2026.04.0214:00:16UTC+00Silver Falls Sharply as Iran Conflict Fuels Dollar, Rate Fears

Silver prices tumbled nearly 5% to $71 per ounce on Thursday, pressured by a strengthening US dollar and higher oil prices after President Donald Trump vowed to intensify attacks on Iran. His remarks heightened inflation fears and pushed market expectations away from pre-war hopes for rate cuts toward the likelihood that the Federal Reserve will leave policy unchanged in 2026.

Trump said US forces had “nearly accomplished” their military objectives but offered no clear exit strategy for the month-long conflict, instead promising to hit Iran “extremely hard” over the next “two to three weeks.” Tehran, for its part, rejected Trump’s assertion that it had sought a ceasefire and maintained that the Strait of Hormuz remains under the control of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC).

The dollar’s safe-haven rally weighed heavily on precious metals, with silver already down more than 20% since the conflict began on February 28.