New York, February 20, 2026, 17:16 (EST) — After-hours
- Spot silver was up 5.8% at $82.92 an ounce by early afternoon
- iShares Silver Trust (SLV) closed up 7.9% at $76.62 and traded around $76.78 after hours
- Next on the radar: Feb. 27 U.S. PPI data and the March 13 PCE inflation report
Spot silver was up 5.8% at $82.92 an ounce by early afternoon on Friday, while the iShares Silver Trust ETF (SLV) closed up 7.9% at $76.62 from a prior close of $71.01. SLV last traded around $76.78 in after-hours trade. (Reuters)
Silver’s pop matters because the market has been jumpy, with prices down 10.57% over the past month even after Friday’s rebound. The metal can act like a haven in risk-off stretches, but it also has heavy industrial demand, which makes the swings messier. (Trading Economics)
Friday’s catalyst list was crowded. U.S. GDP grew at a 1.4% annualized rate in the fourth quarter, Reuters reported, after a 43-day government shutdown helped drive the sharpest drop in federal spending since 1972. “The core of the economy is resilient,” said Michael Pearce, chief U.S. economist at Oxford Economics, while arguing inflation remains too elevated for the Fed to ease soon. (Reuters)
Inflation, meanwhile, ran hotter than markets wanted. Core PCE — the Fed’s preferred inflation gauge — rose 0.4% in December and was up 3.0% from a year earlier; overall PCE inflation was 2.9% year-on-year. “It is worth about 10 basis points on core PCE inflation,” said Pooja Sriram, an economist at Barclays, pointing to a jump in legal-services prices; a basis point is one-hundredth of a percentage point. (Reuters)
Trade policy added another layer. The U.S. Supreme Court struck down Trump’s sweeping tariffs pursued under the International Emergency Economic Powers Act, saying he exceeded his authority, and Trump said he would pursue “other alternatives” to keep pressure on trading partners. He also announced a 10% global tariff under a different legal authority, setting up more uncertainty for markets already trying to price inflation and growth risks. (Reuters)
Silver had already been moving before the U.S. session settled. At 8:30 a.m. Eastern, silver changed hands at $80.46 per ounce, Fortune’s daily snapshot showed. “Spot” refers to the cash price for immediate delivery; physical buyers often pay above spot to cover items such as shipping and insurance. (Fortune)
But the upside is not one-way. If inflation stays sticky and keeps real yields high, that can cap demand for non-yielding metals like silver — even when growth looks softer. (Investopedia)
Traders now turn to the next inflation markers: the U.S. producer price index report for January is due on Feb. 27, and the next PCE report is scheduled for March 13. Those releases will shape the next round of bets on how soon the Fed can cut again — and whether Friday’s silver bounce holds into next week. (Bureau of Labor Statistics)
