General:
Day 42 of the U.S Government shutdown, the longest on record. The House of Representatives will vote on reopening the federal government this evening. On Monday, the Senate broke through weeks of gridlock and passed the legislation to reopen the government in a 60-40 vote.
Metals:
Silver futures prices shot up over 5% today and is poised to close at a new record high,
exceeding the all-time high reached last month, which broke a 45-year-old price record. Silver futures have gained more than 11% so far this week on two of its biggest daily gains of 2025. The last time silver prices added at least 10% in a week was last September, when futures were trading around $30.
Adjusted for inflation, silver would need to exceed $200 a troy ounce to top the 1980 peak, set before the Hunt brothers’ gambit went bust and inspired the Eddie Murphy comedy “Trading Places.”
Silver’s 73% rise this year has made the metal one of 2025’s best-performing assets, outpacing gold’s 56% jump above $4,000 an ounce, and the 17% gain in the Nasdaq composite stock index, both of which have also set new all-time highs this mont42
Energies:
Oil prices fell more than $2 a barrel today, weighed down by an OPEC report saying global oil supply will match demand in 2026, marking a further shift from its earlier projections of a supply deficit.
As well today, The Department of Energy’s statistical arm, the Energy Information Administration said in its Short-Term Energy Outlook report today that U.S. oil production is expected to set a larger record this year than previously forecast.
By mid-session, December WTI crude was down ~$2.70, or 4.4%, at $58.34 a barrel, a three-week low and below its 20-, 50- and 100-day moving averages.
Notable Natural gas statistics as of yesterday’s close:
Dec. contract hit its 52-week high of $4.565 yesterday. That’s up ~68% from its 52-week low of $2.696 hit Aug. 25, 2025, a ~52% increase. Still off ~70.5% from its record high of $15.378 hit Dec. 13, 2005. Month-to-date it is up 9.92%. Year-to-date it is up 90.00 cents or 24.77% |
