Silver Prices Plummet to ₹249.9 per Gram Amid Rising Rate Expectations
Silver prices have plummeted to ₹249.9 per gram in India on September 2, marking a sharp decline of nearly four percent over the past ten days. The metal's value has been squeezed by rising US rate expectations, which have increased the likelihood of a Federal Reserve rate hike in September. According to the Indian Bullion and Jewellers Association (IBJA), silver futures for September delivery tracked the physical benchmark closely on Tuesday morning.
The sharp corrections came after Fed Chair Kevin Warsh's remarks at Jackson Hole, Wyoming, shifted consensus sharply toward a September hike. The second correction arrived on September 1, when a stronger-than-expected jobs report gave the case for a September hike a structural foundation it had lacked through August. Silver dropped another ₹5,000 per kilogram in a single session, settling at ₹2,500.
The FOMC meets in fifteen days, and forecasters are not in agreement about what a September hike means for silver through year-end. Some experts believe that record industrial demand will absorb the financial selling, while others think the sub-₹250 level may become a range ceiling rather than a buying opportunity.
The market's question is whether ₹249.9 is the new floor or simply the halfway point of a longer move. The Indian silver market runs on a single national benchmark set twice daily by the IBJA, which eliminates city-to-city spreads and allows for uniform pricing across all 140-plus cities covered.