Shares cratered as the iShares Silver Trust plunged -6.4% to $64.27 in pre-market trading Thursday, extending a brutal five-session slide that has now erased 16% from last week's $76.48 close. The catalyst: a February Producer Price Index reading that came in scorching hot, rattling every corner of the precious metals market and forcing investors to rethink how long interest rates will stay elevated.

Silver's Sharpest Slide in Months: Is SLV's Rally Over or Just Catching Its Breath?

Shares plunged as the iShares Silver Trust dropped -6.4% to $64.27 in pre-market Thursday, extending a punishing five-session rout that has now erased 16% from last week's $76.48 close. The trigger: a one-two punch of scorching inflation data and a Fed that signaled it's in no rush to cut rates.

  • Wholesale Prices Blew Past Every Forecast — And the Worst May Not Be Priced In Yet. The Producer Price Index rose 0.7% in February, more than double economists' expectations for 0.3%.

On a year-over-year basis, headline prices rose by 3.4%, above estimates of 3%. Crucially, the report covers February, before the U.S. and Israel launched strikes against Iran on Feb. 28 — none of the data reflects the energy price increases that followed. For silver holders, that means the inflation picture could get worse, keeping the Fed's foot firmly on the brake.

  • The Fed Held Rates and Admitted Inflation Isn't Cooperating. The FOMC voted 11-1 to keep rates at 3.5%–3.75%.

The closely watched "dot plot" pointed to just one reduction this year. Powell was blunt: "The forecast is that we will be making progress on inflation, not as much as we hoped." Silver earns no interest, so when bonds yield more, money flows out of metals and into fixed-income — exactly what's happening now, with the 10-year Treasury yield at 4.23%.

  • Higher Rates Hit Silver Harder Than Gold. Because gold and silver are non-yielding assets, higher interest rates increase the opportunity cost of holding them, leading institutional traders to rotate capital back into fixed-income securities. Silver is especially vulnerable because it's also an industrial metal — the Iran war poses a "stagflationary shock" that can both weaken growth and stoke inflation, dampening the factory demand that supports silver's price floor.

  • The Long-Term Supply Picture Still Favors Bulls — If They Can Stomach the Ride. According to the Silver Institute, we are entering the fifth consecutive year of a structural deficit, with the cumulative shortfall reaching nearly 820 million ounces.

The world's largest primary silver producer, Fresnillo, cut its 2026 production targets to 42–46.5 million ounces from 45–51 million. That supply squeeze could reassert itself once rate fears subside — but right now, macro headwinds are winning.

The bottom line: SLV's selloff reflects a market recalibrating for a world where inflation stays sticky, rates stay high, and the Iran conflict's full economic toll remains unknown. If the upcoming PCE inflation report — the Fed's preferred gauge — confirms sticky prices, the entire 2026 rate-cut outlook could reverse.