Silver pulled back sharply in Monday morning trade after briefly surging past $80 an ounce for the first time, as the CME Group’s decision to raise margin requirements triggered concerns of a repeat of past market interventions.
The white metal climbed as much as 6 per cent to touch $83.62 before reversing course to trade down more than 2 per cent later in the session at $73.72 on the Shanghai Futures Exchange. The pullback came after CME Group announced on Friday it was raising initial margins on March 2026 silver derivative contracts to $25,000 from $20,000, while also cutting position limits.
“COMEX Silver witnessed an explosive rally, jumping to around $79.67 per ounce, marking a sharp move of nearly $12 in just one week after rising from the $67 zone,” said Ponmudi R, CEO of Enrich Money. “Despite elevated volatility, the upward channel remains firmly intact.”
The margin increase has revived memories of “Silver Thursday” in 1980 and a similar intervention in 2011, when CME raised margins five times in 10 days, triggering a 30 per cent price collapse. Market analysts warned that leveraged long positions could be forced to liquidate if investors cannot meet the higher margin requirements by Monday.
“Gold has support at $4,470-4,425 while resistance at $4,555-4,570. Silver has support at $78.10-76.75 while resistance is at $80.35-81.90,” said Rahul Kalantri, VP Commodities at Mehta Equities Ltd.
The rally has been fueled by China’s proposed silver export restrictions from January 2026, strong industrial demand from electric vehicles and solar panels, and persistent supply deficits since 2020. Silver has gained 181 per cent year-to-date, significantly outperforming gold’s 72 per cent rise.
On MCX, silver closed last week at ₹2,40,935 per kg after rising nearly ₹30,000 in a week. “Immediate support is placed at ₹2,23,000–₹2,20,000, which is likely to attract buying interest on any correction,” Ponmudi R added.
Traders remain cautious ahead of Wednesday’s Federal Reserve minutes, which could provide further direction on interest rate policy and impact precious metals demand.
Published on December 29, 2025