Silver Pressured by Inflation Risks

Silver traded around $72 an ounce on Thursday, hovering at three-week lows as surging energy costs intensified inflation worries and strengthened expectations that major central banks may need to raise interest rates. President Donald Trump said the US would keep its naval blockade on Iran in place until it agrees to a nuclear deal, while Tehran accused Trump of attempting to force the country into submission through economic pressure and internal divisions. The prolonged Middle East conflict and the near-shutdown of the Strait of Hormuz unsettled global markets, prompting traders to scale back bets on rate cuts this year and instead begin pricing in the possibility of a hike by 2027. Meanwhile, the US Federal Reserve left its policy settings unchanged as widely expected, although four officials dissented, underscoring rising divisions over the policy outlook amid heightened uncertainty stemming from the Iran conflict.

Silver decreased to 69.08 USD/t.oz, the lowest since March 2026. Over the past 4 weeks, Silver gained 1.83%, and in the last 12 months, it increased 118.64%.

Silver traded near $73 an ounce on Wednesday after dropping more than 3% in the previous session, as stalled US-Iran peace talks and the ongoing closure of the Strait of Hormuz fueled concerns over rising inflation. President Donald Trump said Iran has called on the US to lift its naval blockade of the strait while negotiations to end the conflict continue, with disruptions already tightening energy supplies from the Middle East. The shutdown of this key passage has cut off roughly 20% of global oil flows, sparking what the IEA described as the largest supply shock on record and intensifying inflationary pressures. Investors have increasingly priced in the possibility that central banks may keep interest rates elevated for longer or even tighten further, weighing on non-yielding precious metals. Earlier this week, the BOJ left its policy rate unchanged, while central banks in the US, EU, the UK, and Canada are due to announce their decisions later this week.