Metals Retreat Across the Board: Silver Plunges 16%, Gold Nears $4,300, Mining Stocks Slump

The precious metals market experienced extreme volatility on Monday, giving back gains shortly after hitting record highs.

On the Shanghai Futures Exchange, palladium’s main contract hit the daily limit down, falling 10% to 494.1 CNY/g; platinum followed suit at 634.35 CNY/g. Lithium carbonate’s main contract tumbled 8.99% to 117,400 CNY/ton.

Internationally, spot silver initially surged 6% to nearly $84/oz before crashing, falling 16% from its daily high. Spot gold briefly dropped to around $4,300, down nearly 4.4% (~$200) from last Friday’s close. Palladium also plunged over 16%, trading at $1,687.50/oz.

In China, Shanghai silver futures closed down 8.74% at 17,237 CNY/kg, while gold fell 4% to 975.80 CNY/g, below the 1,000 CNY threshold.

Industrial Metals and Energy Rebound
LME copper soared over 5% early in the session, hitting a record high before narrowing gains to 0.35%. WTI crude rose 2.3% to $58.05.

Precious Metals Drop Weighs on Mining Stocks
As metals retreated from peak levels, major U.S. and Canadian mining stocks fell. Silver miners faced the heaviest pressure: Coeur Mining and First Majestic Silver dropped over 4%, Pan American Silver fell 5.6%, and Silvercorp Metals declined nearly 7%.

Major gold miners also declined: Newmont -5.6%, Agnico Eagle Mines -6.5%, Barrick Mining -4.72%, Equinox Gold -5.5%. Copper-related stocks, which had previously risen on supply concerns, also retreated: Freeport-McMoRan -3%, Taseko Mines -3.1%, Hudbay Minerals -2%.

Record Annual Gains Remain Impressive
Despite the pullback, precious metals have performed strongly this year: gold up over 63%, silver up more than 140%, potentially marking their best yearly performance since 1979. Silver’s rally even surpasses gold, boosted by speculative inflows and supply mismatches following the historic short squeeze in October.

Investors seeking safe havens see precious metals as a hedge against the “AI bubble,” shifting funds from equities to commodities. Goldman Sachs notes that metals are not only cyclical assets but also strategic ones, highlighting the growing role of geopolitical and supply chain considerations in commodity pricing.