Silver exchange traded funds fell more than 5% and dropped along with stocks on reports investors were unloading winning investments to raise cash to meet margin calls on Thursday.
The iShares Silver Trust (NYSEArca: SLV) was down 5.5% in afternoon trading.
Gold ETFs were also in negative territory after rising earlier in the session.
SPDR Gold Shares (NYSEArca: GLD) slipped 0.4% at last check.
The precious metals ETFs are backed by bullion held in vaults and let investors trade the price of silver and gold.