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Silver Dips After US Tariff Pause, But Set for Hefty Weekly Gain.

commodities :: 2026-01-16 :: source - bloomberg

By Yihui Xie

(Bloomberg) — Silver (SI=F) dropped on Friday after the US refrained from putting import tariffs on critical minerals, but was still up more than 14% for the week on surging demand for precious metals.

The white metal fell as much as 3.1% in Asian trading after a modest decline in the previous session. The threat of levies on minerals including silver and platinum had been one among several drivers of a breakneck rally, but US President Donald Trump stopped short of imposing the duties, while not ruling out doing so in future. Gold (GC=F) slipped 0.2%.

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Still, the unpredictable nature of Trump’s policymaking “suggests that the practice of keeping metal onshore in the US to back short futures positions is likely to persist,” consultancy Metals Focus said in a note.

The tariff pause appears to be just a minor speed bump for silver, rather than a serious threat to a rally that’s seen it triple in value over the past year. The metal has hit successive record highs and is up by more than a quarter this year, finding support from a broader rotation into commodities that’s part of the debasement trade, where investors avoid currencies and government bonds on fears over ballooning debt levels.

The frenzied buying of hard assets has prompted Chinese authorities to restrict high-speed trading on its key commodities exchanges.

Precious metals have rallied sharply this year on Trump’s increasingly aggressive foreign policy, as well as renewed attacks on the Federal Reserve, with the Justice Department threatening Chair Jerome Powell with a criminal indictment. Weakening the central bank’s independence and ability to rein in inflation would weigh on the dollar and Treasuries, highlighting the haven appeal of gold and silver.

Elevated price levels for silver tend to encourage recycling activity, which can increase the supply of scrap, Metals Focus said in the note. However, a shortage of high-grade refining capacity has limited the speed at which this material can be returned to the market, it said.

Silver fell 1.1% to $91.38 an ounce as of 10:32 a.m. in London. Gold dipped 0.2% to $4,607.80, but was up around 2% for the week. Both platinum and palladium dropped around 3%. The Bloomberg Dollar Spot Index edged lower.

—With assistance from Jack Ryan.

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