New York, March 1, 2026, 12:04 EST — Market closed
- Silver surged in the last session as investors moved into havens
- Fresh Middle East hostilities and an oil jump may set the tone into Monday
- Traders eye U.S. data this week, led by Friday’s jobs report
Silver is heading into the new week with geopolitics back in the driver’s seat, after a sharp rise in the last session and a weekend escalation in the Middle East.
The metal’s rally matters now because silver sits at the junction of risk sentiment and rates. A jump in oil can revive inflation worries, which can swing U.S. yields and the dollar — two inputs that can quickly change the price investors will pay for non-yielding metals.
Silver also has a split personality. It trades like a safe-haven on bad days, but it is also an industrial metal, tied to manufacturing demand and the health of global growth.
Spot silver last rose 6.1% to $93.74 an ounce on Friday, as the dollar eased and U.S. Treasury yields fell. 1
Over the weekend, Israel launched a new wave of strikes on Tehran, and U.S. and Israeli strikes and Iranian retaliation rippled through shipping, air travel and energy markets, Reuters reported. 2
Oil’s reaction is what metals traders are watching most closely. Brent crude jumped about 10% to around $80 a barrel in over-the-counter trade, with analysts warning prices could move toward $100 if disruptions around the Strait of Hormuz persist. 3
“I think you’re going to see a knee jerk spike up in most commodity markets, including gold and oil,” Edward Meir, an analyst at Marex, said in a Reuters report on market reaction to the strikes. 4
Ole Hansen, head of commodity strategy at Saxo Bank, said the escalation would push investors toward precious metals and energy, adding he would not be surprised if gold printed a fresh record high — a signal silver traders often take as directionally supportive. 4
But silver’s upside is not clean. A fast de-escalation, or a rebound in the U.S. dollar driven by higher oil and inflation hedging, could cap gains; City Index and FOREX.com analyst Fawad Razaqzada flagged that risk in the same Reuters report. 4
Silver-linked miners rallied into the weekend, tracking the metal’s late-week strength, though traders said liquidity could be thin at the reopen and swings exaggerated.
COMEX silver futures are set to reopen for electronic trading later on Sunday evening in New York. 5
Beyond headlines from the Middle East, the calendar is crowded. U.S. factory activity is due Monday, and the Federal Reserve’s Beige Book is scheduled for Wednesday. 6
The key test comes Friday, when the U.S. Labor Department releases the February employment report — a release that can reset rate expectations in minutes, and with it the dollar and precious metals. 7
