Silver Prices "Rebel", Can They Still Fly?
Silver prices closed this week with gains despite fluctuating amid changing market expectations regarding the direction of United States monetary policy. Referring to Refinitiv data, silver prices in the spot market on Friday’s trading (14/8/2026) closed at US$64.62 per troy ounce. That position rose slightly by 0.26% compared to the previous day at US$64.46 per troy ounce.
On a weekly basis, silver still recorded an increase of around 1.7% from the previous Friday’s closing position of US$63.55 per troy ounce. During the week, the price touched US$65.74 on 10 August before correcting and stabilising again in the range of US$64-65 per troy ounce.
The movement occurred after market participants digested US inflation data that was lower than expected. Trading Economics noted that inflationary pressure in July began to ease as the impact of the surge in energy prices due to the Iran conflict diminished. This condition reduced the likelihood of the US central bank taking more aggressive tightening measures in the near term.
Expectations regarding interest rates became the main factor supporting precious metals. When the market sees room for the Federal Reserve to loosen policy in the next period, bond yields tend to be more contained and pressure on non-yielding assets such as silver also decreases.
Market focus has now shifted to United States employment data and the speech by Federal Reserve Chair Kevin Warsh at the Jackson Hole symposium at the end of the month. These two agendas are expected to provide clues regarding the direction of monetary policy towards the end of the year.
Beyond macroeconomic factors, silver’s fundamentals are still supported by physical demand from the industrial sector. Trading Economics reported that silver consumption for solar panels, investment in electricity networks, and the construction of electrification infrastructure remains on an increasing trend.
China is showing that demand for raw materials continues to grow. Imports of silver-bearing ore into China surged 62.5% year-on-year in June to 219,000 tonnes. This increase in imports reflects strong metal processing activity in the world’s largest consumer of various industrial commodities.
The long-term outlook still receives support from a combination of industrial demand and geopolitical uncertainty. New tensions in the Middle East could potentially push energy prices higher again. If inflationary pressure rises again, volatility in the precious metals market is expected to increase as well.
Price performance in recent months has also remained relatively strong, with silver prices up around 12% in the past month and surging more than 70% compared to the same period last year. Nevertheless, the current price is still far below the record high of US$121.64 per troy ounce reached in January 2026.