Silver had quite the Monday—and an even better Tuesday. After suffering its sharpest single-day decline in five years, the white metal staged a robust recovery as buyers rushed in to scoop up what suddenly looked like a bargain. The bounce didn't just lift silver, either. Gold, copper, and platinum all rallied in what turned into a broad metals comeback story.

Silver futures, tracked by the iShares Silver Trust (SLV), had been the star performer of 2025, outshining nearly every other asset class. So when Monday's crash hit, it hit hard—but apparently not hard enough to shake the structural bullishness that's been driving prices all year.

What Caused Monday's Flash Crash

The Monday meltdown wasn't just one thing—it was a perfect storm of technical and fundamental pressures colliding at once.

First, the CME Group hiked margin requirements, pushing the cost of holding a single silver contract up to $25,000. That triggered forced liquidations as traders who couldn't meet the new requirements had to exit positions. Add in a wave of profit-taking—after all, silver was up 180% year-to-date—and you had plenty of sellers eager to lock in gains before the 2026 tax year kicked in.

Then came the rumors. Social media lit up with unverified chatter about a massive margin call involving one of the "Big 8" bullion banks. Nobody could confirm it, but in a market already on edge, that kind of speculation doesn't help.

Meanwhile, reports of a potential breakthrough in the Ukraine-Russia peace talks briefly reduced silver's safe-haven appeal. The result? A liquidity vacuum that sent prices tumbling from nearly $84 per ounce down to the $72 range in just a few hours.

It wasn't just silver, either. Gold, copper, and platinum all took hits on Monday as the selling pressure spread across the metals complex.

Tuesday's Recovery Rally

Turns out the panic was short-lived. By Tuesday, silver had climbed more than 5%, reclaiming lost ground as investors refocused on the structural supply deficits that have been supporting prices for years. When you've got fundamental demand drivers like solar energy adoption and industrial shortages, a technical selloff starts looking like a buying opportunity.

The rest of the metals market followed silver's lead:

• Gold, tracked by the SPDR Gold Shares ETF (GLD), recovered from its brief dip below $4,400 per ounce, supported by continued central bank buying and geopolitical uncertainty that keeps investors hedging.
• Platinum, tracked by the abrdn Physical Platinum Shares ETF (PPLT), jumped over 5% on Tuesday, maintaining its status as the "catch-up" trade among precious metals investors.
• Copper, tracked by the Global X Copper Miners ETF (COPX), rebounded as supply constraints and AI-driven data center demand reminded traders why they were bullish in the first place.

Still a Historic Year for Metals

Monday's volatility aside, 2025 has been an absolutely remarkable year for metals. The S&P 500 has delivered a solid 18% year-to-date return, which sounds great until you look at what's been happening in the metals market:

Those numbers explain why Monday's dip got bought so aggressively. When you're sitting on gains like these, a technical shakeout looks less like the end of the bull market and more like a chance to add exposure at better prices.