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Single Ounce Silver Market Price Benchmark
Money Daily has been providing business and financial market news, views, and coverage on a nearly continuous basis since 2006. Complete archives are available at moneydaily.blogspot.com.
PRIOR COVERAGE:
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Tuesday, October 28, 2025, 9:45 am ET
Americans are being gaslit as never before by the president, congress and the mainstream and financial media over the continuing trade disputes with China and the government shutdown, which is nearing a critical period, now having reached four weeks. Everyone in Washington - and especially the Trump administration - was caught off-guard when China imposed restrictions on rare earth exports last month. China has the world's largest reserves of rare earth minerals and accounts for 90% of worldwide processing of the various metals that are significant in the production of automobiles, military weaponry, and electronics. President Trump, his aides and administration, along with the mainstream media continue to promote the narrative that the president is going to meet with Chinese president Xi Jinping "on the sidelines of the APEC" summit in South Korea. That's according to the president and his staff. China has made no formal statement that the two leaders are to meet this week or at any other time. If there was going to be an actual meeting of the minds, China would have arranged much more carefully-planned engagement than a “sideline” meeting between Xi and Trump. Even if there is a meeting, it will have little to no lasting value and settle nothing between the world’s two largest economies. There's the real possibility that China's leadership will not agree to a meeting with President Trump, by Xi or any other high-ranking officials. Treasury Secretary Bessent made the rounds on the Sunday talk shows, spouting off about "progress" and a "framework" for negotiations over trade policies, though nothing even remotely substantial has been announced. At the ASEAN summit in Malaysia this weekend, Trump signed a variety of "deals" with various coutnries from Southeast Asia, including Cambodia, Vietnam, and Malaysia. Prime Minister Modi of India made a point of not attending the conference in person, expressly to avoid meeting with Trump. These summits - ASEAN and APEC - are meetings of Asian countries. The United States is a sideshow. They were no doubt invited, but the U.S. plays no pivotal role in any trade relationship with any of these countries, other then the imposition of tariffs and sanctions against any number of them. Asia and the BRICS have turned completely away from the West. Germany's foreign minister was told not to come to China, as there was nothing to discuss, according to Chinese authorities. A similar message is being telegraphed to Trump and the United States. Even North Korean president Kim has not extended any invitation to Trump. Trump has also been falsely claiming that India has agreed to reduce the amount of oil it imports from Russia in response to recent sanctions placed on Russia’s two largest oil producers. Nothing could be further from the truth. He’s also suggested that China will be importing less Russian oil, though China has said no such thing. Wall Street has been adding points and percentages to all-time highs on all of the major indices, pushing the narrative of a trade "deal" soon to be worked out between China and the U.S., despite evidence to the contrary. Meanwhile, congress has allowed the government shutdown to extend to the second-longest on record. Beginning November 1, funds for SNAP, or food stamps, will run out, shutting off roughly 42 million Americans from the program. This will affect every state, yet congress continues to drag its feet on the issue and others, such as pay for the military, air-traffic controllers and about 700,000 federal employees who have been working without pay since the shutdown began, October 1st. It's grandstanding at a high level, without any hint of being resolved. Since Trump has been busily arranging "deals" on rare earth minerals with every country - including Australia - that he can find, Money Daily asked Bing's AI bot, co-pilot: How long does it take to develop rare earth mines and develop processing facilities? Here's what AI said: Typical timelines — short answer: Mine development: 7–15 years from discovery to first commercial production. Processing facility (commercial scale): 3–10 