Silver Price News: Silver Edges Higher Awaiting Manufacturing Data

Silver prices ticked higher on Tuesday, managing to gain around 0.5% day-on-day in largely lacklustre trading.

Prices rose to around $29.30 an ounce by Tuesday evening, compared with around $29.07 an ounce in late trades on Monday.

The relative stability mirrored the price action in gold, which similarly saw mostly sideways trading on Monday and Tuesday following fresh all-time highs in the middle of last week.

Silver prices traded well above $31.00 an ounce last week, and following a sharp drop since then, the market has moved a few cents either side of $29.00 an ounce. This was a level that previously saw strong buying in June, making it a key area for traders to watch going forward.

Of interest to both gold and silver markets, India has slashed its customs duties on gold and silver to 6%, and platinum to 6.4%, according to the country’s latest budget. The move is aimed to discourage illegal smuggling of precious metals, but is also expected to boost demand among retail buyers who will now be able to bring the metals in at a lower cost.

Looking ahead, Wednesday will see the release of manufacturing data for Japan, India, France, Germany, the UK and US, providing the latest snapshot of the health of industrial activity in those key economies. The Bank of Canada is also expected to make a decision on interest rates on Wednesday, with the market broadly expecting a 25-basis point cut to 4.5%.

A handful of central banks, the BoC included, have already begun to loosen monetary policy, with the US Fed widely expected to follow suit in September – a stance that is traditionally a positive driver for precious metals prices. Then on Thursday, eyes will be on the US durable goods orders for June and the GDP growth rate for Q2.