Silver prices pushed up to their highest level in over two weeks on Thursday, after US data showed an unexpected rise in unemployment, bolstering the case for interest rate cuts.
Silver prices climbed as high as $28.37 an ounce on Thursday, up around a dollar compared with $27.38 an ounce in late trades on Wednesday. That was the highest price for silver since April 22.
The strong gains came after figures released Thursday showed a surprise jump in the number of people seeking unemployment benefits in the US in the week to May 4.
The emergence of weaker-than-expected economic figures suggests the US Fed may have to cut interest rates this year to boost growth. The latest figures come against a context of fading expectations that the first rate cut would materialise this summer, with bets now increasing on a September timeframe. Lower interest rates tend to boost the appeal of non-interest-bearing investments like gold and silver.
On the technical charts, the $28.00 an ounce level is an important marker for silver, looking at price performance going back to 2011, as this area represented a support level for prices from 2011 to 2013 and more recently appears to be a resistance level since 2020. On this basis, any breakout above $28.00 could be taken as a major bull signal.
Looking ahead, industrial production figures in India for release on Friday could provide clues about industrial demand for silver in one of the world’s largest consuming nations. The markets will also be keeping an eye on a raft of speeches by US Fed officials on Friday for any updates on upcoming interest rate changes.
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.
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