Silver Price News: Silver Prices Hit One-Month High As Gold Shines

Silver prices put in a solid performance on Tuesday, taking a lead from gold prices which reached a fresh all-time high.

Silver briefly touched the $30.00 an ounce mark on Tuesday – a one-month high – and showed a gain of around 50 cents compared with late deals on Monday. Nevertheless, the intra-day gains failed to hold, and prices finished up at around $29.50 an ounce, little changed from the previous day.

Expectations of imminent interest rate cuts by the US Fed have helped support silver and gold, as lower interest rates reduce the opportunity cost of holding non-yield-bearing assets.

The first of several rate cuts is expected in September, and this view appears to have solidified after Fed officials warned in recent days over risks to the US economy, suggesting lower rates will be needed soon to cut borrowing costs and stimulate growth.

Silver has also benefited from safe-haven demand amid continued tensions in the Middle East and the conflict in Ukraine.

A weaker dollar in the first half of August has also helped support dollar-denominated silver prices.

On the technical charts, a sustained breakout above $30.00 an ounce would suggest silver’s two-month bearish trend has finally broken, while a significant pull-back would serve to reaffirm the downward momentum for the time being.

Looking ahead, Wednesday and Thursday will see a flurry of manufacturing figures from countries including Australia, Japan, India, Germany, France, UK and the US, providing the latest signals on industrial demand for the grey metal.

Eyes will also be on the US initial jobless claims figures for the week ending August 17 due for release on Thursday.