Silver Price News: Silver Climbs as Gold Hits All-Time High

Silver prices firmed slightly on Tuesday, as precious metals continued to draw interest due to heightened economic and geopolitical tensions.

Prices briefly rose as high as $34.43 an ounce on Tuesday, although the market eased back later to trade at $34.08 an ounce later in the evening. That compared with around $33.96 an ounce in late trades on Monday.

Gold’s gains drag silver higher

The latest gains for silver came as gold prices hit a fresh all-time high of well over $3,000 an ounce amid further flare-ups in hostilities in the Middle East. Israel launched strikes in Gaza that killed hundreds of people overnight Monday, leading to fresh doubts over the peace process. The conflict continues to carry the risk of drawing in larger countries, which in turn has driven investment into safe-haven assets like gold and silver.

A weaker US dollar on Tuesday also contributed to support for dollar-denominated gold and silver prices. Recent market chatter has centred around the risks of a possible US recession, and while such an outcome could curb industrial consumption of silver in the US, it has also helped to divert investment flows into more secure assets such as precious metals.

Worries over possible US trade tariffs on physical gold and silver imports have prompted a transfer of bullion from London to the US, according to news reports.

Upcoming data/events

All eyes will be on the US Fed’s interest rate decision on Wednesday, with expectations that the central bank will keep the current 4.5% rate unchanged. Of greater interest will be the Fed’s economic outlook, which could help traders chart the way forward for monetary policy this year. Hawkish signals from the Fed could support the US dollar, exerting downward pressure on dollar-denominated gold and silver prices, while a more dovish stance would have the opposite effect.