Silver price today slips near $85 as markets digest Friday’s historic plunge

Silver price today is hovering in the mid-$80s per ounce in thin weekend trading, after a dramatic Friday selloff that erased a large chunk of January’s gains in a single session. The sudden reset matters because silver had surged to fresh records earlier in the week, and the speed of the reversal is forcing traders to reassess leverage, risk limits, and near-term support levels heading into a packed early-February macro calendar.

As of 8:00 a.m. ET Saturday, Jan. 31, 2026, widely followed spot indications showed silver around $85.15 bid / $85.40 ask, down roughly $30 from the prior reference level.

Silver price today: where it stands

Weekend conditions can make “today’s” number look messy because different platforms display either the latest electronic print, an indicative quote, or Friday’s settlement. Still, the available references cluster around the same message: prices are far below the week’s highs.

What triggered the sharp selloff

The immediate driver of Friday’s move was a rapid shift in expectations around U.S. monetary policy leadership, which strengthened the U.S. dollar and pressured precious metals broadly. But silver’s outsized drop also reflected its own positioning: the metal had rallied hard and fast, drawing in momentum flows and leveraged exposure that can unwind violently when prices turn.

When selling accelerates in a leveraged market, margin calls can create a self-reinforcing loop—positions are reduced not because the long-term thesis changed overnight, but because risk controls demand cash. That dynamic often produces the kind of “air pocket” seen Friday, where prices cascade through multiple technical levels with little resting liquidity.

Why silver moves faster than gold

Silver tends to amplify both rallies and declines for three structural reasons:

First, it is a smaller market than gold, so large flows can move the price more quickly. Second, silver sits at the intersection of “precious” and “industrial,” which means it can trade like a haven one week and like a cyclical commodity the next. Third, speculative participation in silver futures can rise rapidly when volatility is trending in one direction—until it isn’t.

That combination helps explain why silver’s retreat has been far steeper than gold’s in percentage terms, even though both were hit by the same macro forces late in the week.

What to watch when liquidity returns

The next real test comes when full liquidity returns to futures and spot markets after the weekend. Three behaviors tend to matter more than headlines after a shock move:

Price acceptance near the lows: If silver continues to trade comfortably above the deepest intraday lows seen Friday, it suggests dip demand is absorbing supply and volatility may compress.

Rebound quality: A sharp bounce that immediately stalls can signal “dead-cat” price action—short covering without genuine new buying. A steadier rebound with tightening ranges tends to be healthier.

Volatility and spreads: Wide spreads and jumpy prints point to fragile liquidity. Narrowing spreads and smoother price discovery usually indicate the market is transitioning from panic to consolidation.

The week ahead: data and policy expectations

Silver’s next directional push is likely to come from the same cross-currents that drove the reversal: the U.S. dollar, interest-rate expectations, and risk sentiment. With early February typically packed with major U.S. releases—especially labor-market and inflation data—traders will be watching whether rate expectations firm further or ease back.

For silver specifically, the key question is whether the market can stabilize at a level that keeps industrial-demand narratives intact while discouraging the kind of speculative excess that fueled the run-up. A calmer consolidation would reduce the probability of another forced unwind. A renewed surge in volatility, by contrast, would keep the focus on risk management rather than fundamentals.

In practical terms, the near-term setup is now defined by two reference points: the prior week’s highs (which may act as resistance on any rebound) and Friday’s lows (which may define the line between stabilization and another liquidation wave). Where silver settles once normal liquidity is back will shape how quickly investors regain confidence in the move—or decide the reset still has further to run.

Sources consulted: CME Group, Kitco, Investing.com, MarketWatch, Barron’s