New York, March 9, 2026, 13:19 (EDT)
Silver lost ground Monday, pulling back 0.3% to $84.06 an ounce as of 11:10 a.m. ET. A stronger dollar and the prospect of higher U.S. rates were enough to overshadow safe-haven flows linked to the escalating Middle East conflict. Gold slid 1.7%. Platinum ticked up 0.6%, with palladium gaining 1.4%. “Inflation worries and expectations of higher interest rates” were the main drags on bullion, said Kitco Metals analyst Jim Wyckoff. Reuters
Silver finds itself pulled in two directions right now. Like gold, it’s a magnet for crisis buyers, but at the same time, its demand comes from jewellery, electronics, electric vehicles, and solar panels. The Silver Institute flagged just last month: for the sixth year running, demand is on track to outpace supply.
That puts the metal in a tight spot—when oil shock worries flare up, prices can jump even as growth falters. Kitco’s New York spot page pegged silver at $84.56, following a range from $79.54 to $85.20. Reuters flagged broader jitters in the market over stagflation, with talk swirling of slowing growth and rising inflation.
The dollar’s now the key concern. Traders are currently betting on roughly 35 basis points—0.35 percentage point—of Fed rate cuts by year-end, according to Reuters, a pullback from over 55 basis points back in late February. “Ultimately the U.S. dollar always plays well as a safe haven in a world of chaos,” said Juan Perez at Monex USA. Higher rates tend to weigh on silver and gold, since bullion doesn’t offer any yield. Reuters
Oil prices surged, carrying the weight of the rally. Brent soared 10.4% to $102.29 a barrel, having earlier surged as high as $119.50—the highest level since 2022. The war has effectively closed off the Strait of Hormuz, a chokepoint through which about a fifth of global oil and LNG flows.
Silver traders are eyeing the upcoming U.S. inflation prints for direction. Watch for the February Consumer Price Index (CPI) on March 11, with the Personal Consumption Expenditures price index (PCE) — the Fed’s go-to for inflation — set for March 13. The Federal Reserve gathers March 17-18.
It’s not just metals feeling the pinch. According to Reuters, some of 2026’s top trades are getting dumped, with the dollar surging and stocks taking a hit. Chris Turner at ING called it a “stagflationary shock”—sluggish growth mixed with rising inflation—that, as he put it, “was not part of the plan.” Reuters
Still, it’s anyone’s guess what comes next. Helima Croft at RBC Capital Markets pointed out there’s “no clear definition of what winning looks like,” so the duration of the conflict—weeks or months—remains up in the air. Cleveland Fed President Beth Hammack also weighed in, calling it “too early to know” how the oil shock will ripple through, and argued for keeping rates steady “quite some time.” Reuters
