New York, Feb 23, 2026, 12:30 (EST) — Regular session
Spot silver surged 2.8% to $86.93 an ounce by 11:11 a.m. ET on Monday, hitting its highest level in over two weeks as tariff news fueled a move into safe-haven assets. Jeffrey Christian, managing partner at CPM Group, said, “Our expectation is that gold prices could rise sharply this week once activity picks up,” noting that mainland China remains closed for the Lunar New Year holiday through Tuesday. (Reuters)
The rebound has teeth: tariffs hit silver at its weakest spot—caught between shifts in risk appetite and bets on rates. Sometimes it behaves like a safe haven, especially when things sour, but flip the script and its industrial side takes over. Moves can be sharp either way.
Investors showed their appetite for the shift via listed products. The iShares Silver Trust, an exchange-traded fund tracking silver and trading like a stock, jumped 2.8% to $78.73 as of midday in New York.
Elsewhere, sentiment stayed wary. The Dow Jones Industrial Average slid 1.44%, with the 10-year Treasury yield easing to 4.056% as investors wrestled with the lack of clarity around the timing and breadth of the proposed tariff plan. “Uncertainty remains high,” Nationwide’s chief market strategist Mark Hackett said from Philadelphia. (Reuters)
Day in, day out, silver reacts mostly to shifts in yields and the dollar. When yields slip, holding non-interest-bearing assets like silver gets less costly. Plus, if the dollar softens, dollar-denominated metals come cheaper for buyers dealing in other currencies.
Silver’s been rough on latecomers lately. Since peaking at $121.64 in late January, the metal has shed about 37%, a slide sharpened by CME’s margin hikes. “Gold and silver are on a rollercoaster ride,” SP Angel analyst John Meyer said. (Reuters)
A more straightforward tariff schedule, or just a bounce in the dollar, could put the rally under strain. Should the market drift toward growth fears again, silver might pivot to behaving less like a safe haven and more like a cyclical industrial metal.
The next major test for markets: U.S. labor data, and how it might influence the Fed’s schedule. Fed Governor Christopher Waller told reporters his policy stance “may tilt toward a pause” at the March meeting—if February’s employment numbers, due out March 6, confirm signs of a rebound. The central bank gathers March 17–18. (Reuters)
