Silver futures opened above $65 an ounce on Tuesday for the first time since June, extending a rally that has been building since last week's weaker-than-expected jobs report reduced expectations for a near-term Federal Reserve interest rate increase. The metal touched $65.94 in early trading, up roughly 1% from Monday's close, before pushing toward $66 later in the session.
Gold also advanced toward multi-week highs in tandem with silver, as investors rotated back into precious metals amid escalating tensions between the United States and Iran over the future of the Strait of Hormuz. President Donald Trump demanded Monday that Iran compensate victims' families and Middle Eastern countries for war damages, while Tehran has said it will not agree to reopen the critical shipping corridor without compensation of its own. Talks between Oman and Iran over the strait's future reportedly reached an advanced stage on Tuesday, according to Qatar's foreign ministry, offering a faint signal of potential progress even as the two sides' public positions hardened.
The standoff has kept oil prices elevated after crude rallied sharply following a lack of weekend progress on a broader Middle East deal, pushing Treasury yields higher and reviving concerns that persistent energy-driven inflation could complicate the Federal Reserve's policy path. U.S. 10-year Treasury yields rose six basis points on Monday to 4.71%, with government bonds across Asia Pacific following Treasuries lower in early Tuesday trading.
Silver's move above $65 also reflects strong underlying industrial demand. Chinese imports of silver-bearing ores surged 62.5% year-over-year in June to 219,000 tonnes, driven by expanding production of solar panels and electricity grid components that rely heavily on the metal. That structural demand has helped silver recover from a seven-month low near $55 an ounce reached in mid-July, even as the metal remains well below its January 2026 all-time high above $121 an ounce.
Investors are now looking ahead to key U.S. inflation data due later this week, which will offer fresh signals on the Federal Reserve's policy trajectory heading into its next meeting. A softer-than-expected reading could reinforce the case for the Fed to hold rates steady, supporting further gains in non-yielding assets like gold and silver. A hotter print, on the other hand, could revive rate-hike speculation and pressure precious metals even as geopolitical risk premiums persist.
The moves in precious metals came alongside a mixed session for broader U.S. equity futures, with the Dow Jones Industrial Average, S&P 500, and Nasdaq Composite all showing modest gains early Tuesday as investors weighed the standoff over the Strait of Hormuz against expectations for a less aggressive Fed rate path following last week's labor market data. Analysts noted that the combination of geopolitical uncertainty, firm oil prices, and a looming inflation report has created a cautious, headline-driven backdrop for markets this week, with precious metals emerging as one of the clearer beneficiaries of that uncertainty.