Silver prices plunged 8 per cent on Thursday to mirror a big fall for gold and extend a week of wild price swings for precious metals.
The volatility in 2026 has also translated into huge daily swings in the value of popular exchange traded funds (ETFs) linked to gold and silver prices as ordinary Australians trade them in record numbers.
Marc Jocum, a senior investment strategist at ETF provider Global X said retail investors had funnelled more than $100 million into its precious metals funds just over the first half of this week.
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“At this pace, we’re on track for the strongest week of net inflows in the company’s history for precious metals ETFs, surpassing the previous record set in mid-October 2025,” he said on Thursday.
The ballooning mania for gold among mum-and-dad investors has helped Global X amass more than $7 billion in investor money across its three local gold funds.
Its flagship Global X Gold Fund now has $5.5 billion in investor money, as its value climbs in line with a gold price that has surged 67 per cent in 12 months to $US4890 on Thursday.
Analysts and professional investors say gold is rising as US President Donald Trump imposes tariffs on trade partners and argues his country has the right to take control of other nations and territories. The geopolitical tension has pushed the US dollar lower and gold higher as institutions seek to lower their exposure to the economy of the US President.
Investment bank UBS recently said it expects gold to average $US5100/oz through 2026, before falling slightly in value through 2027.
The last time Global X saw equally strong demand for its gold ETFs was in October 2025. That month was marked by Sydneysiders forming 100-metre long queues in the city’s central business district to buy physical gold from the flagship store of dealer ABC Bullion.
Silver mania
Chris Weston, the head of tesearch at investment group Pepperstone Australia, linked silver’s slump to a plunge in Chinese futures markets for the white metal.
On Thursday, at the share market’s closing bell silver had lost 9 per cent to $US76.14/oz and has collapsed 37 per cent since hitting a record high of US$121.62 on January 29.
Mr Jocum said local retail investors had fed $42.4 million into Global X’s two silver ETFs over the first three days of the week. Its flagship Global X Physical Silver ETF has now risen to $1.9 billion in total investor funds.
“Notably, Tuesday’s $35 million inflow into silver marked its biggest single day in five years, a potential signal that investors are stepping in to buy the dip,” he said.
The sudden mania for the metal has doubled its value since last July and is pegged partly to retail investors speculating on its price movements in an effort to get rich quick.
Broker tips gold miners
Some professional investors also agree with the retail punters that this week’s dramatic falls in gold and silver prices are a chance to ‘buy the dip’.
On Thursday, broker Shaw and Partners told its largely high-net-worth clients to make a move on local miners.
“We view recent volatility in global gold and silver markets as an opportunity to increase holdings in our preferred names. We favour producers with strong organic growth and developers with capacity to bring on near-term production,” it said.
The broker added that its preferred ASX picks to buy are Genesis Minerals, Ramelius and Magnetic Resources. In silver its preferred miner to own is Boab Metals.
