Silver Falls as Middle East Tensions and Fed Outlook Weigh

2026-03-11 12:56 By Joana Ferreira 1 min. read

Silver extended its decline to fall below $86 per ounce on Wednesday as investors evaluated escalating tensions in the Middle East alongside fresh US inflation data and their implications for the policy outlook of the Federal Reserve.

The US-Israeli campaign against Iran entered its 12th day, with the Pentagon reporting its most intense strikes of the conflict and pledging to continue operations until the Islamic Republic is defeated.

This stance contrasted with comments from President Trump suggesting the conflict could end sooner than expected.

The war has effectively shut the Strait of Hormuz, pushing oil prices higher and reviving concerns about global inflation, which has led markets to scale back expectations for interest rate cuts from major central banks.

Meanwhile, US inflation held steady at 2.4% in February, before the Iran war began.

The Fed is widely expected to keep rates steady next week, with traders anticipating only one 25bp cut this year, potentially in September.



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