The iShares Silver Trust (SLV) experienced a sharp decline of 8.54% during intraday trading on Friday. The exchange-traded fund, which tracks the price of silver, came under significant pressure from a confluence of bearish factors impacting the broader silver market.

The sell-off was triggered by India's sudden decision to increase import tariffs on gold and silver from 6% to 15%. This policy move aims to curb precious metal imports and support the country's foreign exchange reserves, directly dampening physical demand from one of the world's key consuming nations.

Adding substantial downward pressure, UBS strategists issued a drastically revised outlook for the silver market. The bank now projects the silver supply deficit for 2026 to narrow dramatically to approximately 60-70 million ounces, a sharp reduction from a prior estimate of 300 million ounces. UBS cited weaker investment demand, softer industrial consumption, and increased mine supply as reasons for the reassessment, and subsequently lowered its silver price targets across multiple time horizons.

Furthermore, a rebounding U.S. dollar and rising longer-dated Treasury yields increased the opportunity cost of holding non-yielding assets like silver. Persistent inflation concerns and shifting market expectations that the Federal Reserve will maintain higher interest rates for longer contributed to the risk-off sentiment, prompting a wave of profit-taking following a recent rapid rally in the metal.