BMO Precious Metals Monitor: India Applies the Brakes

Research evidence excerpt

BMO Precious Metals Monitor: India Applies the Brakes

May 19, 2026 | 06:11 ET~

BMO Global Commodities Research

BMO Precious Metals Monitor: India Applies the BMO Global Commodities Research

Brakes Helen Amos Analyst

helen.amos@bmo.com +44 (0)20 7664 8180

George Heppel Analyst

Bottom Line: george.heppel@bmo.com +44 (0)20 7664 8106

Precious metals saw a sharp reversal last week, with an early rally driven by US-Iran de- Walid Hasanzadeh Associate

escalation hopes, particularly in silver given its industrial exposure, quickly unwound as Walid.Hasanzadeh@bmo.com +44 (0)20 7872 156589

stronger-than-expected US inflation data reinforced the persistence of price pressures, Alona Yunda Senior Associate

pushing Treasury yields higher and weighing on the complex. While ETF flows turned alona.yunda@bmo.com +44 (0) 789 479 7518

supportive and played a key role in the initial move, especially in silver where strong Legal Entity: BMO Capital Markets Limited

inflows amplified volatility, this was insufficient to offset broader macro headwinds.

Pressure on India's current account deficit has led to calls for citizens to refrain from

purchases, with import duty hikes. That said, continued gold accumulation by China

underscores an ongoing structural source of demand. Looking ahead, the focus remains

on whether inflation continues to feed through into economic activity and demand

conditions, with upcoming US data likely to provide further direction for rates.

Key Points

Precious metals rallied early last week on reports of a potential US-Iran de-escalation

and truce, with silver outperforming given its hybrid industrial exposure. However,

sentiment reversed as truce expectations cooled and markets digested a stronger-