Silver prices break through the $87 mark, with risk aversion sentiment driving precious metals higher

On February 23, spot silver (XAG) performed strongly, with prices rising rapidly and breaking through the $87 per ounce level. At the time of writing, silver was trading at approximately $87.44 per ounce, up 3.39% intraday, reaching a high of $87.02 per ounce, the highest since February 5.

Geopolitical Tensions Boost Safe-Haven Demand

The recent surge in silver prices is mainly driven by geopolitical tensions. As tensions in the Middle East escalate, market risk aversion has increased significantly. Reports indicate that the U.S. may take military action against Iran, which often triggers safe-haven demand from investors, leading to increased buying of precious metals. As a traditional safe-haven asset, silver has thus gained support.

Institutions Raise Gold Price Targets to Strengthen Momentum

Meanwhile, well-known financial institutions like UBS have raised their gold price targets to $6,200 per ounce. As the leading precious metal, an upward revision of gold targets usually boosts the entire precious metals sector, providing additional support for silver prices. Investors’ overall optimism about precious metals has further fueled trading enthusiasm for silver.

Futures Silver Shows Even Stronger Performance

In the futures market, COMEX silver performed even more prominently. During intraday trading on February 23, COMEX silver surged nearly 5%, outperforming the 3.39% increase in spot silver. This reflects institutional investors’ confidence in the future trend of precious metals, and the strong performance in futures often attracts more capital participation.