Shares of the iShares Silver Trust plunged 5.9% to $64.66 on March 19, extending a brutal selloff that has erased 15.5% of the fund's value in just five trading days. The trigger: February's Producer Price Index surged 0.7% month-over-month — more than double the 0.3% economists expected . Combined with a hawkish Federal Reserve hold, the data delivered a one-two punch to an asset that earns no interest and depends on inflation fears — not inflation itself — to attract buyers.

  • Wholesale Prices Came In Red-Hot, and It Wasn't Just Oil. On a 12-month basis, PPI inflation hit 3.4%, the highest since February 2025, while core PPI reached 3.9% . Goods prices rose 1.1% on the month, with food up 2.4% and energy up 2.3% . For silver holders, this matters because hotter-than-expected producer prices signal that costs are still rising in the pipeline — making it harder for the Fed to cut rates, which would otherwise boost non-yielding metals like silver.

  • The Fed Held Rates and Signaled It's in No Rush to Cut. The Federal Reserve voted 11-1 to keep rates at 3.5%–3.75% , and the "dot plot" pointed to just one reduction this year . Officials also raised their 2026 inflation forecast to 2.7% . When government bonds pay over 4% risk-free, silver — which pays nothing — becomes a harder sell. The Dow closed down 768 points, its lowest level this year .

  • SLV Has Shed Over $10 Per Share in a Week — and the Worst May Not Be Priced In. The PPI data doesn't yet capture the war-driven energy surge, with oil trading around $100 a barrel, up over 70% year to date . That means coming inflation prints could run even hotter. Futures markets that were pricing in mid-2026 rate cuts may now need to recalibrate entirely .

  • Silver's Industrial Floor May Limit the Damage — Eventually. Structural demand from solar panels (expected to consume over 120 million ounces this year) and AI servers that use 3.5x more silver than traditional hardware provides a demand floor . But SLV and other silver ETFs have seen "massive outflows" as money rotates into the dollar and short-term Treasuries . Until rate-cut hopes revive, that industrial backstop may not be enough to stop the bleeding.