Silver prices made modest gains on Friday, clawing back some of the losses seen earlier in the week.
The grey metal traded as high as $23.49 an ounce before edging back to $23.19 later in the session. That compared with a low of $22.72 an ounce on Thursday. Friday’s action showed that silver had partially reversed the losses seen earlier in the week when prices fell from as high as $24.11 an ounce.
Economic data from the US on Friday showed a mixed picture, with jobs figures surprising on the upside but services figures suggesting weakness in that section of the economy. The markets were left to digest the implications of the latest figures for future interest rate trajectories by the US Fed, with expectations that the central bank could start cutting rates at its upcoming meeting of March 20.
Silver, like gold, continues to take a degree of support from ongoing tensions in the Middle East, due to its status as a precious metal and safe haven investment.
Looking ahead, Monday will see the release of Euro Area Economic Sentiment figures for December, while Tuesday will see German Industrial Production data for November.
As well as being a key precious metal for jewellery and investment buyers, approximately 50% of silver’s demand comes from the industrial sectors, finding uses in applications as diverse as solar panels, electric vehicles, electronics, medical devices, water purification and aerospace technology.
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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