ToplineSilver prices tumbled more than 8% early Thursday while gold also lost more than 4% in value, as oil prices spiked after President Donald Trump vowed to hit Iran “extremely hard” in his Wednesday evening address to the nation.Gold and silver tumbled early Thursday. (Photo by Emmanuele Contini/NurPhoto via Getty Images)NurPhoto via Getty ImagesKey FactsThe price of silver is $70.71 as of 9:45 a.m. EST Thursday, down more than 7%, though silver hit a low of $69.61, down more than 8%, earlier in the morning.The price of gold is about $4,595.50 as of 9:45 a.m. EST, down more than 4%.Gold and silver prices have trended downward throughout most of the Iran war, typically moving in the opposite direction of spiking oil prices, though they have since erased some of the modest gains they made in late March.ANZ analysts said metals prices have faced “heavy downward pressure as hostilities threatened an inflationary shock for the world economy,” with analyst Daniel Hynes saying gold prices fell as rising oil prices stoke fears of inflation and fewer interest rate cuts. Christopher Wong, a strategist at Oversea-Chinese Banking Corp, blamed Trump’s comments, saying his speech “framed the conflict as a military success story, not a ceasefire announcement,” and that he stoked “fears of a US ground operation in Iran.”How Much Have Oil Prices Risen Thursday?Oil prices soared on Thursday, with analysts blaming Trump’s speech for sparking fears that the war will drag on. The Brent crude index is up nearly 8% to $109 as of 9:45 a.m. The Brent crude index is down from highs reached in late March, but it is still up more than 50% since the start of the Iran war. TP ICAP analyst Scott Shelton said in a note oil prices have “skyrocketed on the overnight speech which seemed to be more about escalation and ‘finishing the job’ with zero comments on peace talks,” referring to Trump’s address.How Have Metals Prices Reacted To The Iran War?Metals prices have declined throughout much of the Iran war. Silver closed at $93 the day before the initial strikes on Iran and has lost roughly a quarter of its value since, while gold has dropped by about 12%, declining from a price above $5,200 since the beginning of the war. The precious metals have bucked conventional wisdom that greater international tensions cause metals prices to spike, as both have trended inversely with oil prices. Analysts from Sucden Financial said in March gold and silver are trading “in negative correlation with oil” as oil and energy prices surge, adding that “bullion may find some support from geopolitical uncertainty, but as long as oil absorbs the main safe-haven bid, upside will likely remain constrained.” The value of the dollar has also risen throughout the war and is up slightly on Thursday, which also puts downward pressure on precious metals. Key Background Gold and silver are still up year-over-year after a record-breaking price rally that carried them to all-time highs in January. Silver hit a price above $120 at its peak, while gold surpassed $5,600, though their respective prices crashed after Trump named Kevin Warsh as his pick to lead the Federal Reserve, as Warsh was seen as more hawkish on monetary policy and may be less likely to slash interest rates, typically a boon for metals prices.Further ReadingGold And Silver Prices Hit One-Month Lows—Here’s Why Iran War Isn’t Raising Metals Prices (Forbes)