Silver Price News: Silver Sidelined, but Fundamentals Still Solid

Silver starts the week just below $23.2 per ounce, with a surge late on Friday taking it to the upper end of the recent trading range and allowing it to book a marginal (0.2%) gain for the week.

The most recent (31 October) CFTC Commitment of Traders report published late on Friday revealed that professional speculators trimmed net long silver futures positions over the previous week, while retail speculators added a little to net longs. Overall, net speculative long positions barely changed and speculative positioning remains light relative to levels seen in August/early September.

Silver funds continued to show outflows over last week, with holdings down c. 5% YTD and 22% lower than the record highs seen in 2022. However industrial demand remains strong, there has been a strong rebound in silver jewellery demand in India and the silver market is once again forecast to be in deficit in 2023. 

Key incoming data for silver during the week includes:

Monday: Germany Factory Orders for September are expected to contract. Eurozone Servies PMI expected to have contracted further in October

Tuesday: China’s October balance of trade data is expected to confirm still weak domestic demand.

Wednesday: Eurozone Retail Sales for September are expected to show a slowing contraction.

Thursday: China’s October inflation is expected to edge up from zero. Fed Chair Powell to speak on global monetary policy at IMF conference panel.

Friday: UK September GDP expected to slightly contract. ECB President Lagarde to speak at the FT conference. US Michigan Consumer Sentiment for November is expected to edge up slightly.