Silver steadies after biggest one-day drop in over five years

An employee holds a one kilogram silver bar at an ABC Bullion store in Sydney, Australia, on Tuesday, Oct. 21, 2025. Gold held near a record high, finding support despite optimism global trade tensions are easing and hopes the US government will reopen soon.

Silver steadied after its biggest one-day drop in more than five years, as traders booked profit following a powerful year-end rally.

The white metal held above $71 an ounce on Tuesday, after sliding 9% in the previous session, while gold was little changed at around $4,340, after losing 4.4%. Precious metals plummeted after technical indicators showed advances had run too fast, while thin market liquidity exacerbated recent price swings.

Despite the pullback on Monday, gold and silver remain on track for their best annual performances since 1979. The metals have been supported by high central-bank purchases, inflows to exchange-traded funds and three successive rate cuts by the US Federal Reserve. Lower borrowing costs are a tailwind for commodities, which don’t pay interest.

Spot silver fell 0.5% to $71.74 an ounce as of 7:15 a.m. in Singapore, after hitting a record $84.01 in the previous session. Gold edged up 0.1% to $4,336.86. Platinum and palladium slipped after double-digit percentage declines on Monday. The Bloomberg Dollar Spot Index ended the previous session little changed.