Silver Price News: Silver Drifts as Early Gains Unwind

Silver prices eased on Friday, having scaled the $33.50 mark earlier in the day.

Prices briefly spiked as high as $33.49 an ounce on Friday, although this level could not be sustained, and prices fell back to $32.50 an ounce later in the session. That compared with around $33.00 an ounce in late trades on Thursday.

Political uncertainties maintain safe-haven interest

Precious metals continued to attract safe-haven interest amid uncertainty over the Russia/Ukraine conflict after US President Donald Trump called Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky a ‘dictator’, raising tensions as efforts continue to find a peace deal.

Uncertainties also continued on the macroeconomic front, after President Trump last week announced plans to impose a 25% tariff on cars, pharmaceuticals and semiconductors as soon as April 2^nd. The latest announcements further amp up the risks of a wider trade war between the US and its global trading partners. While this outcome could dent demand for industrial goods which rely on silver, it can also trigger increased investment in silver due to its role as a safe-haven precious metal.

Technical analysis

Silver, like gold, has staged a solid performance since the start of the year, with prices rising just over 12%. This has left silver trading towards the upper end of a rising price corridor, and above its 20-day moving average of $31.92 an ounce as of Friday. Further gains would see silver encounter ascending oblique minor resistance at $33.59 an ounce, while a downturn could bring a test of descending oblique major support at $31.59 an ounce.

Upcoming data/events

Monday is looking light on data releases, barring Euro Area year-on-year inflation data for January, which could play into central bank monetary policy. Tuesday will bring German GDP growth figures for Q4, and while these matter due to the size of Germany’s economy, they are backward-looking in nature. Of more significance for silver will be the direction of gold prices and whether they can continue to set fresh highs amid the current geopolitical and economic unease.