years from permitting to full-rate operations. Pilot or demonstration plant: 1–3 years to build and commission, used to de-risk commercial scale decisions. Stages and typical duration Exploration and resource definition: 1–5 years; includes drilling, assays, and resource modeling. Pre-feasibility and feasibility studies: 1–3 years; engineering, metallurgy, and economic modeling. Permitting and environmental review: 2–6+ years; dependent on jurisdiction, complexity of tailings/waste treatment, and consultation needs. Financing and off-take/partnership agreements: 1–3 years; often runs in parallel with engineering and permitting. Detailed engineering and construction: 2–4 years for a mine or processing plant; larger, more complex hydrometallurgical plants can take longer. Commissioning and ramp-up to commercial production: 6–18 months for initial output; up to several years to reach steady-state recovery and product quality. Major factors that lengthen or shorten timelines Regulatory environment and permitting complexity — stricter regimes and lengthy environmental review add years. Metallurgical complexity of the ore — unusual mineralogy or need for complex separations increases testing, pilot work, and design time. Availability of capital and partnerships — secured financing and industrial partners accelerate schedules. Local infrastructure and supply chain — remote sites without roads, power, or water require added construction time. Community engagement and Indigenous consultation — meaningful consultation and agreements can extend timelines but are critical to project viability. Policy support and defense/strategic programs — government incentives or strategic prioritization can compress timelines through funding and fast-track permitting Benchmarks and recent examples Pilot processing plants to re-establish domestic capability have been built and commissioned in roughly 1–3 years in the U.S. context. National and regional strategies to create full processing hubs show multi-year to decade-long timeframes from project start to operational domestic supply chains. Practical implications for planning Budget for multi-year lead times and staged investments that move from lab tests → pilot plant → commercial plant. Prioritize early metallurgical test work and pilot validation to reduce technical risk and accelerate permitting and financing. Engage regulators, communities, and potential customers early to shorten non-technical delays. Sources: Center For Strategic & International Studies (CSIS) Essentially, Money Daily is calling BS on all of this, in addition to the recent slaughter in gold and silver markets, just as both precious metals had advanced to record levels, out-pacing every other asset. While gold and silver have been slapped down, bitcoin and crypto are being heavily promoted in the media and online, with many of the usual carnival barkers, including President Trump's sons, Don Jr. and Eric touting their own crypto endeavors. The U.S., $38 trillion in debt, hopes to repair the damage its done to itself by paying off the interest with stablecoins or some other form of crypto-currency while the rest of the world heads inexorably to money backed by gold and possibly, silver. Stocks have been on a tear recently, and, with earnings season in full swing, gains on the S&P, Dow, and NASDAQ are heading for nose-bleed levels. There will be hell to pay when no deal is made with China and 42 million Americans are deprived of benefits they've been receiving for years, in order to EAT. The government is playing with marked cards. Americans will pay a heavy price for a government that has no concrete plans and politicians whose main focus is on enriching themselves and getting re-elected. At the Close, Monday, October 27, 2025:Dow: 47,544.59, +337.47 (+0.71%) NASDAQ: 23,637.46, +432.59 (+1.86%) S&P 500: 6,875.16, +83.47 (+1.23%) NYSE Composite: 21,789.63, +91.57 (+0.42%)
