Key Highlights

  • Silver traded near US$60.11 per troy ounce during today's session, down 0.32%.
  • Hecla reported a realized silver price of US$63.06 in the second quarter.
  • Fresnillo produced 22.0 million ounces of silver in the first half, down 11.4%.
  • US consumer prices are due October 14 and producer prices on October 15.

Silver Slips Toward US$60.11 an Ounce

Silver traded near US$60.11 per troy ounce during today's session, down US$0.19, or 0.32%, according to market data. It is down 2.04% on the week and 4.97% on the month and 15.68% lower year to date, but still 16.88% higher than a year ago.

Why the Market Is Cautious

Silver has been under pressure as the US dollar rose to an 18-month high ahead of inflation data, with consumer prices due on Wednesday, October 14 and producer prices on Thursday, October 15. Markets are pricing roughly an 80% chance that the Federal Reserve holds rates this month and nearly an 88% chance of a hike in December. Tensions involving Iran-backed Houthi militants and a Russia-Ukraine "energy ceasefire" reported as violated were linked to elevated oil prices and inflation worries.

A firmer dollar and higher expected interest rates are widely cited reasons for weaker precious metals. Silver also has industrial uses, so its price can respond to factory demand as well as to investor demand for metal.

Producer Averages Versus the Current Price

Company reports show how far prices have moved. Fresnillo (LSE:FRES) reported a first-half 2026 realized silver price of US$78.9 per ounce, Wheaton Precious Metals (NYSE:WPM) US$73.41 for the second quarter and Pan American Silver (NYSE:PAAS) US$70.97. Hecla Mining (NYSE:HL) reported US$63.06 for the second quarter, down from US$82.70 in the first. Realized prices are period averages and can include timing effects, but today's level is below the averages these producers booked recently.

Primary Producers

Fresnillo describes itself as the world's largest primary silver producer, with eight mines in Mexico. In the first half it produced 22.0 million ounces of silver, 11.4% less than a year earlier, with silver 54.0% of adjusted revenue, and it reported profit of US$1,463.4 million and an interim dividend of 43.4 US cents per share.

Pan American produced 6.47 million attributable ounces of silver in the second quarter. Its Escobal mine in Guatemala remains non-operating with no restart timeline, its silver all-in sustaining cost was US$17.80 per ounce, slightly above its outlook range, and it reported attributable free cash flow of US$344 million. Hecla produced 4.2 million ounces in the quarter, helped by a record 1.5 million at Lucky Friday, and lowered the top of its 2026 silver guidance to 16.1 million ounces from 16.5 million. It also sells gold, realized at US$4,256 per ounce, and by-product credits at Greens Creek push its reported silver cash cost below zero.

Streaming and By-Product Exposure

Wheaton holds streams rather than operating mines. It produced 6.4 million ounces of silver in the second quarter at an average silver cash cost of US$9.57 per ounce, and silver was about 52% of its US$929.2 million revenue. A lower silver price cuts its revenue per ounce but not its costs by the same proportion. Silver is also a by-product elsewhere: Southern Copper (NYSE:SCCO) mined 5.76 million ounces in the second quarter alongside copper, so copper and molybdenum are larger drivers of its earnings.

Calendar: US Inflation Data on October 14 and 15

US consumer prices are due on October 14 and producer prices on October 15. On the supply side, Hecla's guidance cut at Keno Hill and Fresnillo's lower first-half output show that mine supply does not simply rise with prices, and Pan American's Escobal remains idle.

In short, silver sits below what producers averaged recently, with the dollar and rate expectations setting the tone and cost pressure hitting higher-cost mines hardest.