Silver prices fell as low as $22.48 an ounce Friday, rounding off a markedly bearish week for the precious metal.
Prices did manage to claw back some ground later in the day to trade at around $22.60 an ounce, but this was still far below values of around $23.30 seen at the start of the week.
The market came under pressure through the week from bullish economic data from the US which challenged expectations of US interest rate cuts coming as soon as March. US Michigan Consumer Sentiment figures for January released Friday beat market expectations by a large margin, registering the highest sentiment reading since July 2021.
The latest figures indicate a more buoyant US economy, helping to push the US dollar and Treasury yields higher, as well as giving more leeway for the Fed to maintain the current interest rates of 5.25-5.50%, all of which weighed on silver as a non-interest-bearing asset.
Looking ahead to this week, Tuesday will see the release of Euro Area Consumer Confidence figures, for the latest pulse check on the European economy.
Further out, Wednesday will see the release of UK CBI Industrial Trends Orders figures for January. Recent figures have been disappointing, reflecting industrial orders at levels well below the long-term average. Nevertheless, the latest update may provide further clues on industrial demand in the UK — the world’s sixth largest industrial consumer of silver.
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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