This year, the AI frenzy has generated multiple market trends, from soaring semiconductor stocks and ETFs hitting record highs to the resurgence of the seven major tech giants, with AI-related trades consistently dominating the market's focus.
Now, traders are turning their attention to an old favorite in the AI theme that had been absent from this rally—silver. As its price surges dramatically, the options market shows extreme bullish sentiment, coupled with a technical breakout above key resistance levels, silver is once again becoming a focal point in the AI-driven market, reigniting bullish enthusiasm.
On Monday, silver prices experienced explosive growth, rising by 7% in a single day to reach their highest level since March of this year. Copper prices also strengthened simultaneously, climbing 3.3% to $6.50 per pound, setting a new historical record.
The core reason these two metals are attracting market attention lies in their unique physical properties—excellent thermal and electrical conductivity, making them indispensable key materials for data centers, which are the core infrastructure supporting the surge in AI demand.
Compared to copper, silver is more favored by retail investors, with higher market participation. Trading volume for the iShares Silver ETF (SLV), which tracks silver prices, surged simultaneously, and options trading showed a one-sided bullish trend: call option volume was more than double that of put options, with far more call options bought than sold. Specifically, 90,000 call options were purchased compared to only 31,000 put options, indicating extremely strong bullish sentiment.
The unusual activity in the options market highlights institutions' strong bullish expectations for silver. At least one trader adopted a "sell puts, buy calls" strategy, accumulating an exposure of over $1 million to heavily bet on a short-term rise in SLV.
The trader sold 1,000 put options expiring on June 18 with a strike price of $70, earning $259,000, and then used all of these funds to purchase 1,900 call options expiring at the same time with a strike price of $80, aiming for an 11% profit within the next five weeks.
Reviewing silver's recent performance, it had once lagged behind. From early 2025 to the high in January 2026, SLV surged by 300%. However, this year, influenced by interest rate fluctuations and commodity investors focusing on crude oil volatility, precious metals trading has generally been weak. Silver failed to keep up with the sharp rise in the semiconductor sector and entered a period of adjustment.
Technical analysis is sending clear reversal signals. Reuters analyst Christopher Romano pointed out that over the past six weeks, silver prices have gradually rebounded, successfully breaking through two key technical resistance levels—the downtrend line. The downtrend line, formed by connecting price highs, is used to define a downward trend. Breaking through this trendline indicates a weakening of downward momentum, suggesting a potential market reversal. The most recent breakthrough occurred last Wednesday, followed by three consecutive days of sharp increases in silver, surpassing the April high of $83.04 per ounce.
Romano stated that in technical analysis, monthly highs and lows are important key points, and the range of $82-83 per ounce has been a significant resistance level for silver prices in recent months. If it can sustainably break through the April high, it would mean silver is stabilizing at a higher range. Market expectations for it to rise to $90 per ounce—an important psychological barrier as it is a round number—would heat up, and it might even approach the March high of $96.38 per ounce.
Simultaneously, breaking the April high would also end the negative trend of "lower highs" since the sharp decline in January—in technical analysis, lower highs are seen as a clear bearish signal. Conversely, if silver fails to break through the April high, it would reinforce this negative trend, and market participants might expect further declines, especially if the price falls below the $70-71 per ounce range, where the pressure for a correction would significantly increase.
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