Silver bars are stacked in a safe deposit box at the Pro Aurum Goldhaus in Munich, Germany, on January 10, 2025.
Angelica Warmsreuter
Silver futures rose as much as 5% early Tuesday, continuing the 2025 rollercoaster ride for the precious metal.
silver Futures for March delivery were up 5.3% at $74.17 an ounce in the last trade at 10:30 a.m. London time (5:30 a.m. ET), for a year-to-date gain of 153%.
Silver prices rose significantly in 2025.
Silver futures hit a record high on Monday night, hitting $80 an ounce for the first time. However, the gains quickly disappeared, with the metal posting its biggest one-day decline since February 2021, closing down 8.7%.
“This is a historic move,” KKM Financial CEO Jeff Kilberg said Monday. “We haven’t seen anything like this in a long time.”
But the rise in commodities may not be as concentrated in 2026 as it was this year, said Florian Hierpo, head of macro at Lombard Odier Investment Managers. With growth expected to accelerate again in many countries in 2026, precious metals and their safe-haven status may lose some of their luster.
“Commodities are expected to be one of the top performers next year… but the source of performance will be more cyclical than defensive precious metals,” Ierpo said on Squawk Box Europe on Tuesday.
Gold futures have also recovered from Monday’s selloff, last trading 1.2% higher at $4,394.30 an ounce.
Meanwhile, copper futures recently rose 1.9% to $5.673 per ounce.
Precious metals had a great year due to multiple factors. Gold and silver as safe-haven assets have benefited from rising geopolitical tensions. It is also seen as a hedge against inflation. A weaker US dollar also makes metals cheaper, making them more attractive to foreign buyers.
Expected interest rate cuts and concerns about supply constraints are also pushing prices higher.
Tesla CEO Elon Musk warned over the weekend that China’s silver export restrictions, set to go into effect on January 1, are “not good.”
“Silver is needed in many industrial processes, and the price could rise further,” Musk wrote on X.
Silver is often used in electronic devices such as solar panels, data centers, and electric vehicles.
– CNBC’s Sarah Min contributed to this report
