Silver Falls After Critical Mineral Tariffs Paused

Silver pulled back from a record high as investors took profits after a blistering rally and as the U.S. refrained from imposing import tariffs on critical minerals, Yihui Xie and Jack Ryan reported for Bloomberg News.

Fears that tariffs would be imposed have kept some supplies, including silver, in U.S. warehouses.

The white metal fell as much as 7.3% on Thursday before recovering much of the loss. Prices had surged by more than 20% over the previous four sessions, reaching an all-time high near $93.75 on Wednesday. Silver futures on New York’s Comex later rose 1%.

U.S. President Donald Trump stopped short of imposing sweeping tariffs on critical mineral imports, including silver and platinum, saying he would instead pursue bilateral negotiations and floated the idea of price floors.

The decision followed a months-long review into whether foreign shipments posed a threat to U.S. national security.

Fears that tariffs would be imposed have kept some supplies, including silver, in U.S. warehouses. That contributed to a global short squeeze last year and has continued to support prices into 2026.

Trump’s decision “suggests the administration will take a more surgical approach in making future decisions,” Daniel Ghali, a senior commodity strategist at TD Securities, said in a note.

That “significantly alleviates the fear of a broad-based approach that could have inadvertently impacted the underlying bars that underscore benchmark metals prices.”