Sunday, October 26, 2025, 12:10 pm ET There's quite a bit going on this week following one in which gold and silver got taken down a notch or two, President Trump raised tariffs on Canada because they aired a commercial featuring former President Ronald Reagan criticizing tariffs, the U.S. shot down a few more "drug boats" in the Caribbean and the Pacific, CPI inflation at three percent was deemed "good" by Wall Street, the media and the government, and the government shutdown became the second-longest in U.S. history. That's just for openers. The upcoming week will feature President Trump trying to persuade countries in Asia to do business with the U.S., including a meeting with China's Xi Jinping, and a rate cut at the FOMC meeting Tuesday, with the policy decision 2:00 pm ET Wednesday. Halloween is Friday. Lots of tricks, maybe some treats. 42 million Americans are hoping the federal government reopens so they can get food stamps for November, though the Senate doesn't seem to be in much of a rush to do anything besides posture and point fingers at each other. Bloomberg headline: Trump Unveils Flurry of Asia Trade Deals Ahead of Xi Meeting However, should one actually read the story (Money Daily did), as it reveals the lie: "The US president dangled exemptions from his reciprocal tariff regime on key exports from Thailand, Cambodia, Vietnam and Malaysia..." "It’s a step in the right direction but there’s still considerable uncertainty out there,” said Peter Mumford, who covers Southeast Asia at risk consultancy Eurasia Group, citing questions on the rules of origin for reciprocal agreements, sectoral tariffs and transshipment levies. “And none of these are legally binding agreements too. They’re all quite flexible agreements." Trump claims to have reached agreements lifting tariffs on a wide swath of goods from Vietnam, Cambodia, Thailand, and Malaysia, and made deals for preferential treatment on rare earths with Thailand and Malaysia. Bloomberg's own analyst offered this: "Absent specific commitments, the deal’s impact may not outlast the summit," said Adam Farrar, a geo-economics analyst at Bloomberg Economics. "He [Trump] also expressed optimism during a meeting with Brazilian President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva that they could easily strike a trade agreement, as the Latin American country seeks to reduce the 50% tariff on many of its goods." Note that they may have met, but there's still no deal. BRICS countries are beginning to unify and stand against Trump and his tariff regime. A planned meeting with Russia's President, Vladimir Putin, in Budapest, was scuttled due to Trump's imposition of sanctions against Russian oil companies, Lukoil and Rosneft. For his part, prior to the meeting, Lula said this: "I am fully prepared to defend Brazil's interests and show that there was a mistake on the tariffs imposed on Brazil." Trump is attempting to use leverage with Southeast Asian countries against China. It's a strategy that is not likely to reap benefits. There is talk in certain circles that President Xi won't meet with Trump at all. India's Prime Minister, Narendra Modi, skipped the ASEAN summit in Malaysia, specifically to avoid meeting with Trump, who has placed 50% tariffs on Indian exports to America. There's a good chance that the meeting with Xi will not take place at all. China has made no official commitment about the meeting, which is supposed to take place on Thursday (or now, Thursday or Friday) on the sidelines of the APEC conference in South Korea. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent, who is with Trump on the Far East trip, continued meetings with Chinse counterparts, saying the talks were, "constructive, far-reaching and in-depth," adding that they give the nations "the ability to move forward to set the stage for the leaders meeting in a very positive framework." In other words, they got squat. Mainstream Western media is all propaganda, much of it just plain lies, especially Bloomberg. Stocks Stocks had another solid week, and should benefit from a deluge of earnings from some of the biggest names in tech and a number of Dow stocks. Monday, October 27: (before open) Keurig Dr. Pepper (KDP); (after close) Avis (CAR), Rambus (RMBS), Whirlpool (WHR), Waste Management (WM), Bed Bath & Beyond (BBBY) Tuesday, October 28: (before open) United Health (UNH), Corning (GLW), UPS (UPS), HSBC (HSBC), DR Horton (DHI), Royal Caribbean (RCL), PayPal (PYPL), SoFi (SOFI); (after close) Cheesecake Factory (CAKE), Seagate (STX), Visa (V), Electronic Arts (EA) Wednesday, October 29: (before open) Etsy (ETSY), ADP (ADP), Phillips 66 (PSX), Caterpllar (CAT), Boeing (BA), Verizon (VZ), CVS Health (CVS); (after close) Carvana (CVNA), Chipolte Mexican Grill (CMG), Alphabet (GOOG), Meta (META), Microsoft (MSFT) Thursday, October 30: (before open) Advance Auto Parts (AAP), Comcast (CMCSA), Merck (MRK), Eli Lilly (LLY); (after close) Amazon (AMZN), Apple (AAPL), Coinbase (COIN), Reddit (RDDT), Microstrategy (MSTR) Friday, October 31: (before open) Chevron (CVX), ExxonMobil (XOM), Charter Communications (CHTR), Colgate-Palmolive (CL) The Shiller PE (CAPE) closed out the week at 40.58, chasing the number from the dotcom bubble, December, 1999, of 44.14). Treasury Yield Curve Rates
