Silver eased on Tuesday after jumping above $53 an ounce on Monday, as traders took profits ahead of US inflation data due later in the day.

Spot silver slid 0.6% to $53.04 an ounce as of 0238 GMT, Reuters reported, giving back part of the previous session's sharp gain. Spot-price trackers showed silver opening Tuesday at $53.40 and trading in a narrow range down to $53.06.

Gold moved the same way. Spot gold was down 0.6% at $4,115.12 an ounce at the same time, after climbing more than 1% on Monday. Among the other precious metals, platinum dipped 0.3% to $1,571.70 an ounce and palladium dropped 0.4% to $1,037.50.

Profit-taking before the inflation print

The pullback looks like positioning rather than a change of view. Investors are waiting for the US consumer price index for October, due at 13:30 UK time on Tuesday, for clues about the Federal Reserve's next move on interest rates. The report is the last inflation reading before the Fed's meeting on 9 December, and traders will watch it closely after Monday's sharp rebound in shares.

Monday's rally had been driven in part by energy. Brent crude settled 5.85% lower at $92.57 a barrel after US President Donald Trump said renewed strikes on Iran were unlikely while negotiations continue, easing fears of an energy-driven rise in inflation. Cheaper oil and a softer dollar helped lift precious metals, with silver breaking above $53 for the first time in the current run.

What comes next for silver

Silver has had a volatile year. It started 2026 near $72 an ounce and has since fallen back sharply, so the recent move above $53 came after a long slide from much higher levels. That history makes traders quick to bank gains when a rally stalls, particularly with a market-moving data release only hours away.

The inflation data will set the tone for the rest of the week. Producer price data follow on Friday, and both releases feed into expectations for the Fed's December decision, where markets have been pricing a rise in interest rates. A softer-than-expected inflation print would support precious metals; a hotter one would put the recent gains under pressure.

For now, silver is holding above the $53 mark it reclaimed on Monday, but only just. Whether it stays there will depend less on the metal itself than on what Tuesday's inflation numbers say about the path of US interest rates.