Topline
The price of silver hit its lowest level since November 2025 on Tuesday, as oil prices ticked upward, while gold also hovered near a yearly low, though both metals have since slightly rebounded as the price of oil began to drop again.
Key Facts
The price of silver hit a low of $48.62 on Tuesday morning, its lowest level since November 2025 and a spectacular fall from the highs above $120 it reached earlier this year, which was at the time a decline of more than 4%.
Silver has since rebounded slightly, trading at a price of $50.19 as of 9:30 a.m. EST, still a decline of more than 1.3%.
Gold has largely held steady around $3,960 as of 9:30 a.m. EST, though it also fell to a low of $3,904.10 earlier in the day, slightly above the yearly low it hit late last week.
Metals fell as the Brent crude oil index rose early Tuesday following the United States’ strikes on Iran’s Qeshm Island, though the Brent crude index is now down 1.68% as of 9:30 a.m. EST.
Ole S. Hansen, head of commodity strategy at Saxo Bank, said Tuesday’s price decline indicates “fragile sentiment” with “technical and momentum-driven selling” that outweighs demand, saying investors’ attention will now be on the midterm elections, Middle East developments and energy prices.
Will The Midterms Impact The Prices Of Gold And Silver?
Tim Waterer, chief market analyst at KCM Trade, told Reuters a Democratic “sweep” would “likely prove more problematic for the AI data centre buildout and the broader tech trade,” saying “further pressure on the tech complex from increased regulatory scrutiny could spill over into gold.” John Reade, chief market strategist at the World Gold Council, told Bloomberg monetary policy is more important for metals prices than the controlling party in Congress, saying if Congress flips Democratic, he would “characterize it more as raising risk and uncertainty rather than having a directional impact in gold itself.”
Will The Federal Reserve Hike Rates Next Month?
It seems likely the Federal Reserve will raise interest rates at its December meeting, after it held rates steady at its previous October session. CME Group’s Fed Watch tool shows about a 75% chance of a rate hike in December, also showing roughly a 25% chance the Fed will keep rates steady again, and a 0% chance of a rate decrease. Last week, the presidents of the St. Louis and Dallas Federal Reserve banks said the central bank would need to raise interest rates at least two more times to combat inflation.
key background
The prices of gold and silver reached all-time highs earlier this year, the culmination of a months-long rally, with gold hitting a record price of $5,600 and silver reaching $121. Prices were buoyed by factors including interest rate cuts, Trump’s tariffs, demand for metals from technological industries and growing international tensions. Prices crashed in late January after Trump announced Warsh as his pick for Fed chair, as he was considered to be more hawkish on monetary policy than his presumed competitors. Gold and silver prices have generally declined throughout the war in Iran, as the metals traded inversely with oil, and remained quiet throughout the summer before briefly spiking and hitting a 15-week high in late August.
further reading
Oil rises after report of US strike on Iran’s Qeshm Island (CNBC)
This article was originally published on Forbes.com