Dollar Tumbles as Silver Sets Another Record High

Market Overview

The Federal Reserve delivered its third rate cut of the year and announced plans to purchase short-term Treasuries, a move widely interpreted as “QE in everything but name.” Chair Powells dovish tone further boosted market sentiment. U.S. equities finished broadly higher, with small-cap stocks outperforming and leading the rally.

On the corporate front, Oracle plunged more than 10 percent after disappointing earnings, dragging Nvidia lower by over 1 percent in after-hours trading.

Treasury yields fell across the curve on dovish signals, with the 2-year yield dropping more than 7.6 basis points. The U.S. Dollar Index slid nearly 0.6 percent, hitting its lowest level since October 29. Digital assets saw sharp swings; Bitcoin failed to hold its intraday highs and reversed more than 2.2 percent, while Ethereum briefly spiked before closing modestly higher.

Commodities were the standout performers. Precious metals rallied, with silver surging more than 2 percent to another record high following the rate cut. Gold posted a broad range and closed up 0.53 percent. Crude oil staged a dramatic V-shaped rebound, with WTI bouncing more than 2.2 percent from its intraday low.

Hot Topics Ahead● Key Takeaways from Powells Press Conference

The Fed cut rates by another 25 basis points, though three FOMC members dissented. Policymakers still project one more rate cut next year and plan to buy 40 billion dollars of short-term Treasuries.

Powell noted that the size of asset purchases may remain elevated over the next few months, that labor-market cooling has been slower than anticipated, and that current interest-rate levels allow the Fed to “wait patiently.” He added that the inflationary impact of tariffs is expected to fade next year.

The “New Fed Newswire” suggested the central bank may now pause the rate-cut cycle, while the “New Bond King” remarked that this could be the final rate cut of Powells tenure.

● Silver Institute Releases a “Major Report”

The report highlights surging demand across photovoltaics, electric vehicles, and data-center infrastructure, projecting continued growth in global industrial silver usage over the next five years.

Global solar installations are expected to grow at an annual rate of 17 percent through 2030, with silver remaining the key conductive material for photovoltaic silver paste.

Automotive sector silver demand is expected to grow 3.4 percent annually from 2025 to 2031, reaching roughly 94 million ounces by 2031.

Data-center capacity, meanwhile, has ballooned from 0.93 GW in 2000 to nearly 50 GW by 2025, a 53-fold increase. Critical components including servers, switches, and cooling systems all require silver.

Key Events to Watch (GMT+8)

21:30 (US)

• Initial Jobless Claims for the week ending December 6

• U.S. Trade Balance for September

23:00 (US)

• U.S. Wholesale Sales MoM for September

Overnight – 01:00 (US)

• Federal Reserve releases the Q3 2025 Financial Accounts Report including data on U.S. household financial health