Silver prices were largely range bound on Tuesday in more subdued trading following the previous week’s surge to a six-week high.
Prices moved in a range of $22.94 to $23.21 an ounce on Tuesday, little changed from Monday’s range. The relative stability for silver followed hefty gains in the previous week which saw prices jump as high as $23.50 for the first time since early January.
Silver appeared to shrug off any impact from gold, which continued to push higher on Tuesday on the back of US dollar weakness and falling US Treasury yields.
Looking ahead, the markets will be watching out for UK CBI industrial trends orders for February due for release on Wednesday, which are likely to give a signal for industrial demand for silver in one of the metal’s key consuming nations.
Of more importance for precious metals prices in general will be the US Fed’s FOMC minutes set to be released Wednesday afternoon, as well as expected comments from Fed officials.
In recent weeks, traders have scaled back bets on the Fed starting to cut interest rates as soon as its May 1 meeting. More recent data suggest a mix of views on when any cuts could begin, with bets spread over June and July as the start of a loosening of US monetary policy.
Lower interest rates are generally bullish for precious metals as they reduce the opportunity cost of holding non-interest-bearing assets.
Frank’s experience covering the commodities markets spans 22 years, with a particular specialism in metals, carbon and energy markets. He has worked as a senior editor for S&P Global Commodity Insights (formerly Platts) and before this, at ICIS-LOR, a part of Reed Business Information (Reed Elsevier), where he covered the petrochemicals markets from 2003 to 2005.
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.
Read our Editorial Guidelines here.
