Silver prices plunged 16%, erasing the recent recovery.

Silver prices fell sharply during Asian trading on Thursday, dragging the broader precious metals complex lower as renewed selling pressure erased most of this week’s brief rebound.

Spot silver plunged as much as 16.7% to $73.5565 an ounce, moving back toward the lows seen after last week’s selloff, while March silver futures slid more than 10% to $73.383 per ounce. The sudden drop unfolded during the Asian session and coincided with a modest rise in the U.S. dollar.

According to Chris Weston, head of research at Pepperstone, the selloff originated in China, beginning with a decline in Shanghai silver futures before spreading to CME futures and spot markets.

Precious metals have been under pressure from a stronger dollar over the past week, as the greenback rebounded from near four-year lows after markets interpreted President Donald Trump’s nominee for the next Federal Reserve Chair, Kevin Warsh, as less dovish than expected. This sentiment has continued to weigh on metal prices.

Meanwhile, traders remained broadly positioned in favor of the dollar ahead of key European central bank meetings on Thursday and the release of U.S. nonfarm payrolls data on Friday.

Sources: Ambar Warrick