With the next FOMC this week (October 28-29), yields continue front-running the expected 25 basis point cut (maybe 50) and another one in December (Dec. 9-10), with one month bills at their lowest yield since 12/29/2022 (4.04%). The Fed, figuring they've convinced enough people that three percent inflation is close enough to their two percent target, will cut at least 0.25%, bringing the federal funds target rate to 3.75-4.00%. Applying their usual guesstimate of how badly they wish to screw American consumers, that should be enough for this month, with another 0.25% coming off next month. Not that it matters that stocks are at an all-time high, unemployment remains near historic lows under five percent and inflation has re-ignited. The Fed has pretty poor aim. With all the monetary tools at its disposal, it can't even hit its own targets. 2s-10s spreads dipped to +54 while full spectrum gapped up to +48. Demand for treasuries remains strong, despite BRICS and de-dollarization efforts, the slack pick-up home grown. Spreads:
2s-10s
Full Spectrum (30-days - 30-years) Oil/Gas Following President Trump slapping sanctions on Russian oil, WTI crude oil exploded higher, closing out the week at $61.44, up sharply from last week's $57.25. The move was mostly fluff, based on prices being too low for American producers, especially with ExxonMobil and Chevron reporting earnings this Friday (Oct. 31). Trump's sanctions are going to do anything to hurt Russia, but will hurt American consumers wiht higher prices at the pump. The rise in oil prices sent retail gas prices just a touch higher. with the U.S. national average up two cents, at $3.03, according to Gasbuddy.com. California remains highest, at $4.59 per gallon, followed by Washington ($4.35), both lower on the week. Oregon ($3.93), was down seven cents on the week, but, if higher crude oil prices persist, it may bounce back above $4.00. The lowest prices remain in the Southeast, with Louisiana ($2.55) the lowest, followed by Oklahoma and Mississippi both at $2.56, jumping more than ten cents from last week. Tennessee ($2.57) and Texas ($2.59) follow. The remaining Southeast states are all below $2.75 (Georgia), with Florida the exception, at $2.90. Relief continued in the Northeast, where all states were under $3.00, except for Pennsylvania ($3.21), New York and Vermont ($3.09), West Virginia ($3.07), and Maine ($3.00). Illinois ($3.24), Michigan ($3.08) and Indiana ($3.06) were the only Midwest states above $3.00. Kentucky was lowest, at $2.67. Sub-$3.00 gas can be found in 32 states, down three from last week. Bitcoin (fake money)
This week: $113,471.40 Bitcoin cheerleaders have been out in force since gold and silver's slap-down Friday and again on Tuesday. The pundits are all over X, touting bitcoin going to $200,000, $400,000 and estimates in the millions. There is a concerted effort by crypto enthusiasts, Western governments, and the Trump family to sell the public on crypto, hoping they will stay away from gold and silver. It's actually kind of humorous. Precious Metals Gold:Silver Ratio: 84.54; last week: 80.35 Per COMEX continuous contracts:
Gold price 9/26: $3,789.80
Silver price 9/26: $46.37
SPOT:
(Kitko)
Gold and silver were dumped early in the week, and, while gold rebounded, silver remained below the magic $50 mark. In a sane world, the price would be $150. Prices at dealers and on eBay reflect the public's rejection of the paper slap-down. Here are the most recent prices for common one ounce gold and silver items sold on eBay (free shipping included, numismatics excluded):
The Single Ounce Silver Market Price Benchmark (SOSMPB) fell somewhat sharply over the course of the week, to $56.12, a decline of $2.42 from the October 19 all-time high price of $58.54 per troy ounce. WEEKEND WRAP The next two weeks should provide some indication of where the U.S. economy is headed. If the government doesn't reopen before November 6th, it would serve as notice that the shutdown was planned well ahead of time and that the government's main goal is to sow chaos, both at home and abroad.
At the Close, Friday, October 24, 2025: NASDAQ: 23,204.87, +263.07 (+1.15%) S&P 500: 6,791.69, +53.25 (+0.79%) NYSE Composite: 21,698.06, +74.24 (+0.34%)
For the Week:
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