Silver prices made further gains on Friday to briefly top $25.60 an ounce – their highest price since May. That compares with a low of $24.96 an ounce on Thursday.
Silver took an uplift at the end of the week from strength in gold prices which hit an all-time high of just over $2,075 an ounce. Gold prices have pushed higher as the markets weigh the prospect of central bank interest rate cuts in the first half of 2024, and this appears to have given silver a leg higher too.
A period of rising interest rates over the last two years has worked to limit the upside for precious metals prices, and the prospect of an end to the hiking cycle, and potentially cuts in the first half of 2024, could clear the way for further gains.
On the fundamentals side, even though global silver demand has been forecast for 2023 at 10% below 2022 levels, the market is set to remain in a supply deficit for a third straight year, with annual demand outstripping supply, according to data released in November by the Silver Institute.
And behind the short-term ups and downs of demand, silver’s role as an important industrial metal is set to see demand rise over the long term as the energy transition drives a need for the grey metal in applications as diverse as solar panels, batteries and electronics, as well as other industries including medical applications and aerospace technology.
On the economic data front, traders will be watching out for the US ISM Services PMI data for November, set for release Tuesday, and the US non-farm payrolls figures due out on Friday, for further signals on monetary policy from the US Fed.
Carlo is an external market analyst for Kinesis Money. With a credential background in Economic Finance and International Exchange (MA), Carlo’s critical analysis of gold and silver markets’ performance is frequently quoted by leading publications such as Forbes, Reuters, CNBC, and Nasdaq.
This publication is for informational purposes only and is not intended to be a solicitation, offering or recommendation of any security, commodity, derivative, investment management service or advisory service and is not commodity trading advice. This publication does not intend to provide investment, tax or legal advice on either a general or specific basis.
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