Silver Price Update: Q1 2026 in Review
Silver achieved the hitherto unthinkable feat of triple-digit prices in the first quarter of 2026.
The rise came as the silver market benefited from both expanding industrial uses and strong safe-haven demand. However, economic and geopolitical uncertainty brought about by the US-Iran war, as well as US monetary policy shifts, injected more volatility and downward momentum into silver’s price movements as Q1 continued.
Unpredictable headwinds aside, the basic fundamentals of the silver market remain bullish for the precious metal’s long-term outlook. Here’s what happened to silver in the year’s first quarter.
What happened to the silver price in Q1?
Silver shattered its record high of US$49.95 in October 2025.
For much of the remainder of the year, the price of silver was on an uptrend, and at the open of 2026 it was trading at US$74.02. That represents a more than 150 percent increase from silver’s price at the start of 2025.
By January 14, the white metal’s value had risen to a new all-time high of US$92.20, up by nearly 25 percent in less than two weeks. The price of silver continued to soar during the second half of January, surging past US$100 and into triple-digit territory on January 26, as rising high as US$116.67 that day.
The precious metal achieved its current all-time high of US$121.62 a few days later on January 29.
Silver price, Q1 2026.
Chart via the Investing News Network.
Much of silver’s gains for the month of January were wiped out on February 2, with the white metal falling by 35 percent from its peak to US$71. The rapid decline came on the back of US President Donald Trump’s nomination of the hawkish Kevin Warsh to replace Jerome Powell as chair of the Federal Reserve.
However, by February 11 the price of silver had regained some ground, rising back up to the US$86 level. Much of the rest of February saw silver see-saw amid significant price swings.
The metal was back down to US$78.24 by February 18, and then back up to US$94.14 on February 27.
The first half of March brought more stability to the silver price as the metal for the most part stayed trading in the US$82 to US$88 range. But the second half of the month was a different story. By mid-March, silver had once again encountered a steep downward trend as the US-Iran war’s impact on oil prices and inflation began to dampen demand for precious metals. By the March 23 trading session, silver had fallen as low as US$61.
At the close of the month, silver had climbed back up to US$75.15.
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