New York, February 23, 2026, 16:26 EST — After-hours
- Spot silver was up 4.76% at $88.68 an ounce in late U.S. trading, after ranging from $84.65 to $89.04. (Investing)
- Fresh tariff uncertainty pushed investors into traditional havens, while U.S. yields eased. (Reuters)
- Markets are watching whether the new 15% import duty hits at midnight, plus U.S. confidence data and the next jobs report. (Reuters)
Silver climbed sharply on Monday, with spot prices last up 4.76% at $88.68 an ounce in late U.S. trading, according to Investing.com data. (Investing)
The move matters because the trigger is political and close to the clock: Washington is shifting from court-blocked duties to a temporary global tariff that is set to start just after midnight. That has made risk feel jumpy again, and silver tends to catch those flows. (Reuters)
Lower yields helped too. When Treasury yields fall, the “opportunity cost” of holding metals (which pay no interest) drops. The 10-year yield was around 4.03% in afternoon trade. (MarketWatch)
Trump said the United States would move to a 15% temporary duty on imports from all countries under Section 122 of the Trade Act, after a Supreme Court decision struck down his earlier emergency tariffs. The new duty is set to take effect at 12:01 a.m. EST on Tuesday, Reuters reported. (Reuters)
Gold rose alongside silver earlier in the day as stocks slid, a classic “risk-off” pattern — investors cutting exposure and buying assets they see as safer when the outlook turns messy. (Reuters)
“We are giving up roughly half of Friday’s gain … reminding us that uncertainty remains high,” Mark Hackett, chief market strategist at Nationwide, said in a separate Reuters markets report. (Reuters)
Currency moves have been part of the backdrop. ING said the dollar has “lost a chunk” of its safe-haven value since 2024, even as it argued global demand for dollar assets has not broadly deteriorated. (Reuters)
Rate expectations are also in play. Fed Governor Christopher Waller said he would be open to holding rates steady at the March meeting if February jobs data show the labor market has “pivoted to a more solid footing,” with the February employment report due March 6. (Kitco)
There’s a catch for silver bulls: it is not just a shelter trade. It is also an industrial metal, and a sustained tariff fight can chill manufacturing demand even as it lifts haven buying. If yields rebound or the dollar firms, the same leverage that lifts silver can cut the other way. (MarketWatch)
Next up is the midnight tariff start time — and whether exemptions or delays appear in the fine print. Traders will also watch U.S. consumer confidence on Tuesday and, beyond that, the March 6 jobs report ahead of the Fed’s March 17–18 meeting. (Reuters)
