Silver slides toward $58 as Trump declares Iran truce finished

Silver fell for a third consecutive session, trading near $58.30 an ounce in European hours, after President Donald Trump declared the US-Iran truce finished and revoked a key sanctions waiver that had allowed Tehran to export crude oil.

"The breakdown of the interim agreement removes the primary de-escalation mechanism that had allowed commodity markets to normalize over the past three weeks," said Omar Tariq, a commodities analyst. "Silver is caught between safe-haven demand and the industrial headwind of higher energy costs feeding into inflation expectations."

Spot silver dropped as low as $58.12 during the session, extending its decline from a July 2 high of $62.45. The metal has lost 6.8% over the past three sessions as the geopolitical reversal upended the tentative calm that had followed the June 17 US-Iran memorandum of understanding. The US revoked a sanctions waiver permitting Iranian crude sales, and Trump told reporters at the NATO summit in Ankara that continued talks were "just a waste of time."

The collapse of the truce has injected fresh volatility across commodity markets. WTI crude surged above $74 a barrel, stoking inflation concerns that typically weigh on industrial metals. Gold, silver's traditional safe-haven counterpart, also fell, dropping below $4,100 an ounce as a stronger US dollar absorbed避险 flows. The dollar index rose 0.4%, further pressuring dollar-denominated commodities.

Strait of Hormuz disruption threatens supply chains

The diplomatic breakdown has immediate implications for physical commodity flows. A tanker was struck by a projectile in the Strait of Hormuz early Tuesday, the British military said, reviving the supply-disruption risk that had choked off about 80% of normal traffic through the chokepoint before the June truce. Pre-war daily transits averaged 138 vessels; Monday's crossing of 12 Japanese-linked tankers remained far below that level.

Traders are now watching for the Federal Reserve's June meeting minutes, due later Wednesday, for clues on how policymakers assess the inflation implications of renewed energy price pressures. Higher interest rates would further pressure non-yielding assets like silver, which has both industrial and monetary demand drivers.

This article is for informational purposes only and does not constitute investment advice.