Damian Herrera
Silver futures prices dropped sharply this week, with July contracts falling below $60 per ounce for the first time since December 9, 2025. A strengthening dollar, expectations of further rate increases, and shrinking industrial demand from some sectors have converged to push silver to its lowest levels in months.
At a Glance
- July silver futures opened Wednesday at $61.30, down 6% from Tuesday's open
- Prices fell further to $59.32 by 8:18 a.m. ET, breaching the $60 floor
- Silver is down 12.8% over one week and 19.4% over one month
- Year over year, silver is still up 71.1%, though that marks the weakest annual gain of 2025
- Both gold and silver are under pressure, with silver faring worse
How Far Silver Has Fallen
Wednesday's opening price was down 1.2% compared to Tuesday's, but the weekly and monthly pictures tell a starker story. Silver has shed 12.8% over the past week and 19.4% over the past month. The last time futures opened below $60 was December 9, 2025, when silver began that session at $57.62.
The year over year figure offers some cushion: silver is still 71.1% higher than it was a year ago. That sounds impressive until you compare it to May 14, when the annual gain peaked at 173.3%. The gap between that high and today's reading captures just how much ground silver has given back in recent weeks.
What Is Driving the Decline
Silver's current weakness mirrors gold's, but with an extra layer of pressure. Both metals face a familiar set of headwinds: a dollar that has been gaining strength and the prospect of interest rate increases ahead. A stronger dollar makes dollar denominated commodities more expensive for buyers using other currencies, which tends to suppress demand and prices.
Silver carries an additional vulnerability that gold does not. Unlike gold, which central banks hold as a reserve asset and which has a stable role in jewelry production, silver is deeply tied to industrial output. Manufacturers use it in solar panels, electronics, and medical devices. When certain industries cut back on silver consumption, that reduction flows directly into lower prices. That dynamic is playing out now, compounding the macro pressures that are already weighing on precious metals broadly.
Silver vs. Gold Over the Long Term
Fifty years of data favor gold as the better long term performer. Both metals have risen dramatically since the 1970s, but their roles in the global economy are quite different, and those differences shape returns over time.
Gold benefits from a perception of stability. Governments and central banks hold gold reserves precisely because the metal functions as a hedge against inflation and geopolitical disruption. Silver lacks that institutional backing. Its price responds more sharply to shifts in manufacturing activity, which makes it more volatile in both directions. That volatility produced a staggering 173.3% annual gain in May, and it is now producing the kind of sell off playing out this week.
Frequently Asked Questions
Why did silver fall below $60 this week?
A combination of factors pushed silver below that level: a strengthening U.S. dollar, expectations of interest rate increases, and declining silver usage in some industrial sectors. Those pressures have accelerated a decline that has erased nearly 20% of silver's value over the past month.
Is silver's year over year gain still positive?
Yes. Despite the recent sell off, silver futures are still about 71.1% higher than they were one year ago. That said, this is the smallest annual gain recorded so far in 2025, down sharply from a peak of 173.3% in May.
How does silver compare to gold as an investment?
Over the past 50 years, gold has delivered higher long term returns than silver. Gold is widely held by central banks as a store of value, while silver's price is more sensitive to industrial demand, which creates greater price swings in both directions.
What industries use silver and why does that matter for prices?
Silver is used in solar panel production, consumer electronics, and medical devices, among other applications. When those industries reduce consumption, it creates a direct drop in demand for the metal, which puts downward pressure on prices beyond what macroeconomic factors alone would cause.
Where Silver Goes From Here
Silver's near term direction will likely depend on how the dollar performs and whether rate expectations shift. The industrial demand picture adds a layer of uncertainty that gold investors do not have to weigh in the same way. For now, the metal is trading at levels not seen since early December 2025, and the pace of the decline suggests the market has not yet found a floor.
