Silver price slips 1.59% today at 2.36 lakh per kg; can the metal climb to fresh record highs?

• Silver price dropped to $73, then rebounded to $75.50 per ounce
• MCX silver futures closed at Rs 2,40,201/kg, down 0.13%
• Experts say new record highs for silver in 2026 are unlikely

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Silver price dropped as low as $73 per ounce during early hours on February 17, but recovered some losses to trade at $75.50 per ounce (01:44 am GMT), though still a decline of 2.88 percent from the previous close.

Even on MCX, silver futures opened the Tuesday session low at Rs 2,36,072 per kilogram, representing a 1.59 percent decline from the previous close. In the first week of February, prices had slipped toward the Rs 2.30 lakh level,  following global cues amid selling pressure and increased volatility.

Meanwhile, the Indian Bullion and Jewellers Association pegged the standard price of 1 kilogram of silver at Rs 2,40,947 on its 18:30 session on February 16, which is 0.61 percent gain from Rs 2,42,433 in the last 24 hours.

Here's how a kilogram of silver has moved

Silver prices rebound — but can the metal scale fresh record highs?

Silver had an excellent run-up in 2025, extending its gains into January 2026, touching record highs before pulling back sharply and slipping into a corrective phase.

Ross Maxwell, Global Strategy Operations Lead, VT Markets, explains why record highs this year are certainly possible. He says that a combination of falling real interest rates, a weaker USD, and a clear shift toward monetary easing by major central banks could still drive silver prices higher. "But I think unlikely."

Here is Maxwell's view on why the silver rally faces hurdles despite long-term bullish drivers.

After the recent correction in silver prices, reaching new record highs this year is certainly possible, but I think unlikely unless there is a strong convergence of factors to create the right environment. Silver tends to lag gold in the early stages of precious-metal rallies, then outperform in later, more speculative phases, as we have already seen. A combination of falling real interest rates, a weaker USD, and a clear shift toward monetary easing by major central banks could still drive silver prices higher. Industrial demand from solar, electronics, and electrification will also play a key role, but this is currently steady rather than explosive, and current inventories and recycling flows can cap price spikes.

Key factors that can limit upside include persistent higher-for-longer interest rates, which raise the opportunity cost of holding non-yielding assets; resilient equity markets that draw capital away from safe havens; and any slowdown in global manufacturing, which reduces industrial demand.

For current investors, holding a core allocation for long-term exposure makes sense, but holding in the expectation of another parabolic move this year may lead to over-exposure.

Accumulation on pullbacks, diversification of holdings across bullion, low-cost funds, and strong mining equities, whilst retaining some liquidity for opportunistic additions during macro shocks that create short term volatility, can improve risk exposure and reward opportunities. Investors who already hold large positions can look to take partial profits on rallies while maintaining a strategic core position, as silver has historically experienced short-term, sharp spikes followed by extended consolidations.