Goldman Sachs: Silver Hit by Three Consecutive Weeks of Institutional Selling as Bull Case Unravels
nashnova research
Managed-money funds have net-sold silver for three consecutive weeks, dumping a cumulative $2.2 billion; net-long positioning has fallen to a two-year low. Goldman analyst Robert Quinn notes that silver kept falling even as the dollar softened — a sign that the industrial-demand narratives underpinning the bull case, AI and solar, are breaking down simultaneously.
How much have institutions sold?
In the week ending October 13, managed money net-sold $565 million in silver — bringing the three-week cumulative total to $2.2 billion.
Long liquidation accounted for $160 million; fresh shorts added $405 million. This means → bulls aren't just leaving — bears are actively piling in.
Net-long positioning has dropped to roughly $1.7 billion, the lowest in Goldman's two-year dataset. For comparison, it topped $9 billion in summer 2025.
The dollar pulled back — why did silver keep falling?
On October 14 the dollar index hit a near-one-year high; silver plunged 6% in a single session. Markets blamed dollar strength.
But between October 13 and 20 the dollar index slipped 0.5%, while silver still fell 2.6%.
In plain terms = if the dollar were the only headwind, silver should have bounced once the dollar eased. It didn't — which means the problem is inside silver itself: structural demand support is eroding.
What happened to the AI and solar demand story?
Goldman tracks two industrial-demand proxies for silver. Both slumped: solar stocks (U.S. down 4.7%, China down 1.6%) and data-center stocks (down 7.9%).
Goldman's China solar index fell from above 60 at its May peak to below 40 — nearly halved. This index previously tracked silver long positioning closely.
This reflects a simultaneous loss of market confidence in silver's two bull pillars: "AI data centers need silver" and "solar expansion needs silver."
What went wrong in the data-center sector?
CoreWeave's credit-default swap (CDS — a market price for a company's default risk) spread widened, triggering a chain reaction.
Australian data-center operator Nextdc plunged 45% in a single day; Goldman counts 8 data-center "blow-up" cases in the past month alone.
This means → the market is no longer just cooling on the AI theme — it is repricing credit risk among emerging cloud-computing providers.
Is there any chance of a silver rebound?
Goldman's Quinn flags the Iran situation and its potential dollar impact as an unresolved macro variable.
Geopolitical risk could open a tactical rebound window for silver in the near term.
But rebuilding the structural bull case requires substantive recovery in the AI and solar demand narratives. Put simply = silver may bounce on headlines, but a real re-rating needs hard demand data to improve.
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