Silver Market Price Review and Expectations Brief Commentary (January 15, 2026) [SMM Silver Market Weekly Review]

[Price Review] This week, the silver market continued its strong performance, supported by macro safe-haven sentiment and its own fundamentals. At the beginning of the week, the Trump administration once again "criticized" the US Fed, and escalating geopolitical tensions provided a boost to precious metals. The precious metals market once again exhibited a "debasement trade" trend—investors, concerned about persistently expanding government debt, avoided treasury bonds and monetary assets, instead flocking to physical assets, especially precious metals. However, on Thursday, silver came under pressure and pulled back briefly, influenced by US President Donald Trump's decision to temporarily suspend imposing new tariffs on imports of key minerals. Regarding the gold/silver ratio this week: as of January 14, the LBMA gold/silver ratio had dropped to around 51 times, and market traders still held expectations for further decline.

[Important Data]
Negative: US initial jobless claims for the week ending January 3 were 208,000, below expectations.
US unemployment rate for December was 4.4%, below expectations.
US monthly retail sales growth rate for November was 0.6%, above expectations.
US EIA crude oil inventories for the week ending January 9 were 3.391 million barrels, above expectations.
Data releases to watch next week include:
US weekly initial jobless claims
US retail sales for December
Preliminary US University of Michigan Consumer Sentiment Index for January
US retail sales data for December (typically released mid-month)

[Price Forecast] Based on recent dynamics in the precious metals market, silver prices are expected to fluctuate at highs next week. Spot silver broke through the $92 mark this week to hit a record high; a brief technical pullback occurred in silver prices, and profit-taking by investors could lead to a slight weakening in prices next week. Overall, concerns over the US Fed's independence and ongoing geopolitical risks continue to support silver prices. With a tight supply-demand balance and resonance from macro factors, silver prices maintain a relatively strong medium and long-term outlook, but short-term technical adjustment risks warrant attention.