading was little changed
- Focus turns to U.S. manufacturing readings on Monday and the March 6 jobs report ahead of the Fed’s March meeting
Silver prices surged on Friday, snapping back from the prior session as investors pushed into precious metals on renewed Middle East jitters and softer U.S. Treasury yields. Spot silver (XAG/USD) rose 4.8% to $92.60 an ounce by 1:38 p.m. ET, on track for a 9.7% gain for the month. “There’s a lot of nervousness surrounding geopolitics… it’s a risk-off in a flight to safety,” said Phillip Streible, chief market strategist at Blue Line Futures. 1
The size of the move matters because silver has been trading like the volatile cousin in the metals complex, whipping around with every shift in yields and risk appetite. Unlike gold, it leans on two demand pillars at once — safe-haven buying and industrial use — and that mix can widen the daily range fast when macro headlines hit.
For U.S. investors, the metal’s jump fed straight into silver-linked securities. The iShares Silver Trust, one of the most widely traded proxies for spot silver, ended regular NYSE trading up 5.6% at $84.99 and was down a touch in after-hours deals, data on Investing.com showed. 2
The backdrop stayed messy. U.S.-Iran tension has been sitting over markets for weeks, and investors have been heading into weekends wary of the next headline out of the Middle East, a Reuters “Take Five” markets preview noted. 3
Rate expectations added fuel. U.S. producer prices rose more than expected in January, with the Labor Department reporting a 0.5% monthly increase, and the data reinforced market bets the Federal Reserve could stay on hold longer. “We expect the Fed to remain on pause during its upcoming March meeting,” Ben Ayers, senior economist at Nationwide, said. 4
That matters for silver because it pays no interest. When bond yields fall, investors give up less income by holding metal, and some money shifts back into bullion.
Other precious metals moved with it. Spot gold was up 0.8% at $5,230.56 an ounce earlier in the session, while platinum climbed 3.4% to $2,350.34 and palladium slipped 0.5% to $1,775.31.
On the company side, the iShares Silver Trust filed its annual report on Form 10-K on Friday. The filing showed the trust’s net asset value rose to about $38.0 billion at the end of 2025 from about $13.4 billion a year earlier, while shares outstanding increased to 582.95 million. 5
The trust, sponsored by an iShares unit under BlackRock, is designed to track silver’s price before fees, and it is not actively managed, the filing said.
Still, silver can turn on a dime. Any easing in geopolitical tension, or a rebound in yields on stronger U.S. data, could pull money back out of the metal and trigger quick profit-taking after a sharp run.
The next test comes quickly. Monday’s U.S. calendar features manufacturing readings including the ISM manufacturing report, which traders often use as an early gauge of growth momentum and rate pressure. 6
Later in the week, attention shifts to the U.S. February employment report, scheduled for Friday, March 6 at 8:30 a.m. ET. A hotter jobs print could push yields back up and cool bullion demand; a softer one could do the opposite. 7
After that, traders get the next read on the Fed’s preferred inflation gauge — the personal consumption expenditures price index, with “core” stripping out food and energy — due March 13, according to the BEA. 8
The bigger policy marker is the Fed’s March 17-18 meeting, where investors will be watching whether officials lean into “higher for longer” language after recent inflation signals. 9
