Has Silver Found a Bottom?

In a March 5, 2026, Barchart article that asked whether silver is heading to another new high, I highlighted the bullish and bearish cases for the volatile precious metal. Nearby COMEX silver futures were trading at $83.735 per ounce on March 4, 2026, after falling to a low of $63.90 on February 6, 2026. Silver futures ran out of upside steam at just over $90 per ounce on March 10 and reached a lower low on March 23. Time will tell whether the low on March 23 marks a bottom in the silver futures market. 

Risk-off caused a lower low in silver

Silver prices soared to over double the 1980 high on January 29, 2026, when the nearby COMEX silver futures contract rose to $121.785 per ounce. Before October 2025, silver futures had spent 45 years below the 1980 high of $50.36.

The seven-year monthly continuous futures contract chart highlights silver’s parabolic rise and its 49.7% correction to a low of $61.21 per ounce in March 2026. Silver closed March at around $75 per ounce, above the recent low but more than $46 below the late January high. 

While precious metals tend to rally during geopolitical turmoil, the hostilities in the Middle East had the opposite impact on silver and the other precious metals. The parabolic rallies in 2025 and early 2026 sparked a speculative buying frenzy. In a sign that risk-off conditions in the market impacted silver, the total number of open long and short positions in COMEX silver futures substantially dropped from January through late March. 

Silver remains above the 1980 high, which is now critical technical support

While silver prices halved at the most recent low, at $61.21 per ounce, the price remains over $10 above the previous record high and critical technical support level. 

The quarterly continuous contract COMEX silver futures chart shows that, despite the substantial price correction, silver remains in a bullish trend as the price is above the 1980 high.

Silver’s volatility makes trading attractive

The historical volatility of COMEX silver futures is significantly higher than that of the metric in the COMEX gold futures. 

The monthly chart shows that monthly historical volatility in the silver futures market was 37.59% in early April 2026. 

The monthly gold futures chart shows that, below 19.35%, gold's historical volatility was nearly half that of the silver futures market. 

Higher price volatility in silver makes trading silver more attractive as daily, weekly, and monthly price swings are more dramatic than in gold. 

SLV is the leading silver ETF

The most direct route for an investment or trading position in silver is the physical market for bars and coins. However, buying physical silver often involves premiums, while selling involves discounts, which can limit profits or increase losses. Moreover, silver is a bulky commodity to store. 

The COMEX silver futures are another option, and they offer physical delivery. However, silver futures involve specialized regulated accounts and require margin. 

The most liquid silver ETF that owns physical silver is the iShares Silver Trust (SLV). At $65.81 per share, SLV had over $37.237 billion in assets under management. SLV trades an average of over 43.66 million shares per day and charges a 0.50% management fee. 

Nearby COMEX silver prices rose 72.49% from the end of 2025 to the January 29, 2026, high. The price then corrected 49.74% to the March low. 

The monthly chart shows that over the same period, the SLV ETF rose 70.49% from $64.42 to $109.83 per share, then corrected 45% to $60.37 per share. 

SLV slightly underperformed silver futures on the upside, but slightly outperformed silver futures during the downside correction. One of SLV’s drawbacks is that it trades only during U.S. stock market hours, whereas silver futures trade around the clock. 

Risk-reward dynamics are critical for success

High volatility in silver requires careful attention to risk-reward dynamics and the discipline to stick to stops to protect capital. While it is acceptable to adjust stops and profit horizons when prices move in the desired direction, stops will limit losses when prices move contrary to expectations.

Silver is a highly volatile precious metal. While it is virtually impossible to pick tops or bottoms in volatile markets, silver’s critical technical resistance level is at the 1980 high of $50.36 per ounce. Expect wide trading ranges in silver, and you will not be disappointed.