Silver miners fall trading as the metal drops 2%

Silver and gold fell Tuesday as investors awaited delayed economic data, with little geopolitical news during the holiday-shortened week.

Spot silver was last seen down 4.6% to trade at around $73.07 per ounce, while silver futures fell 6% to trade at $73.05 per ounce.

Hecla Mining, which owns one of the biggest silver mines in the world, Green Creek Mine in Alaska, was down 5.8%. First Majestic Silver was down 6%, Coeur Mining lost 3.8%, Teck Resources and Silvercorp Metals were lower by 2.5% and 5.6%, respectively, and Wheaton Precious Metals was down 3.4%.

Despite geopolitical tensions resurfacing in the Middle East, Deutsche Bank analysts said in a note published Tuesday that silver was “trading $7 below its real adjusted price in 1790,” after prices fell in the morning.

Meanwhile, spot gold was down over 2% to $4,865.41 per ounce, and gold futures lost 3% to trade at $4,889.30 per ounce.

Silver ETFs, including ProShares Ultra Silver was down 10.8%, while iShares Silver Trust fell just over 5%

Gold and silver prices tumbled in late January as investors reacted to news that President Donald Trump had nominated Kevin Warsh to lead the Federal Reserve, leading to a stronger U.S. dollar. Silver futures plunged 30% at the time, marking their worst day since March 1980.

However, the sell-off in precious metals was short-lived, with gold and silver rebounding in early February.

Elsewhere, Australian global mining company BHP sealed a silver deal with Wheaton Precious Metals. The mining giant said the long-term silver streaming agreement would see BHP receive an upfront payment of $4.3 billion in exchange for delivering silver produced at its Antemina mine.