Skip to navigationSkip to main contentSkip to right columnADVERTISEMENTPiero CingariThu, July 2, 2026 at 11:46 AM GMT+2 7 min readBenzinga and Yahoo Finance LLC may earn commission or revenue on some items through the links below.June is on track to be silver's worst month in nearly 15 years.The metal — tracked by the iShares Silver Trust — tumbled more than 20% on the mont, its steepest monthly decline since September 2011, based on monthly price data. At around $60 an ounce, silver has roughly halved from its January high when it was Wall Street's hottest trade.Momentum carried it to roughly $120 an ounce by late January. Five months later, that trade has crumbled. Here's why.Don't Miss:The Average Family's Finances Are More Complicated Than Ever. These Tools Aim To Make Them Easier To Manage.Think Your 'Safe' Stocks Protect You? You're Ignoring the Real Growth Triggers — Here's What to Add NowChart: Silver Monthly Chart And Rate Of ChangeTwo Forces Behind The Metal SelloffThe first is silver's tight relationship with gold. Bullion — tracked by the SPDR Gold Shares — also fell hard in June, sliding more than 11% and giving back close to 30% from its own early-2026 peak.When the broader precious-metals complex turns, silver, the more volatile of the pair, tends to fall further and faster.The second is the U.S. dollar. The U.S. Dollar Index rose about 2.4% in June, one of its strongest months in roughly a year, lifted by a sharp shift in Federal Reserve expectations.Kevin Warsh's debut at the helm of the Federal Reserve crystallized the market's pivot toward a rate hike. Today, U.S. inflation is still running near 4%, as Warsh attempts to restore price stability.Futures pricing now treats a rate increase by October as all but certain and assigns roughly even odds to a second hike by March 2027.Trending: Caught With Nothing Saved for Retirement? These 5 Game‑Changing Tips Could Still Save YouThat combination is poison for silver.The metal pays no coupon and no dividend, so when bonds and cash yield more — and when a stronger dollar makes dollar-priced metals costlier for the rest of the world — the opportunity cost of holding it rises. Both levers moved against silver at once.What Happened Last Time Silver Fell This MuchThe last time silver fell this hard in a single month, the world economy was under severe stress: the European sovereign debt crisis was intensifying, with markets fearing a Greek default and contagion to Italy and Spain, while S&P Global Ratings had stripped the U.S. of its AAA credit rating on Aug. 5, 2011.The result was a broad scramble for liquidity, with investors selling almost everything — commodities, equities and even precious metals — to raise cash.Terms and Privacy PolicyEU DSA contactPrivacy & Cookie SettingsMore Info