Silver Markets Begin 2026 in a State of Turmoil

The new year has opened with extraordinary volatility in the silver market, driven by a powerful clash between regulatory action and geopolitical supply shifts. A dual-force event—dramatically higher trading margins and stringent new Chinese export controls—has created a significant disconnect between paper contract prices and the underlying physical metal’s scarcity.

In a decisive move, the CME Group imposed substantial increases on margin requirements for silver futures, with some rising by as much as 50% to $32,500 per contract. This action forced heavily leveraged traders to rapidly unwind their positions to meet the new capital demands, triggering a wave of forced liquidations. The subsequent selling pressure erased approximately $13 from the Read more...