Silver tops $80 for first time, then stages dramatic reversal overnight

One of the best trades of the year just staged a massive reversal overnight.

Silver slid 7% on Monday, after topping $80 an ounce for the first time ever in overnight trading. The precious metal is still higher by more than 155% year to date. It started 2025 trading above just $20 per ounce.

Silver futures were last trading around $71.91 an ounce.

That has helped the precious metal outperform even gold this year. Gold futures for February, which recently topped $4,550 for the first time ever this month, are higher by more than 70% this year.

Gold futures were last down by 3.1%.

There are a number of reasons for the huge gains. Alongside gold, silver is viewed as a safe haven for investors wary of heightened geopolitical tensions and other risks, like the ballooning U.S. deficit. The two metals are also viewed as stores of value, meaning they can act as hedges against a U.S. dollar that weakens due to inflation or economic uncertainty. What’s more, a weaker U.S. dollar also makes the assets cheaper for other countries.

Silver also benefitted from strong industrial demand for electronics such as solar panels, data centers and electric vehicles.