Silver prices ended the day by posting modest gains on Thursday, as the precious metals markets took a modicum of support from an uptick in geopolitical tensions.
Silver traded at around $22.75 an ounce in late deals Thursday, having touched a low of $22.45 an ounce in the early afternoon session. The day looked on track to be a bearish one for silver overall, but prices rebounded through the afternoon on news reports that Pakistan had launched missile strikes into Iran, in retaliation for an Iranian strike against targets in Pakistan two days earlier. Both strikes appeared to be aimed at militant groups rather than civilian targets.
Nevertheless, the latest increase in hostilities has the effect of increasing demand for investment in gold and silver as safe-haven assets, on an otherwise slightly bearish day on the macroeconomic front.
The dollar strengthened against other major currencies on Thursday, in what would ordinarily be a bearish factor for dollar-denominated gold and silver prices. However, currency factors were trumped by the perceived rise in geopolitical risks on the day.
Looking ahead, ECB President Christine Lagarde is set to give a speech on Friday which may provide further clues on upcoming monetary policy decisions at the EU’s central bank, while Michigan Consumer Sentiment figures out later in the day are due to provide an update on the US economic outlook.
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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