The safe-haven metals have turned volatile — silver is having its most volatile year on record.
| Large daily moves | Silver >5% | Gold >3% |
|---|---|---|
| 2008 (GFC) | 27 | 35 |
| 2011 | 31 | 9 |
| 2014–2019 (the calm) | 0–1/yr | 0–1/yr |
| 2020 (COVID) | 14 | 8 |
| 2022–2025 (calm again) | 2–3/yr | 0–6/yr |
| 2026 (YTD → annualised) | 28 → ~62 | 11 → ~24 |
The reading — and its limits
Silver's 2026 pace (~62 annualised) is the most on record (past 2011's 31 and 2008's 27); gold (~24) is on pace for second only to 2008. The calm was real and prolonged — which is what makes 2026's jump a genuine break, not noise. This is about the frequency of large moves, not their scale (2008 and 2020 had bigger single-day peaks).
Method LBMA/ICE official benchmark fixings (primary), fix-to-fix daily moves, full continuous 2005–2026, computed by us; corroborated by Yahoo futures. 2026 is YTD through 15-Jun; the annualised figures project the current pace across a full year.
Computed 22 June 2026