Silver Futures Extend Brutal Sell-Off After 30% Crash — Peter Schiff Calls It A ‘Buy-The-Dip’ Moment

• Silver prices slid further as dollar strength and shifting policy expectations weighed on the market.
• Economist Peter Schiff said the sharp move reflected futures-led liquidation rather than weakening physical demand.
• A Stocktwits poll showed traders split on the drivers, with macro fear leading at 32%.

Silver futures continued to slide on Monday, falling over 3% to trade around $76 an ounce, extending losses from last week’s historic sell-off that wiped out roughly 30% in a single session.

The decline followed big gains in precious metals just days earlier to record levels driven by safe-haven demand. Expectations quickly soured, prompting accelerated selling. 

Dollar Strength, Fed Signals Cool The Rally

Analysts said the retreat followed a rapid reset in macro expectations after U.S. President Donald Trump nominated former Federal Reserve governor Kevin Warsh to succeed Chair Jerome Powell later this year. Warsh is seen as a policy hawk with close ties to Wall Street.

Jose Torres, senior economist at Interactive Brokers, said optimism around U.S. interest-rate cuts faded as investors reassessed the policy outlook. He said the shift revived the “Buy America” trade and drained momentum from gold and silver after their sharp run-up, according to a report by CNBC.

Christopher Forbes, head of Asia and the Middle East at CMC Markets, said the pullback looked more like a correction after an exceptional rally than a breakdown of the broader bullish case. He pointed to profit-taking, a firmer dollar and fresh policy headlines from Washington as key drivers.

The U.S. dollar index has risen about 0.8% since Thursday, a move analysts said reduced the appeal of dollar-priced metals while making yield-bearing assets such as Treasurys relatively more attractive, CNBC noted.

Schiff Flags Leverage Washout Behind Silver’s Sudden Drop

Economist Peter Schiff said in a podcast late Sunday that the scale and speed of the decline suggest the move was driven by forced selling in futures markets rather than a collapse in physical demand.

Schiff called the fall in silver in just two sessions an unusually large dollar decline over such a short period. He said leveraged positions were likely unwound rapidly, pushing out short-term traders who entered late in the rally.

Despite the sharp drop, Schiff noted that silver remains well above levels seen earlier this year. He added that prices at those levels would have marked record highs only weeks ago. He also pointed to rising premiums in the physical market as a sign that underlying demand has held up even as paper prices swung sharply.

Schiff said the pullback cleared excess speculation built up during the rally and did not, in his view, undermine the longer-term outlook for gold and silver.

How Did Stocktwits Users React?

On Stocktwits, retail sentiment for iShares Silver Trust (SLV) was ‘extremely bullish’ amid ‘extremely high’ message volume.

One user said, “All good runs start after a 50% drop! Buy physical only!”

Another user urged buying physical silver, saying prices could rise above $1,100 by 2026, with some forecasts calling for $2,000-$3,000 by 2027.

Meanwhile, A recent Stocktwits poll highlighted how divided traders remain on what is driving the extreme moves in silver and precious metals. 

In the poll, which drew about 5,100 votes, 32% of respondents pointed to macroeconomic fear as the primary driver, while 28% cited supply-and-demand dynamics. Another 24% attributed the surge to market euphoria, and 16% cited a short squeeze as the best explanation for the price action.

The SLV ETF has surged over 160% over the past 12 months.

For updates and corrections, email newsroom[at]stocktwits[dot]com.

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